Redhad Linux Vs Windows 2000

Red Hat Linux vs. Windows 2000

The purpose of this paper will be to compare and contrast the cost, market share, and hardware requirements of the operating systems Red Hat Linux vs. Windows 2000. To begin our analysis we will briefly describe the Red Hat Linux and Windows 2000 computer platform solution for a small business setting. Technology administrators may note that the best computing solution for a business may be a mix of platforms and products. Some reasons include client preferences or capabilities, existing software and hardware, accounting requirements, or human resources. Owner, management, or employee training, experience, and preferences will also play a part. Linux is the kernel of a free operating system. When Linux is combined with thousands of free software packages it then becomes a Linux distribution. Similarly, Windows 2000 is a privately owned commercial operating system, but only achieves its purpose in collaboration with other software packages. Linux has an advantage in that its flexibility and interoperability allows the migration process. Linux also has the capability to imitate or provide many Windows services clearly in a mixed environment over a network. This paper will use Linux products from Red Hat, Inc. as the example Linux distribution and software, along with Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, its variants and associated software, for any comparisons.

Cost of the Operating Systems

There are many operating systems (O/S) out in the market today. Each operating system can be molded or designed to the right specification of the business or the organization that it will support. We will compare and contrast the cost of two operating systems such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows 2000 Professional.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES provides the core operating system and networking infrastructure for a wide range of entry-level and departmental server applications. It is ideally suited for network, file, print, mail, Web, and custom or packaged business applications. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES is fully compatible with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux family, providing the stability, performance, and support needed for critical application deployments. (http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/es/)

Microsoft Corporation created Windows 2000 Professional to help small business with better Operating Systems that not only boost the business value by lowering total cost; but will also increase the return on investments by lowering the long-term costs of application development, integration, and management, as well as user training. Windows 2000 Professional is the Windows operating system for business desktop and laptop systems. It is used to run software applications; connect to Internet and intranet sites; access files; printers; and network resources.

With the purchase of the operating system, an organization acquires a software license for that particular O/S by giving the user the right to use or access that software program. Microsoft licenses come in two types; the End User license agreement (EULA) and Product Use Rights (PUR). Product Use Rights (PUR) is similar to the EULA except that it pertains to software licensed through a Microsoft Volume Licensing program. The volume-licensing program is a flexible and economical way to acquire from five to thousands of licenses for software. This program can benefit the buyer purchasing several software products for a few hundred dollars; or it may benefit the buyer by customizing the operating system to suit the business in which it may cost the buyer thousands of dollars annually. The design of a business operated computer site will require planning, forecasting, budgeting, research, construction, procurement, testing, and deployment. Some big concerns in a migration from an existing business infrastructure include the end result of reliability, initial purchase and migration costs, system performance following deployment, system security, annual or per-seat total cost of ownership, and scalability for the immediate or near future. The initial assessment can provide cost savings by determining which portions of an existing site may be retained, upgraded, or migrated for the best efficiency, given current and future needs. Budget issues will promptly become apparent at this stage because the project cost is determined before project expenditures, and planning and design, which provide the project's design. The next stage, development and validation, sets the groundwork for the deployment by creating an efficient collaboration of the planned software and hardware. When finished, the solution is deployed with support and maintenance services. There are no advantages or disadvantages for businesses to compare, shop, or choose different hardware based on the choice of operating systems for a number of reasons. Problems with Linux can be rapidly identified and fixed. This is one of the primary benefits of using software available in source code form. Microsoft offers contractual software support and has released software fixes in the past for its product offerings. One of the most important considerations regarding the use of Linux or Microsoft software, is software licensing. The inexpensive approach to desktop operating systems would be to use Red Hat Linux. Most client applications will serve the purpose of word processing; email; calendaring; Web browsing; HTML; spreadsheet calculations; image editing; and presentations. The cost is free; no royalties or licensing. StarOffice will cost $75.95 single client; $1500 for 25 clients; $50.00 each per 150 users to $25.00 each per up to 10,000 users: http://www.sun.com/staroffice. Windows 2000 Professional serves the purpose to provide a base client operating system for a PC at a cost of $319 per seat; volume licensing available: http://shop.microsoft.com/Referral?ProductInfo.asp?siteID=10798&typeID=6X . Outfitting 500 desktops using Red Hat Linux can range from the retail cost of $0 to up to $75,000. Outfitting a company with 500 desktops using Microsoft software can range from $407,177 to $467,177. The aforementioned prices do not take into account the cost of time and manpower of setup and installation. Pricing can be lower, depending on volume discounts derived from licensing options. Many other options can bring down the costs when planning to buy an operating system.

Market share of the Operating System

IDC has issued a report just this past week, June 18, 2004, predicting that Windows Server will snare 60% of the server market by 2008, compared with 29% for Linux servers. In the article written by Paul Thurrott, he predicts that Windows servers will generate $22.7 billion in sales by 2008, compared with $9.7 billion for Linux servers. Despite owning only