Microsoft and Unix - Some thoughts Platform: Microsoft Platform: Microsoft platforms revolve around monetary compensation Licensing and cost is at the descretion of a company, prices generally go up. Distribution and Royalty fees often apply. Closed Source Operating System. You will never see the source code. You can never alter the OS code. Unix Platform: Most Unix platforms are freely available and revolve around building a community structure. Licensing issues vary. In many cases, there are none. Cost is almost never applicable. Distribution and Royalty fees, in most cases, never apply. Open Source Operating System. You can see the source code. You can alter every aspect of the OS to fit whatever needs/wants that you may have. Platform Support: Microsoft: Fair community support. Costly direct support. Unix: Strong community support. Often no direct support, unless platform is purchases from a company, such as Sun. Platform Updates: Platform - Microsoft: Microsoft platform updates cost money. 98 -> 2000, 2000 -> XP. Unix: Unix platforms are freely available. Updates are freely available. Platform Security: Microsoft: - Security is not the biggest priority. Unix: - Available Operating Systems where Security is the entire focus. Platform Reliability: Microsoft: - Relatively Stable. Unix: - Often a very stable operating system. Employee Skill, Expertise and Availability: Microsoft: Often user interface level understanding of computing. Not a bad thing. Different applicable use than Unix. An easy platform to pick up. Training is less time-consuming, thus less cost-consuming. People with microsoft experience are easy to come by. Many people just out of high school have fluent experience with this operating system. Unix: Often behind the scenes level understanding of computing. Not a bad thing. Different applicable use than MS. A little more difficult to pick up than windows, but easy once the initial grasp of understanding is made. People with unix experience and knowledge that could lend hand to what we are doing seem to be more difficult to come by. Both: A strong skillset, depending on the fluency one has for both platforms. Needs (in due time): A system administrator fluent with both Unix and Microsoft systems. A network administrator fluent with Unix systems and Microsoft systems. An NA is not skilled on any token if he or she is not fluent with Unix. IMO. Suggestions: Use as often as possible, as load will increase, unix systems to perform tasks not required for functional systems, such as ArrivaRes. i.e. DNS, Mail, etc. - Case example: Empire Net has thousands of customers using their e-mail server. 2k+ would not be able to handle this task without multiple servers. Unix does the job with good software configuration, on one server. Hardware: Microsoft: Bulky and Bloated Operating System. Designed for pretty screens. Depending on applied use, expensive hardware requirements. Will require multiple systems to perform the same functions as a unix system, depending on use. Unix: Tight and Quick System, best for the lowest possible resource usage. Designed for application processing use. Desktop extensions available. Depending on applied use, also can incur expensive hardware requirements. Most cases will outperform Microsoft platform systems, depending on use. Software: Microsoft: Cost - Most cases will require monetary compensation. Support - Often Direct Support from the Company. May be for a limited time. May require compensation for support. Updates - Often a time expiration on available updates without additional compensation. May require compensation for updates. Unix: Cost - Most cases will require a search & download. Most systems are freely available. Most systems that cost have alternatives that are freely available. Support - Often direct support from the author of the software. Often no cost. Strong community support for many applications. Updates - If the product is freely available, in almost all cases, the updates will be as well. Availability - - In many cases reproduces systems and functionality available on the MS Platform and in many cases, these systems are available freely. Development: Microsoft - A faster approach to develop products in our fields, depending on the intended use. More so than not. A more costly approach. Unix - A slower approach to develop products in our fields, depending on the intended use. More so than not. Almost a free approach, aside from the cost of time. Suggestions - Where intended use does not directly coorespond with systems already in place or being put in place for future intended integration, focus on solutions for Unix platforms. Any General Web Site Hosting not requiring ASP or any MS Dependant system, should be Unix based. - Ease the burden of server loads. - Save money. Data Storage, such as Images and Static HTML, can be Unix based. - Ease the burden of server loads. - Save money. Bottom line: Simply by taking a focus of a Unix-based environment wherever possible would lend us more profit and/or would allow for an increased budget. Depending on the Unix Systems' usage. Simply by not taking a focus of a Unix-based environment wherever possible, will cost: - Reduction in funds available for job availability and lower budget availability. - Unnecessary Hardware Expenses. - Unnecessary Software Expenses. - Additional Support Cost/Time due to system downtime and/or failure. - A smaller profit margin. If the goal is to make money, a synonomous approach is to save money. A wise approach, to me, seems to revolve around weighing advantages vs. disadvantages and choosing the operating system that has the most advantages for the given task where applicable. Case Study: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2098366,00.html