DOES OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE REALLY WORK? 03.29.02
FEATURES AND COMMENTARY HPCwire
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Lisa Gill reported: In the ongoing debate between open source advocates and
proprietary software makers and users, it turns out that -- to at least some
extent -- both sides are right: Open source does work, but only in some cases.
With respect to enterprise computing, analysts agree that for smaller projects
that do not involve mission-critical elements, there is room for open source
software, such as Linux.
And major hardware commitments from at least one server manufacturer indicate
that Linux could be used for virtually all server operations in the near
future.
But experts point to a continuing lack of service and support for Linux, as
well as too few enterprise applications, as factors that have hampered its
ability to mature into a full-fledged, scalable server operating system. On
the other hand, there are signs of change in both of these areas.
Linux for the desktop is another matter. Its wide-scale adoption is still
treated with skepticism by experts, who say that for consumer-level users,
simply configuring Linux to dial into an ISP (Internet service provider) is a
challenge.
Combine that apparent complexity with a relative lack of basic applications,
and analysts do not see Linux as a serious desktop challenger to either
Microsoft's Windows XP or Apple's OS X for the foreseeable future.
Right Time, Place for Linux
Mid-sized companies have led the pack in terms of Linux adoption, according to
a recent Yankee Group study, employing the operating system in smaller, less
mission-critical projects.
Eleven percent of all companies surveyed by the Yankee Group said they use
Linux in some form, 69 percent said they employ Windows, and the remaining
respondents are almost evenly divided between Sun's Solaris and other forms of
UNIX.
Yankee Group research director Neal Goldman told NewsFactor that except for
embedded, black-box Linux implementations -- which let programmers more easily
control the environment in which open source software runs -- enterprise use
presently is restricted to limited-scale projects.
"It's generally a small-scale implementation -- local, few numbers of servers.
The more mission critical it is, the more you're going to worry about your
system going down, and the less you want to be solely responsible for that,"
Goldman said.
Goldman pointed to the free aspect of such software as another incentive for
companies for which licensing fees pose a budget challenge.
Bill Claybrook, Linux and open source software research director at the
Aberdeen Group, told NewsFactor that the gauge of how widely accepted Linux is
among companies is how often it is used as a back-end database host -- much as
UNIX was used years ago.
"Right now, Linux only scales up to four-way machines. Within the next year,
you'll see it scaling on eight-way machines. Then I think you'll see it take
off a little bit," Claybrook said.
If Linux scalability were to increase, Claybrook said he believes it would
become appropriate for much larger projects and would be more widely adopted.
Hardware Commitment
Sheila Harnett, an engineer at IBM's Linux Tech Center, told NewsFactor she
agrees that the scalability issue is the main factor holding Linux back. She
said she expects that within the next 12 to 18 months, Linux will be able to
expand to eight- or even 16-way configurations.
With a push earlier this year by IBM -- the company introduced its zSeries
Linux-only mainframe servers, which can consolidate 20 to several hundred
smaller servers -- the tide may be turning in open source's favor for
large-scale implementations.
"The thing that really appeals to customers deploying Linux on the zSeries,"
said Harnett, "is the fact that they can create a bunch of virtual servers as
if they're running in their own box. They're insulated from one another."
As to whether such an investment in Linux is meant to replace or offset
Microsoft's Windows operating system, Harnett explained that companies are
free to choose between licensed proprietary software and open source.
"A lot of customers find value in the fact Linux is open, it's portable, and
[it] doesn't tie them into a single platform," he said. "That's part of the
strength IBM sees in it. It's open, and there are thousands of developers --
250 of them work in my group."
Push for Applications
But what hampers Linux the most, according to analysts, is a lack of
applications that can run on the open source operating system.
The Yankee Group's Goldman noted that management tools, such as software
deployment and monitoring functions, are less readily available for Linux than
for other enterprise-strength operating systems.
"[Linux] just doesn't easily plug into the management framework," Goldman
said. "The applications aren't standardized. When that level of
standardization occurs in terms of applications and management tools, then I
think Linux will get there.
"For now, it's great when you want to tinker," he noted.
In addition to management tools, Aberdeen Group's Claybrook pointed to a lack
of general business applications as something that has kept Linux from fully
maturing.
Claybrook noted that SAP and Oracle have been available for Linux for at least
a year. But he added that critical software, such as CRM systems, must be
ported to Linux before the operating system can become more widely accepted.
Support, Service Debatable
In addition to compatible software, another hot button is service availability
for open source applications.
"There are different reasons why people advocate open source. One reason for
enterprise is, 'You have the source code; if it doesn't work, you can fix it.'
But the fact is, if I'm an enterprise, I don't want to fix it. I want somebody
else to fix it," Goldman said.
"Who are you going to call when it doesn't work?" he asked.
On the other hand, Aberdeen's Claybrook said he does not see service as the
main issue for enterprises, especially because most major computer makers now
support open source software.
"The system vendors -- IBM, HP, Compaq, Dell -- who sell Linux all support it.
They resolve Level One and Level Two problems. If problems come up that they
can't solve for the customer, they turn to Red Hat," Claybrook explained.
IBM's Harnett agreed. Three years ago, he said, lack of service availability
was the most common complaint among customers. Currently, however, every major
Linux vendor and distributor offers full-scale service.
Desktop Dwindles
But when it comes to Linux on the desktop, experts' tone is less upbeat.
"Linux on the desktop is toast," said Goldman.
"Pathetic," Claybrook noted.
"All the system vendors are pushing Linux on the server side, [but] there's
really no large company that is ... pushing Linux on the desktop," Claybrook
said.
But Claybrook added that he hopes the release of Sun's StarOffice 6.0 -- which
is compatible with Windows, UNIX and Linux -- will make the operating system
more attractive to the average desktop user.
"I believe that if you supported the desktop side more and there were more
Linux desktop users, you'd sell more servers," he said. |
