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Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX.html

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX.html 160 KB
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  13. 

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  15. Information every manager should know when planning a corporate network or 
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  16. the purchase of server hardware."> 
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  17. 

  18. <meta name="keywords" content="NT vs UNIX, UNIX vs NT, NT vs. UNIX,
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  19. UNIX vs. NT, nt versus unix, unix versus nt, IIS, apache, sendmail,
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  20. exchange server, microsoft, smp, aix, hp-ux, digital unix, solaris,
    21. 

  21. freebsd, bsdi, linux, windows nt, corporate network, mail servers,
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  22. operating systems, cost effective solutions, mission critical
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  24. 

  25. <title>Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX</title> 
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  37.    </td>
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  38.    <td class="c">
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  48. 		
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  49. 		    <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000706213010/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch" title="6 Jul 2000">JUL</a>
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  50. 		
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  54. 		
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  55. 		    <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20001017114158/http://unix-vs-nt.org/kirch" title="17 Oct 2000"><strong>OCT</strong></a>
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  56. 		
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  63.                    <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000706213010/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch" title="21:30:10 Jul 6, 2000"><img src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/wm_tb_prv_on.png" alt="Previous capture" width="14" height="16" border="0"></a>
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  65.                </td>
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  66.                <td class="c" id="displayDayEl" style="width:34px;font-size:24px;" title="You are here: 10:05:17 Aug 15, 2000">15</td>
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  67. 	       <td class="f" nowrap="nowrap">
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  68.                
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  69. 		   <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000816171907/http://unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/" title="17:19:07 Aug 16, 2000"><img src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/wm_tb_nxt_on.png" alt="Next capture" width="14" height="16" border="0"></a>
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  77.                    <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/19990508220433/http://unix-vs-nt.org/kirch" title="8 May 1999"><strong>1999</strong></a>
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  80.                <td class="c" id="displayYearEl" title="You are here: 10:05:17 Aug 15, 2000">2000</td>
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  82.                
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  83. 	           <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20020205110720/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/" title="5 Feb 2002"><strong>2002</strong></a>
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  92.            <a class="t" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517*/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/" title="See a list of every capture for this URL">179 captures</a>
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  93.            <div class="r" title="Timespan for captures of this URL">17 Jan 99 - 6 May 16</div>
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  94.        </td>
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  95.        <td class="k">
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  103.    </td>
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  104.    <td class="r">
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    106. 

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    107. 

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    108. 

  108.    </tr></tbody></table>
    109. 

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    110. 

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    111. 

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    112. 

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    161. 

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    184. 

  184.     display='none';width=yearImgWidth+"px";height=imgHeight+"px";
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  186.   monthTracker=$D.createElement('div');
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  188.   with(monthTracker.style){
    189. 

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    190. 

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    191. 

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    192. 

  192.   $spk.appendChild(monthTracker);
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    195. 

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  210. 

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    212. 

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    213. 

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    214. 

  214. <td>
    215. 

  215. <center>
    216. 

  216. 

  217. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/translations/chinese/">
    218. 

  218. Chinese</a>
    219. 

  219. 

  220. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    221. 

  221. 

  222. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://linux.hr/misc/hr_unix-nt.html">
    223. 

  223. Croatian</a>
    224. 

  224. 

  225. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    226. 

  226. 

  227. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.penguin.cz/~had/unix-nt/">
    228. 

  228. Czech</a>
    229. 

  229. 

  230. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    231. 

  231. 

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    233. 

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    234. 

  234. French</a> 
    235. 

  235. 

  236. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    237. 

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  238. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lot-germany.com/magazin/unix-nt.htm">
    239. 

  239. German</a>
    240. 

  240. 

  241. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    242. 

  242. 

  243. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://adhi.linux-smg.or.id/unix-vs-nt/ID-unix-vs-nt.html">
    244. 

  244. Indonesia</a>
    245. 

  245. 

  246. <p>
    247. 

  247. 

  248. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    249. 

  249. 

  250. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ne.jp/asahi/personal/kobayashi-osamu/Translation/kirch.net/unix-nt.j.html">
    251. 

  251. Japanese</a>
    252. 

  252. 

  253. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    254. 

  254. 

  255. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxkorea.co.kr/news/internet/unix-nt.html">
    256. 

  256. Korean</a>
    257. 

  257. 

  258. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    259. 

  259. 

  260. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microlink.com.br/~buick/dragons/op1/unixvsnt.html">
    261. 

  261. Portuguese</a>
    262. 

  262. 

  263. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    264. 

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    266. 

  266. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.atlas.net.ru/unix-nt/unix-nt.html">
    267. 

  267. Russian</a>
    268. 

  268. 

  269. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    270. 

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  271. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.fisica.uson.mx/carlos/Unix-NT/unix-nt-notes.html">
    272. 

  272. Spanish</a>
    273. 

  273. 

  274. </p><p>
    275. 

  275. 

  276. </p><hr>
    277. 

  277. 

  278. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/updates.html">
    279. 

  279. Recent Updates</a></b>
    280. 

  280. 

  281. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    282. 

  282. 

  283. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/cgi-bin/count?kirch">
    284. 

  284. Access Counter</a></b>
    285. 

  285. 

  286. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
    287. 

  287. 

  288. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/">
    289. 

  289. Mirror</a></b>
    290. 

  290. 

  291. <hr>
    292. 

  292. </center>
    293. 

  293. 

  294. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    295. 

  295. 

  296. 

  297. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    298. 

  298. <tbody><tr>
    299. 

  299. <td>
    300. 

  300. 

  301. <h1>Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX</h1> 
    302. 

  302. <h3>by</h3>
    303. 

  303. <h3>John Kirch</h3>
    304. 

  304. <h3>Networking Consultant and
    305. 

  305. Microsoft Certified Professional (Windows NT)</h3>
    306. 

  306. <p><i>Last update: 7 August 1999</i> 
    307. 

  307. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>
    308. 

  308. 

  309. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    310. 

  310. <tbody><tr>
    311. 

  311. <td>
    312. 

  312. 

  313. <hr>
    314. 

  314. 

  315. <h2>Executive Summary</h2>
    316. 

  316. 

  317. <p>IT managers worldwide are being confronted with the question, should
    318. 

  318. we go with Microsoft Windows NT Server or one of the UNIX operating
    319. 

  319. systems? As you may already know, UNIX is not a single operating
    320. 

  320. system; it refers to a family of operating systems which includes AIX,
    321. 

  321. BSDI, Digital UNIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, IRIX, Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD,
    322. 

  322. Pyramid, SCO, Solaris, SunOS,  just to name the more prominent ones. 
    323. 

  323. Windows NT Server is increasing in popularity, but is it increasing the
    324. 

  324. productivity of your MIS operations?  Most important of all, though,
    325. 

  325. for you as a manager is, are you increasing the profits of your company
    326. 

  326. when you choose a Microsoft solution?
    327. 

  327. 

  328. </p><p>The bottom line is, which is cheaper?  Hardware costs, software
    329. 

  329. licenses, technical support agreements, prices of upgrades/service
    330. 

  330. packs, costs of hardware upgrades, profits lost for every hour of
    331. 

  331. downtime, personnel costs for recovering/recreating data lost due to
    332. 

  332. product defects in the operating system and/or hardware platform
    333. 

  333. required by your choice of operating systems, and personnel costs for
    334. 

  334. systems administrators, these are only some of the factors that
    335. 

  335. contribute to the overall budget resulting from your decision.	It is
    336. 

  336. not a trivial consideration.
    337. 

  337. 

  338. </p><p>Although money is the bottom line for you as a manager, given the
    339. 

  339. complex set of factors I've just presented, a technically superior
    340. 

  340. combination of server hardware and operating systems could prove to be
    341. 

  341. less expensive in the long run.  UNIX is a mature, technically superior
    342. 

  342. group of operating systems with a proven track record for performance,
    343. 

  343. reliability, and security in a server environment.  The almost thirty
    344. 

  344. years of continual development, performed often by volunteers who
    345. 

  345. believe in what they're doing, has produced a group of operating
    346. 

  346. systems--and extremely powerful multiprocessor server hardware
    347. 

  347. tailor-made to its needs, whose performance is still unparalleled by
    348. 

  348. Intel hardware--that not only meets the demands of today's computing
    349. 

  349. needs, but in many cases exceeds them.	
    350. 

  350. 

  351. </p><p>Why Windows NT Server 4.0 continues to exist in the enterprise would
    352. 

  352. be a topic appropriate for an investigative report in the field of
    353. 

  353. psychology or marketing, not an article on information technology. 
    354. 

  354. Technically, Windows NT Server 4.0 is no match for any UNIX operating
    355. 

  355. system, not even the non-commercial BSDs or Linux.  A manager is not
    356. 

  356. expected to have the technical expertise of a systems administrator
    357. 

  357. with 15 years of industry experience.  There is no shame in not having
    358. 

  358. the facts, only in being ignorant of such facts, which will in the end
    359. 

  359. cost your employer, and eventually all consumers, money. The aim of
    360. 

  360. this article is to give you the resources which will enable you to make 
    361. 

  361. thoughtful and informed decisions regarding your organization's 
    362. 

  362. IT planning and operations.
    363. 

  363. 

  364. </p><p>The following article relies on my experience in this industry,
    365. 

  365. which started back in 1979 with Chevron Geosciences Company, and on
    366. 

  366. roughly 150 links to other technical articles, white papers, and
    367. 

  367. executive summaries.  At this point it should be noted that  I am not
    368. 

  368. promoting the product of any one company, nor would my employer benefit
    369. 

  369. should you choose UNIX.  My goal is to ease the burden of systems
    370. 

  370. administrators, promote more efficient and economical computing
    371. 

  371. worldwide, and encourage a more fair and diverse community of software
    372. 

  372. vendors.
    373. 

  373. 

  374. </p><hr>
    375. 

  375. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    376. 

  376. 

  377. <table width="85%">
    378. 

  378. <tbody><tr>
    379. 

  379. <td valign="TOP">
    380. 

  380. 

  381. <h2>Contents</h2>
    382. 

  382. 

  383. <ul>
    384. 

  384.     <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#intro">Introduction</a>
    385. 

  385.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#os">Operating Systems</a>
    386. 

  386.     <ul>
    387. 

  387.         <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#costs">Product costs and licensing issues</a>
    388. 

  388.         </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#functionality">Functionality</a>
    389. 

  389.         </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#reliability">Reliability</a>
    390. 

  390.         </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#management">System Management</a>
    391. 

  391.         </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#performance">Performance</a>
    392. 

  392.         </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#security">Security</a>
    393. 

  393.     </li></ul>
    394. 

  394.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#misconceptions">Some Common Misconceptions</a>
    395. 

  395.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#views">Views of Other MIS Professionals</a>
    396. 

  396.     <ul>
    397. 

  397.         <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/feedback/">
    398. 

  398.         Feedback from Readers of this Article</a>
    399. 

  399.         </li> 
    400. 

  400.     </ul>
    401. 

  401.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#web">Web Servers</a>
    402. 

  402.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#conclusion">Conclusion</a>
    403. 

  403.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#compare">Linux and NT Server 4.0 at a Glance</a>
    404. 

  404.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#bigguys">What are Major Companies Deploying?</a>
    405. 

  405.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#links">Related Links</a>
    406. 

  406.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/legal.html">Disclaimers and Other Legal Information</a>
    407. 

  407.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#acknowledgments">Acknowledgments</a>
    408. 

  408. </li></ul>
    409. 

  409. 

  410. 

  411. </td><td valign="TOP">
    412. 

  412. 

  413. <h2><a name="highlights">Highlights in this Article</a></h2>
    414. 

  414. 

  415. <ul>
    416. 

  416.     <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#ms-solaris">Why Microsoft uses Solaris instead of NT</a>
    417. 

  417.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#ms-summit">Microsoft admits that NT trails Solaris</a>
    418. 

  418.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#graphs">Graphical comparison of the various operating systems</a>
    419. 

  419.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#stability">Which operating systems do professionals choose when 
    420. 

  420.                              stability is the most important issue?</a>
    421. 

  421.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#win95">A little-known fact about <b>windows95.com</b></a>
    422. 

  422.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#KickAss">UNIX on a single processor PC outperforms a dual processor
    423. 

  423.                            NT machine?</a>
    424. 

  424.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#cisco">Cisco changing from Linux to Windows NT?</a>
    425. 

  425.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#usps">Linux and the United States Postal Service</a>
    426. 

  426.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#web">Web Server software; What do the Royal Family and the 
    427. 

  427.                        FBI have in common?</a> 
    428. 

  428.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#gui">Show me some UNIX, I want to <i>see</i> what it looks like!</a>
    429. 

  429.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.netcraft.com/cgi-bin/Survey/whats">
    430. 

  430.         What is that Site Running?</a>
    431. 

  431.     </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/resources.html">FreeBSD and Linux Resources with 
    432. 

  432.         answers to the following questions:</a>
    433. 

  433.     <ul>
    434. 

  434.         <li>Where can I get Linux/FreeBSD to try this out?
    435. 

  435.         </li><li>Where can I buy a workstation/server with Linux/FreeBSD 
    436. 

  436.         pre-installed?
    437. 

  437.         </li><li>Where can I find a consultant for these operating systems?
    438. 

  438.     </li></ul>
    439. 

  439. </li></ul>
    440. 

  440. 

  441. </td></tr>
    442. 

  442. 

  443. </tbody></table>
    444. 

  444. 

  445. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    446. 

  446. <tbody><tr>
    447. 

  447. <td>
    448. 

  448. <p>
    449. 

  449. 

  450. </p><hr>
    451. 

  451. 

  452. <h2><a name="intro">Introduction</a></h2>
    453. 

  453. 

  454. The choice of server platforms can be difficult for managers who do not
    455. 

  455. have highly specialized training in systems and network administration.
    456. 

  456. In this paper, Microsoft Windows NT Server is compared to UNIX, a large
    457. 

  457. family of commercial and non-commercial operating systems with a common
    458. 

  458. heritage and many similarities.  The main focus of the comparison is on
    459. 

  459. the areas of functionality, reliability, system management, and
    460. 

  460. performance. This paper is about servers, not workstations.  Other
    461. 

  461. factors, such as product pricing, quantity and quality of bundled
    462. 

  462. software, and a section on common misconceptions about both groups of
    463. 

  463. operating systems are presented to provide a more complete view of
    464. 

  464. these products.  The information used in this comparison is derived
    465. 

  465. from a variety of sources: white papers, case studies by third parties,
    466. 

  466. articles from technical periodicals, and observations made by IT
    467. 

  467. professionals who have industry experience in the implementation and
    468. 

  468. administration of both Microsoft Windows NT and various UNIX operating
    469. 

  469. systems.
    470. 

  470. 

  471. <p>This article should be considered a work in progress.  Anyone
    472. 

  472. wishing to contribute to this project is welcome to send me <a href="mailto:feedback@unix-vs-nt.org"><b>e-mail</b></a>.  Please confine your
    473. 

  473. e-mail to <i>constructive</i> comments or criticism.
    474. 

  474. 

  475. </p><hr>
    476. 

  476. 

  477. <h2><a name="os">Operating Systems</a></h2>
    478. 

  478. 

  479. <h3><a name="costs">Product costs and licensing issues</a></h3>
    480. 

  480. 

  481. <p>Most managers will agree that the mere cost of an operating system
    482. 

  482. is trivial when looking at the big picture.  Although Windows NT Server
    483. 

  483. 4.0 can be more expensive than some commercial UNIX operating systems,
    484. 

  484. it can be had for trivial amounts at trade shows.  
    485. 

  485. 

  486. </p><p> 
    487. 

  487. </p><center>
    488. 

  488. <b>Price List for Windows NT Server 4.0 (Source: 
    489. 

  489. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microsoft.com/products/prodref/458_pr_st.htm">Microsoft</a>)</b>
    490. 

  490. </center>
    491. 

  491. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    492. 

  492. 

  493. <center>
    494. 

  494. <table border="2"> 
    495. 

  495. <tbody><tr>
    496. 

  496. <th>Product</th><th>Price (US-$)
    497. 

  497. </th></tr><tr>
    498. 

  498. <td>NT Server 4.0 (5-user version)
    499. 

  499. </td><td align="RIGHT">$809
    500. 

  500. </td></tr><tr>
    501. 

  501. <td>NT Server 4.0 (10-user version)
    502. 

  502. </td><td align="RIGHT">$1,129
    503. 

  503. </td></tr><tr>
    504. 

  504. <td>NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition (25-user version)
    505. 

  505. </td><td align="RIGHT">$3,999
    506. 

  506. </td></tr><tr>
    507. 

  507. <td>NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition (50-user version)
    508. 

  508. </td><td align="RIGHT">$4,799
    509. 

  509. </td></tr><tr>
    510. 

  510. <td>NT Server 4.0 Documentation Kit
    511. 

  511. </td><td align="RIGHT">$69.95
    512. 

  512. </td></tr><tr>
    513. 

  513. <td>20 Quantity Client License
    514. 

  514. </td><td align="RIGHT">$329
    515. 

  515. </td></tr><tr>
    516. 

  516. <td>Single Quantity Client License
    517. 

  517. </td><td align="RIGHT">$19.95
    518. 

  518. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    519. 

  519. </center>
    520. 

  520. <p>
    521. 

  521. 

  522. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    523. 

  523. <tbody><tr>
    524. 

  524. <td>
    525. 

  525. 

  526. Is NT Server really worth its price?  See <b>
    527. 

  527. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/sub6.html">
    528. 

  528. NT Lies: Lie 6 - NT Server is worth more</a></b>. What
    529. 

  529. is not trivial, however, is that a networked operating system in this
    530. 

  530. price range should ship without a telnet server, SMTP server (e-mail), 
    531. 

  531. disk quotas, news server, or at least a DNS server that works to
    532. 

  532. customers' satisfaction (many NT administrators feel compelled to go
    533. 

  533. with third party DNS solutions). In order to match the functionality of
    534. 

  534. a BSDI installation, additional Microsoft products and third-party
    535. 

  535. solutions would bring the final price of a comparable NT solution to
    536. 

  536. around $4,000, according to <b>
    537. 

  537. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bsdi.com/white-papers/compare">BSDI</a></b>. 
    538. 

  538. Maggie Biggs, a senior analyst in the InfoWorld who specializes in
    539. 

  539. database technology and application design, development, and deployment
    540. 

  540. via intranets and other networks, estimates a price of <b>$4,636 for a
    541. 

  541. comparable Windows NT 4.0 solution</b> in her <b>
    542. 

  542. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://currents.net/magazine/national/1524/inet1524.html">
    543. 

  543. article</a></b> which compares NT 4.0 to Red Hat's <i>commercial</i>
    544. 

  544. Linux (for only <b>$49.95</b>).
    545. 

  545. Here one sees that successful marketing can often distract customers
    546. 

  546. from considering their need for functionality.
    547. 

  547. 

  548. <p>NT is often chosen for budget reasons since many customers are not
    549. 

  549. willing to pay for the more expensive hardware required by most
    550. 

  550. commercial flavors of UNIX.  More important, however, is the overall
    551. 

  551. cost of implementation which includes system administration along with
    552. 

  552. several other factors like downtime, telephone support calls, loss of
    553. 

  553. data due to unreliability, etc.  For a more detailed discussion of NT's 
    554. 

  554. hidden costs, see the following 
    555. 

  555. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.informationweek.com/">
    556. 

  556. InformationWeek</a> article:
    557. 

  557. 

  558. </p><blockquote>
    559. 

  559. "Windows NT systems carry lower sticker prices than
    560. 

  560. their Unix counterparts, but ongoing maintenance and
    561. 

  561. support requirements can make them much more costly
    562. 

  562. to run."
    563. 

  563. <p>
    564. 

  564. -- Martin J. Garvey, 
    565. 

  565. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.informationweek.com/692/92iuhid.htm">
    566. 

  566. The Hidden Cost Of NT</a></b>, 
    567. 

  567. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.informationweek.com/">
    568. 

  568. InformationWeek</a>, 20 July 1998.
    569. 

  569. </p></blockquote>
    570. 

  570. 

  571. <p>Tippett Studio, the company
    572. 

  572. responsible for the graphics in <i>Starship Trooper</i>, which received
    573. 

  573. an Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects, uses 130 SGI (
    574. 

  574. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sgi.com/">Silicon Graphics, Inc.</a>) machines running 
    575. 

  575. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sgi.com/origin/products/irix.html">IRIX</a>, SGI's
    576. 

  576. very own UNIX operating system.  Tippett's studio operations manager
    577. 

  577. explains why they use SGI with IRIX instead of an NT solution:	
    578. 

  578. 

  579. </p><blockquote>
    580. 

  580. "'SGIs are cheap for what they do,' says Tippett's Jeff Stringer, the
    581. 

  581. studio's operations manager. 'The cost of maintaining an NT system is
    582. 

  582. pretty high when you think of all the system administrators you have to
    583. 

  583. hire.'"
    584. 

  584. 

  585. <p>"Hiring is an especially big concern for the small studio. Unlike
    586. 

  586. the super-studios, Tippett -- which designed the bugs that threaten
    587. 

  587. humanity in "Starship Troopers" -- is an f/x boutique."
    588. 

  588. 

  589. </p><p>-- Greg Lindsay, 
    590. 

  590. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/article/0,2334,13125,00.html">
    591. 

  591. Oscar Tech</a>, The Netly News, 27 February 1998.
    592. 

  592. </p></blockquote>
    593. 

  593. 

  594. <p>For the most cost-conscious customer, 
    595. 

  595. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a></b>, 
    596. 

  596. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a></b>,
    597. 

  597. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.netbsd.org/">NetBSD</a></b>, or
    598. 

  598. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.openbsd.org/">OpenBSD</a></b>
    599. 

  599. would be the obvious choices. They cost <i>nothing</i>, yet they are
    600. 

  600. just as stable and offer as much functionality as, if not more than,
    601. 

  601. the commercial UNIX operating systems.	
    602. 

  602. 

  603. </p><p>Journalists R. Scott Raynovich and Polly Sprenger at <i>LAN Times</i>
    604. 

  604. indirectly point out the flexibility of the 
    605. 

  605. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a></b> concept 
    606. 

  606. in their recent article on Linux and how 
    607. 

  607. commercial organizations can benefit from it:
    608. 

  608. 

  609. </p><blockquote>
    610. 

  610. " . . . Linux
    611. 

  611. can be downloaded for free over the Internet or obtained
    612. 

  612. inexpensively with support and documentation from a
    613. 

  613. number of commercial vendors. This makes it an
    614. 

  614. attractive product for companies trying to reduce the
    615. 

  615. cost of licensing and managing OSes.
    616. 

  616. 

  617. <p>-- R. Scott Raynovich and Polly Sprenger, 
    618. 

  618. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lantimes.com/98/98aug/808b001a.html?st.ne.fd.mnaw">
    619. 

  619. Linux legitimacy rallies NT skeptics</a></b>,
    620. 

  620. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lantimes.com/">LAN Times</a>,
    621. 

  621. 17 August 1998.
    622. 

  622. </p></blockquote>
    623. 

  623. 

  624. In <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">Software Magazine</a>'s
    625. 

  625. recent cover story on Linux, Ann Harrison points out how even large 
    626. 

  626. companies are finding a cost effective alternative to Microsoft in the
    627. 

  627. deployment of Linux servers:
    628. 

  628. 

  629. <blockquote>
    630. 

  630. "Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for a Southwestern Bell 
    631. 

  631. operation center, notes that
    632. 

  632. because Linux allows his company to do more remote network 
    633. 

  633. administration and software loads
    634. 

  634. than was possible with either Microsoft or NetWare products, it has 
    635. 

  635. driven down their network management costs."
    636. 

  636. <p>-- Ann Harrison, 
    637. 

  637. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremag.com/Sept98/sm098cv.htm">
    638. 

  638. In LINUX We . . .</a></b>, 
    639. 

  639. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">
    640. 

  640. Software Magazine</a>, Cover Story, September 1998.
    641. 

  641. </p></blockquote>
    642. 

  642. 

  643. 

  644. <p>One reader informed me that
    645. 

  645. mentioning Linux would detract from the credibility of this article.  I
    646. 

  646. beg to differ.	The existence of such alliances as mentioned in the
    647. 

  647. article
    648. 

  648. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980402S0013">
    649. 

  649. Andreessen Sees Mozilla-Linux Upset of Windows</a></b> clearly shows
    650. 

  650. that Linux is strengthening its presence in commercial environments. 
    651. 

  651. (For newcomers to this arena, Mozilla is the name of the
    652. 

  652. Netscape/Communicator code and Marc Andreessen is Cofounder and
    653. 

  653. Executive VP of Products at Netscape.)	Also noteworthy is a new
    654. 

  654. alliance between 
    655. 

  655. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/">Sun Microsystems</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.li.org/">Linux International</a>. 
    656. 

  656. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a>: 
    657. 

  657. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/articles/9804211730214.shtml">
    658. 

  658. Sun Joins Linux International</a></b>, 21 May 1998) &nbsp; 
    659. 

  659. Yet another recent development is <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.corel.com/">Corel</a>'s special relationship with
    660. 

  660. Linux:
    661. 

  661. 

  662. </p><blockquote>
    663. 

  663. ". . . <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.corel.com/">Corel</a>, which has already
    664. 

  664. announced plans to build a Linux-based network computer, said it will
    665. 

  665. next month post free Linux-based development tools to its Web site,
    666. 

  666. joining a number of software companies supporting the Linux open source
    667. 

  667. movement."<br>
    668. 

  668. -- Erich Luening, 
    669. 

  669. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,21929,00.html">
    670. 

  670. Corel joins Linux fest</a></b>, 
    671. 

  671. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>, 8 May 1998.
    672. 

  672. </blockquote>  
    673. 

  673. 

  674. <p>The very latest headlines indicate that Linux is well on its way into
    675. 

  675. the major leagues: 
    676. 

  676. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2121004,00.html">
    677. 

  677. Informix, Oracle ready to port to Linux</a></b> 
    678. 

  678. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/">PCWeek Online</a>, 20 July 1998), 
    679. 

  679. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/news/0720/20morac.html">
    680. 

  680. Oracle to port database to Linux</a></b>
    681. 

  681. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/">PCWeek Online</a>, 20 July 1998), 
    682. 

  682. and 
    683. 

  683. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,20863,00.html?st.ne.ni.rel">
    684. 

  684. Netscape: Linux a top priority</a></b> 
    685. 

  685. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>, 7 April 1998).
    686. 

  686. 

  687. </p><p>Historically, large corporations have steered clear of free software
    688. 

  688. due to the unfounded assumption that anything free can't be worthwhile.
    689. 

  689. The recent trend among some corporations is to use these
    690. 

  690. cost-effective operating systems.  Hewlett-Packard used Linux instead
    691. 

  691. of its own HP-UX operating system "to port the Carnegie Mellon Mach
    692. 

  692. kernel to HP
    693. 

  693. PA-RISC in order to use it for their imagery work."  
    694. 

  694. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lj/issue44/2355.html">
    695. 

  695. full story</a>)  &nbsp; Schlumberger chose Linux over SCO for its new point of sale computers. 
    696. 

  696. (<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lj/">
    697. 

  697. Linux Journal</a>, November 1997, Issue 43, pp. 83-4)  It is
    698. 

  698. interesting to note that  <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/">SunWorld
    699. 

  699. On-Line</a></b> gives Linux positive press in one of its articles, <b>
    700. 

  700. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/swol-01-1998/swol-01-linux.html">
    701. 

  701. Linux lines up for the enterprise</a></b>.  
    702. 

  702. 

  703. </p><p>The September 1998  
    704. 

  704. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">Software Magazine</a>
    705. 

  705. cover story reveals just how far Linux has managed to infiltrate 
    706. 

  706. corporate America and how it is not about to go away:  
    707. 

  707. 

  708. </p><blockquote>
    709. 

  709. "Tim Payne, director of
    710. 

  710. database marketing at Oracle, says many of his company's corporate 
    711. 

  711. customers have made large
    712. 

  712. investments in Linux. When Oracle announced in July that it would be 
    713. 

  713. offering 24x7 support for
    714. 

  714. Oracle8 on Linux, he says 300 customers called the next day asking 
    715. 

  715. about availability. 'It's reliable,
    716. 

  716. it's proven, it runs on commodity Intel boxes, and it's a really 
    717. 

  717. low-cost alternative to NT,' says
    718. 

  718. Payne. 'The fact that you are going to be able to get enterprise 
    719. 

  719. quality support from Oracle to deploy on
    720. 

  720. the Linux platform will help customers adopt Linux.'
    721. 

  721. <p>-- Ann Harrison, 
    722. 

  722. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremag.com/Sept98/sm098cv.htm">
    723. 

  723. In LINUX We . . .</a></b>, 
    724. 

  724. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">
    725. 

  725. Software Magazine</a>, Cover Story, September 1998.
    726. 

  726. </p></blockquote>
    727. 

  727. 

  728. 

  729. 

  730. 

  731. 

  732. 

  733. <p>Since these operating
    734. 

  734. systems are free for use even in commercial environments, many ISPs run
    735. 

  735. on Linux or FreeBSD.  NetBSD will run on practically anything: DEC
    736. 

  736. Alpha, Motorola 68k (Amiga, Atari, Mac, MVME, Sharp, Sun3), PowerPC,
    737. 

  737. Intel, DEC VAX, Acorn RISC, MIPS (Sony NEWS, DECstation), etc. 
    738. 

  738. OpenBSD's primary focus is on correctness and security. Linux is the
    739. 

  739. most popular and will run on a wide range hardware:  Sun, Intel, DEC
    740. 

  740. Alpha, PowerPC, PowerMac, etc.	
    741. 

  741. Paul Krill's recent articles in 
    742. 

  742. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a> 
    743. 

  743. (<b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980710.whlinux.htm">
    744. 

  744. Linux picking up steam</a></b> and <b>
    745. 

  745. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980715.ehlinux.htm">
    746. 

  746. Linux supporters rally around freeware OS</a></b>) focus on the ever 
    747. 

  747. increasing support of major vendors and future plans for added 
    748. 

  748. functionality, i.e. support for Intel's 64-bit Merced processor.
    749. 

  749. Currently, Linux is perhaps the fastest
    750. 

  750. growing operating system on the market.  For more information, see <b>
    751. 

  751. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxresources.com/">Linux Resources</a></b> or <b>
    752. 

  752. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat Software</a></b>.
    753. 

  753. 

  754. </p><p>Nicholas Petreley, editor-in-chief of <i>NC World</i> and columnist
    755. 

  755. for <i>InfoWorld</i> and <i>NT World Japan</i> provides an explanation
    756. 

  756. for the rise of Linux and FreeBSD in IT departments:
    757. 

  757. 

  758. </p><blockquote>
    759. 

  759. "Yesterday's college students learned their UNIX expertise on Linux and
    760. 

  760. FreeBSD. Today they're working in IT departments, and many of them are
    761. 

  761. openly hostile to both Microsoft and Windows NT. As a result, Linux,
    762. 

  762. BSD, Solaris, and other forms of UNIX are finding their way into IT
    763. 

  763. departments, both overtly and on the sly. 
    764. 

  764. 

  765. <p>"For example, are you sure that's an NT server you're connecting to
    766. 

  766. at work? IS employees in many corporations have secretly installed UNIX
    767. 

  767. servers that provide native NT services. Why take such a risk? Linux
    768. 

  768. and FreeBSD are free, as is SAMBA, the software that provides NT
    769. 

  769. services. So the IS department saves money. And managers are unlikely
    770. 

  770. to find out UNIX is behind the scenes because fewer people will
    771. 

  771. complain about server downtime. 
    772. 

  772. 

  773. </p><p>"Fewer people will complain because the servers are more stable than
    774. 

  774. Windows NT. Linux, FreeBSD, and BSDI UNIX outperform Windows NT by a
    775. 

  775. wide margin on limited hardware, and under some circumstances can
    776. 

  776. perform as well or better than NT on the best hardware. Once behind in
    777. 

  777. scalability features, UNIX on Intel is catching up and may soon surpass
    778. 

  778. NT in the number of processors it can use, and how it uses them.
    779. 

  779. </p><p>-- Nicholas Petreley, 
    780. 

  780. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/ncw-04-1998/ncw-04-nextten.html">
    781. 

  781. The new UNIX alters NT's orbit: The re-emergence of UNIX threatens to
    782. 

  782. modify the future direction of NT</a>,
    783. 

  783. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/">
    784. 

  784. <i>NC World</i></a>, April 1998.
    785. 

  785. </p></blockquote>
    786. 

  786. 

  787. <p>Even <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.economist.com/">The Economist</a> is now 
    788. 

  788. reporting on the rising popularity of Linux:
    789. 

  789. 

  790. </p><blockquote> 
    791. 

  791. "Oracle, a database firm, is planning to offer Linux versions of some 
    792. 

  792. of its software. . . .  Even without such endorsements, Linux has 
    793. 

  793. achieved a measure of success. In only a few
    794. 

  794. years, the program has evolved from a hacker's toy into software that 
    795. 

  795. is, at least in part,
    796. 

  796. technically superior to Windows NT.
    797. 

  797. <p>-- Stephen Morley, 
    798. 

  798. <b>Revenge of the hackers</b>* 
    799. 

  799. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.economist.com/">The Economist</a>, 
    800. 

  800. July 11th - 17th 1998.<br>
    801. 

  801. * Hyperlink is gone.  Can be purchased from <i>The Economist</i>
    802. 

  802. via their online archive.
    803. 

  803. </p></blockquote>
    804. 

  804. 

  805. <h3><a name="functionality">Functionality</a></h3>
    806. 

  806. 

  807. What can you expect from Windows NT Server out of the box and from UNIX
    808. 

  808. out of the box?  NT can communicate with many different types of
    809. 

  809. computers.  So can UNIX.  NT can secure sensitive data and keep
    810. 

  810. unauthorized users off the network.  So can UNIX. Essentially, both
    811. 

  811. operating systems meet the minimum requirements for operating systems
    812. 

  812. functioning in a networked environment.  Put briefly, UNIX can do
    813. 

  813. anything that NT can do and more.  
    814. 

  814. 

  815. <p>NT is often considered to be a "multi-user" operating system, but
    816. 

  816. this is very misleading.  An NT server will <i>validate</i> an
    817. 

  817. authorized user, but once the user is logged on to the NT network, all
    818. 

  818. he/she can do is access files and printers.  The NT user cannot just
    819. 

  819. run <i>any</i> application on the NT server (in order to take advantage
    820. 

  820. of the superior processing power of server hardware).  An NT user can
    821. 

  821. only run special applications that have been written in two pieces,
    822. 

  822. i.e.  client/server applications.  When a user logs in to a UNIX
    823. 

  823. server, he/she can then run <i>any</i> application (provided the user
    824. 

  824. is authorized to do so), thus taking the processing load off his/her
    825. 

  825. workstation.  This also includes graphics-based applications since
    826. 

  826. X-server software is standard issue on all UNIX operating systems.
    827. 

  827. 

  828. </p><p>For most businesses, e-mail has become an indispensable tool for
    829. 

  829. communication, and most companies run their own internal/external
    830. 

  830. e-mail systems.  With Windows NT, you will have to buy a separate
    831. 

  831. software package in order to set up an e-mail server.  UNIX operating
    832. 

  832. systems come with a program called <b>
    833. 

  833. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sendmail.org/">Sendmail</a></b>.  There are other
    834. 

  834. mail server software packages (or <i>MTAs</i>, Mail Transport Agents)
    835. 

  835. available for UNIX, but this one is the most widely used, and it is
    836. 

  836. free.  Some UNIX administrators feel that 
    837. 

  837. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.exim.org/">exim</a></b> or 
    838. 

  838. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.qmail.org/">qmail</a></b> are better choices
    839. 

  839. since they are not as difficult to configure as sendmail.  Both exim
    840. 

  840. and qmail, like sendmail as well, are free for use even in a commercial
    841. 

  841. environment. 
    842. 

  842. Many NT-based companies use 
    843. 

  843. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/default.asp">
    844. 

  844. Microsoft Exchange Server</a></b>
    845. 

  845. as their MTA.  This is an expensive solution with limited success in an
    846. 

  846. enterprise environment.  <b>Microsoft Exchange Server Enterprise
    847. 

  847. Edition - 25 Client Access Licenses costs $3,549.00.</b>
    848. 

  848. If you have more than 25 employees, the same package with <b>50 Client
    849. 

  849. Access Licenses costs $4,859.00</b> (Source: 
    850. 

  850. <b>
    851. 

  851. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/55/gen/pricing.htm">Microsoft</a></b>)
    852. 

  852. For more information on this topic see  
    853. 

  853. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/sendmail-exchange.html">
    854. 

  854. Microsoft Exchange versus Sendmail: 
    855. 

  855. Views of Other MIS Professionals</a>.
    856. 

  856. 

  857. </p><p>Since Microsoft sees NT as a viable alternative to all other
    858. 

  858. network-capable operating systems on the market, UNIX and Novell
    859. 

  859. included, one would assume that NT would come with all the tools
    860. 

  860. necessary to  accomplish the most basic tasks required: file and
    861. 

  861. printer services.  Any systems/network administrator knows from
    862. 

  862. experience that there are two important issues to be considered when
    863. 

  863. setting up a file server or adding a new network user: security, i.e.
    864. 

  864. passwords and file permissions; and quotas for limiting disk usage of
    865. 

  865. any new or existing users or groups.  Although NT provides basic
    866. 

  866. password security, it only provides file-level security if you choose
    867. 

  867. to use its proprietary filesystem called NTFS.	More important than
    868. 

  868. this issue, however, is that <b>NT does not provide any mechanism for
    869. 

  869. limiting a user's disk usage!</b> UNIX and Novell, on the other hand,
    870. 

  870. provide software for performing this seemingly elementary control. 
    871. 

  871. Microsoft has announced, however, that its not yet released NT Server
    872. 

  872. 5.0 will provide "new storage management features such as disk quotas .
    873. 

  873. . ." (see their press release, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/press/1997/sept97/winnt5pr.htm">
    874. 

  874. Windows NT 5.0 Beta Delivered to Over 200,000 Developers</a>). 
    875. 

  875. 

  876. </p><p>Another disk related design flaw in the Microsoft suite of operating 
    877. 

  877. systems is its antiquated use of "drive letters," i.e. drive C:, drive 
    878. 

  878. D:, etc.  This schema imposes hardware specific limitations on system 
    879. 

  879. administrators and users alike.  This is highly inappropriate for 
    880. 

  880. client/server environments where network shares and file systems are 
    881. 

  881. to represent hierarchies meaningful to humans.  UNIX allows shared 
    882. 

  882. network filesystems to be mounted at any point in a directory structure.
    883. 

  883. A network share can also span multiple disk drives (or even different 
    884. 

  884. machines!) in UNIX, thus 
    885. 

  885. allowing administrators to maintain pre-existing directory structures 
    886. 

  886. that are well-known to users, yet allowing them to expand the available 
    887. 

  887. disk space on the server, making such system changes transparent to
    888. 

  888. users.  This single difference between the UNIX and Windows operating 
    889. 

  889. systems further underscores the original intentions of their respective 
    890. 

  890. designers: UNIX was conceived as a client/server operating system for 
    891. 

  891. professional use, whereas Windows and its descendents sprang from DOS, 
    892. 

  892. an operating system that was never intended to be a player in a 
    893. 

  893. client/server environment, much less a server.  For more detailed
    894. 

  894. information on this topic, see Nicholas Petreley's article 
    895. 

  895. <b>
    896. 

  896. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/np102896.htm">
    897. 

  897. It will take less drive to make most PC operating
    898. 

  898. systems work like Unix</a></b>.
    899. 

  899. 

  900. </p><p>Last but not least, UNIX operating systems are equipped with
    901. 

  901. scripting languages (Bourne Shell, Korn Shell, C Shell, and sometimes
    902. 

  902. Perl, just to name a few) and a "cron" facility for scheduling jobs to
    903. 

  903. run at fixed intervals (every <i>n</i> minutes, every <i>n</i> hours,
    904. 

  904. once a week, once a month, etc.).  Cron scheduling is highly
    905. 

  905. configurable and not just limited to these examples here.  In short,
    906. 

  906. high-level scripting languages + cron = a powerful resource for system
    907. 

  907. administration, the likes of which cannot be found in Microsoft NT
    908. 

  908. Server 4.0.  A great deal of UNIX system administration is automated
    909. 

  909. and customized for site-specific needs through the use of these tools,
    910. 

  910. which in effect cuts down on personnel costs.  As one reader pointed
    911. 

  911. out, NT does have a "Scheduler" and an "at" command, and that Perl is
    912. 

  912. available for NT. Yes, this is true, however, I don't feel that NT's
    913. 

  913. limited cmd.exe scripting environment combined with the "Scheduler" or
    914. 

  914. "at" can even begin to approach the functionality offered by the UNIX
    915. 

  915. tools I've mentioned.  One reader, Neil McKellar, provided an excellent 
    916. 

  916. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/feedback/neil_mckellar.job_scheduling.html">
    917. 

  917. example</a> 
    918. 

  918. which supports this statement.
    919. 

  919. 

  920. </p><p>Running automated tasks is only useful when the
    921. 

  921. scripts/tasks/executables can be run without human intervention.  So
    922. 

  922. much that runs on NT is GUI-based, and thus, requires interaction with
    923. 

  923. a human administrator.	If seen realistically, the types of automated
    924. 

  924. tasks that are being run in most shops are site-specific routines that
    925. 

  925. have to be programmed by system administrators.  Based on my own
    926. 

  926. industry experience, it is a rare site indeed where Perl is installed
    927. 

  927. on NT servers and there is any NT administrator who knows the first
    928. 

  928. thing about Perl.  The driving force behind buying cheap hardware goes
    929. 

  929. hand-in-hand with the hiring practice of selecting the cheapest NT
    930. 

  930. administrators available; after all, it's NT, all you have to do is
    931. 

  931. point and click! 
    932. 

  932. 

  933. </p><p>To summarize, once you logon to an NT network, all you can do is
    934. 

  934. read files and print. In a UNIX environment, once you log in to a UNIX
    935. 

  935. server, you can <i>be</i> on that machine and do anything on it that
    936. 

  936. you could do if you were sitting at its keyboard <i>and mouse!</i>  With
    937. 

  937. NT, don't plan on being able to set up an e-mail server with the
    938. 

  938. software at hand.  You will need to buy expensive mail server software
    939. 

  939. like Microsoft Exchange Server separately.  If your NT server should
    940. 

  940. function as a file server - what else can you do with it really? -
    941. 

  941. don't plan on being able to prevent users from crashing the server by
    942. 

  942. filling up the disk(s) with their data.
    943. 

  943. 

  944. </p><p>Ease of configuration and being able to configure a server without
    945. 

  945. causing downtime is yet another aspect of functionality:
    946. 

  946. 

  947. </p><blockquote>
    948. 

  948. "Some versions of UNIX (Linux, for example) support loadable device
    949. 

  949. modules. This means you can boot Linux and reconfigure its support for
    950. 

  950. hardware and software on the fly. For example, you can boot Linux
    951. 

  951. without support for the SCSI card you have installed. You simply load
    952. 

  952. support for that SCSI card when you need to access one or more of the
    953. 

  953. SCSI-connected devices, such as an optical disk for backup. You can
    954. 

  954. unload the SCSI driver when you're finished. You can also freely load
    955. 

  955. and unload support for sound cards, network cards -- even file systems
    956. 

  956. such as HPFS, FAT, VFAT, and others (an NTFS driver is in the works). 
    957. 

  957. 

  958. <p>"Any UNIX with loadable module support is therefore by nature more
    959. 

  959. appropriate for a server environment because almost all configuration
    960. 

  960. changes do not require system restarts. 
    961. 

  961. 

  962. </p><p>"Windows NT doesn't even come close. Even insignificant changes to a
    963. 

  963. Windows NT configuration require or request a shutdown and reboot in
    964. 

  964. order to make the changes take effect. Change the IP address of your
    965. 

  965. default gateway and you need to reboot. You can't even change the type
    966. 

  966. of modem you use for a dial-up PPP connection without a reboot to
    967. 

  967. update the system. None of these limitations exist in UNIX.
    968. 

  968. </p><p>-- Nicholas Petreley, 
    969. 

  969. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/ncw-04-1998/ncw-04-nextten.html">
    970. 

  970. The new UNIX alters NT's orbit: The re-emergence of UNIX threatens to
    971. 

  971. modify the future direction of NT</a>,
    972. 

  972. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/">
    973. 

  973. <i>NC World</i></a>, April 1998.
    974. 

  974. </p></blockquote>
    975. 

  975. 

  976. <p>When it comes to more sophisticated networking functionality, it
    977. 

  977. seems that Microsoft's NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition can't hold a
    978. 

  978. candle to the more mature commercial UNIX operating systems.  Although
    979. 

  979. not essential to network performance, 64-bit computing is here today
    980. 

  980. with these UNIX operating systems (as opposed to NT's 32-bit operating
    981. 

  981. system).  D.H. Brown Associates Inc. reports the results of their
    982. 

  982. analysis as follows (the following quotation along with the table and
    983. 

  983. the three graphs immediately following the table are excerpts from a
    984. 

  984. Web page on Digital Equipment Corporation's site entitled 
    985. 

  985. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix.digital.com/unix/v4/dhbrown/AIX43.htm">
    986. 

  986. AIX 4.3 Leaps To 64-Bits In Dead Heat With Digital UNIX 4.0</a>):
    987. 

  987. 

  988. 

  989. </p><blockquote>
    990. 

  990. AIX 4.3 takes the lead in Internet/intranet networking features
    991. 

  991. by providing the broadest set of TCP/IP extensions and adding
    992. 

  992. value with a bundled Notes server. Digital UNIX comes in second
    993. 

  993. place with strong network security capabilities, bundling not
    994. 

  994. only Web-browsing capabilities but also Web-authoring tools, with
    995. 

  995. Navigator Gold, and a solid set of TCP/IP extensions. However,
    996. 

  996. Digital UNIX lacks advanced NFS features such as CacheFS and
    997. 

  997. AutoFS. IRIX 6.4 places third, bundling CacheFS and AutoFS, and
    998. 

  998. network security features almost as strong as Digital's. But IRIX
    999. 

  999. lacks network time facilities (NTP) and TCP/IP capabilities such
    1000. 

  1000. as IPv6 and IPSec. Sun follows, with good support for NFS
    1001. 

  1001. functions and the second-place array of TCP/IP extensions.
    1002. 

  1002. However, Sun relies on its own Web server, rather than Netscape, 
    1003. 

  1003. Microsoft or Apache, and lacks authoring tools as well as
    1004. 

  1004. important services such as Novell's NDS directory service. HP
    1005. 

  1005. provides strong Internet support within HP-UX, bolstered by its
    1006. 

  1006. good showing in advanced Internet protocol function and network
    1007. 

  1007. security, while lagging behind in support for advanced NFS
    1008. 

  1008. capability. HP-UX, along with AIX, has also established a lead in
    1009. 

  1009. supporting NDS. While Microsoft NT 4.0 provides Internet/intranet
    1010. 

  1010. support that overall rates as "Good," NT lags behind
    1011. 

  1011. the leading UNIX vendors due to poor support for directory
    1012. 

  1012. services, network security, NFS, and few TCP/IP extensions.
    1013. 

  1013. Microsoft has largely focused adding value to its bundled Web
    1014. 

  1014. server product and to tuning its Java Virtual Machine.
    1015. 

  1015. </blockquote>
    1016. 

  1016. 

  1017. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    1018. 

  1018. 

  1019. <table border="1">
    1020. 

  1020. <tbody><tr><td width="226"></td>
    1021. 

  1021. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">HP-UX
    1022. 

  1022. 11.0</font></center> </td>
    1023. 

  1023. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Solaris
    1024. 

  1024. 2.6</font></center> </td>
    1025. 

  1025. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">AIX
    1026. 

  1026. 4.3</font></center> </td>
    1027. 

  1027. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Irix
    1028. 

  1028. 6.4</font></center> </td>
    1029. 

  1029. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Digital
    1030. 

  1030. UNIX 4.0d</font></center> </td>
    1031. 

  1031. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">NTS
    1032. 

  1032. 4.0/EE</font></center> </td>
    1033. 

  1033. </tr>
    1034. 

  1034. <tr><td width="226"><b><font size="2" color="#000000">Extension</font></b>
    1035. 

  1035. </td>
    1036. 

  1036. <td width="62"></td>
    1037. 

  1037. <td width="62"></td>
    1038. 

  1038. <td width="62"></td>
    1039. 

  1039. <td width="62"> </td>
    1040. 

  1040. <td width="62"></td>
    1041. 

  1041. <td width="62"></td>
    1042. 

  1042. </tr>
    1043. 

  1043. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">IPSec</font></i>
    1044. 

  1044. </td>
    1045. 

  1045. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1046. 

  1046. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1047. 

  1047. </td>
    1048. 

  1048. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1049. 

  1049. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1050. 

  1050. </td>
    1051. 

  1051. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1052. 

  1052. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1053. 

  1053. </td>
    1054. 

  1054. </tr>
    1055. 

  1055. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">IPv6</font></i>
    1056. 

  1056. </td>
    1057. 

  1057. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1058. 

  1058. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1059. 

  1059. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1060. 

  1060. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1061. 

  1061. </td>
    1062. 

  1062. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1063. 

  1063. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1064. 

  1064. </td>
    1065. 

  1065. </tr>
    1066. 

  1066. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">RSVP</font></i>
    1067. 

  1067. </td>
    1068. 

  1068. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1069. 

  1069. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Partial</font></center>
    1070. 

  1070. </td>
    1071. 

  1071. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1072. 

  1072. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1073. 

  1073. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1074. 

  1074. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1075. 

  1075. </td>
    1076. 

  1076. </tr>
    1077. 

  1077. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">IP
    1078. 

  1078. Multiplexing</font></i> </td>
    1079. 

  1079. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1080. 

  1080. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1081. 

  1081. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1082. 

  1082. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1083. 

  1083. </td>
    1084. 

  1084. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1085. 

  1085. </td>
    1086. 

  1086. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1087. 

  1087. </td>
    1088. 

  1088. </tr>
    1089. 

  1089. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">IP
    1090. 

  1090. Multicast</font></i> </td>
    1091. 

  1091. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1092. 

  1092. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1093. 

  1093. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1094. 

  1094. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1095. 

  1095. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1096. 

  1096. <td width="62"><center>Partial</center> </td>
    1097. 

  1097. </tr>
    1098. 

  1098. <tr><td width="226"><b><font size="2" color="#000000">Performance
    1099. 

  1099. Optimizations</font></b> </td>
    1100. 

  1100. <td width="62"></td>
    1101. 

  1101. <td width="62"></td>
    1102. 

  1102. <td width="62"></td>
    1103. 

  1103. <td width="62"> </td>
    1104. 

  1104. <td width="62"></td>
    1105. 

  1105. <td width="62"></td>
    1106. 

  1106. </tr>
    1107. 

  1107. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">Telnet
    1108. 

  1108. in kernel</font></i> </td>
    1109. 

  1109. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1110. 

  1110. </td>
    1111. 

  1111. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1112. 

  1112. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1113. 

  1113. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1114. 

  1114. </td>
    1115. 

  1115. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1116. 

  1116. </td>
    1117. 

  1117. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1118. 

  1118. </td>
    1119. 

  1119. </tr>
    1120. 

  1120. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">Kernel
    1121. 

  1121. Sockets</font></i> </td>
    1122. 

  1122. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1123. 

  1123. </td>
    1124. 

  1124. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1125. 

  1125. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1126. 

  1126. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1127. 

  1127. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1128. 

  1128. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1129. 

  1129. </td>
    1130. 

  1130. </tr>
    1131. 

  1131. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">TCP
    1132. 

  1132. Large Windows</font></i> </td>
    1133. 

  1133. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1134. 

  1134. </td>
    1135. 

  1135. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1136. 

  1136. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1137. 

  1137. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1138. 

  1138. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1139. 

  1139. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1140. 

  1140. </td>
    1141. 

  1141. </tr>
    1142. 

  1142. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">Zero
    1143. 

  1143. Copy TCP/Hardware Checksum</font></i> </td>
    1144. 

  1144. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1145. 

  1145. </td>
    1146. 

  1146. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1147. 

  1147. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1148. 

  1148. </td>
    1149. 

  1149. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1150. 

  1150. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1151. 

  1151. </td>
    1152. 

  1152. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1153. 

  1153. </td>
    1154. 

  1154. </tr>
    1155. 

  1155. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">Path
    1156. 

  1156. MTU Discovery</font></i> </td>
    1157. 

  1157. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1158. 

  1158. </td>
    1159. 

  1159. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1160. 

  1160. </td>
    1161. 

  1161. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1162. 

  1162. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1163. 

  1163. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1164. 

  1164. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1165. 

  1165. </td>
    1166. 

  1166. </tr>
    1167. 

  1167. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">OpenShortestPathFirst
    1168. 

  1168. (OSPF)</font></i> </td>
    1169. 

  1169. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1170. 

  1170. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1171. 

  1171. </td>
    1172. 

  1172. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1173. 

  1173. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1174. 

  1174. </td>
    1175. 

  1175. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1176. 

  1176. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1177. 

  1177. </tr>
    1178. 

  1178. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">RTP:
    1179. 

  1179. Real Time Protocol</font></i> </td>
    1180. 

  1180. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1181. 

  1181. </td>
    1182. 

  1182. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1183. 

  1183. </td>
    1184. 

  1184. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1185. 

  1185. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1186. 

  1186. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1187. 

  1187. </td>
    1188. 

  1188. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1189. 

  1189. </td>
    1190. 

  1190. </tr>
    1191. 

  1191. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">RTCP:
    1192. 

  1192. Real Time Control Protocol</font></i> </td>
    1193. 

  1193. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1194. 

  1194. </td>
    1195. 

  1195. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1196. 

  1196. </td>
    1197. 

  1197. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1198. 

  1198. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1199. 

  1199. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1200. 

  1200. </td>
    1201. 

  1201. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1202. 

  1202. </td>
    1203. 

  1203. </tr>
    1204. 

  1204. <tr><td width="226"><i><font size="2" color="#000000">Parallelized
    1205. 

  1205. TCP/IP</font></i> </td>
    1206. 

  1206. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Yes</font></center>
    1207. 

  1207. </td>
    1208. 

  1208. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">Yes</font></center>
    1209. 

  1209. </td>
    1210. 

  1210. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1211. 

  1211. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center> </td>
    1212. 

  1212. <td width="62"><center>Yes</center></td>
    1213. 

  1213. <td width="62"><center><font size="2" color="#000000">No</font></center>
    1214. 

  1214. </td>
    1215. 

  1215. </tr>
    1216. 

  1216. </tbody></table>
    1217. 

  1217. 

  1218. </p><p>
    1219. 

  1219. 

  1220. </p><h3><a name="graphs">INTERNET/INTRANET NETWORKING FEATURES</a></h3>
    1221. 

  1221. <p><img src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/AIX43_f.gif" alt="Networking Features Graph">
    1222. 

  1222. 

  1223. </p><h3>RELIABILITY AND SCALABILITY</h3>
    1224. 

  1224. <p><img src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/AIX43_h.gif" alt="Reliability and Scalability Graph">
    1225. 

  1225. 

  1226. </p><h3>SYSTEM MANAGEMENT</h3>
    1227. 

  1227. <p><img src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/AIX43_j.gif" alt="System Management Graph">
    1228. 

  1228. 

  1229. </p><p>Copyright Digital Equipment Corporation 1995-1998. All Rights Reserved.
    1230. 

  1230. 

  1231. </p><p>
    1232. 

  1232. 

  1233. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    1234. 

  1234. <tbody><tr>
    1235. 

  1235. <td>
    1236. 

  1236. 

  1237. <p>See also D. H. Brown's 
    1238. 

  1238. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.dhbrown.com/pdfs/osscorecard.html">
    1239. 

  1239. Operating System Scorecard page</a></b> for other graphical comparisons
    1240. 

  1240. of the operating systems compared above.
    1241. 

  1241. 

  1242. 

  1243. </p><hr>
    1244. 

  1244. 

  1245. <h3><a name="reliability">Reliability</a></h3>
    1246. 

  1246. 

  1247. <p>In today's world, reliability is often more important than speed. 
    1248. 

  1248. Although performance is largely a function of hardware platform (see
    1249. 

  1249. the next section), it is in the area of <i>reliability</i> that the
    1250. 

  1250. choice of operating systems has the most influence.  Even if one
    1251. 

  1251. operating system offers more functionality, is more scalable, and
    1252. 

  1252. offers greater ease of system management, what good are these
    1253. 

  1253. advantages when a server processing real-time financial transactions is
    1254. 

  1254. plagued by frequent crashes resulting in unacceptable downtimes?  The
    1255. 

  1255. analogy of a fast, economical automobile with lots of gadgets, and
    1256. 

  1256. sporty appearance that frequently stalls in traffic despite repeated
    1257. 

  1257. visits to the authorized service center is actually quite
    1258. 

  1258. representative of Windows NT.
    1259. 

  1259. 

  1260. </p><p>
    1261. 

  1261. <a name="stability">One often hears about Windows NT Server</a>
    1262. 

  1262. being referred to as a "stable" operating system, but this is not
    1263. 

  1263. entirely accurate.  Were it so, then we wouldn't be reading articles
    1264. 

  1264. like <b>
    1265. 

  1265. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/sub5.html">
    1266. 

  1266. NT Lies: Lie 5 - NT is robust and crash-proof</a></b>, <b> 
    1267. 

  1267. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.gcn.com/gcn/1998/July13/cov2.htm">
    1268. 

  1268. Software glitches leave Navy Smart Ship dead in the water</a></b> 
    1269. 

  1269. (Gregory Slabodkin, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.gcn.com/">
    1270. 

  1270. Government Computer News</a>, 7-13-98), 
    1271. 

  1271. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/opinion/0330/30coff.html">
    1272. 

  1272. Corporate IT needs an engine that never quits</a></b> (Peter Coffee, PC Week 3-30-98) or <b>
    1273. 

  1273. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/opinion/0413/13coff.html">
    1274. 

  1274. We do not have a failure to communicate</a></b> (Peter Coffee, PC Week
    1275. 

  1275. 04-13-98). 
    1276. 

  1276. When the author of these last two articles posed the question,
    1277. 

  1277. "What do you use when failure is not an option?" he was bombarded by
    1278. 

  1278. "three times the usual number of vigorous e-mail replies."  Concerning
    1279. 

  1279. these replies he states:
    1280. 

  1280. 

  1281. </p><blockquote>
    1282. 

  1282. "Notably, I did not get a single message from anyone who took the
    1283. 

  1283. position that Windows NT was good enough. Quite the opposite: Several
    1284. 

  1284. messages expressed a resigned expectation that Windows NT 5.0 would
    1285. 

  1285. stagger out the door, burdened with immature add-on services but
    1286. 

  1286. without achieving corporate-class reliability in its basic functions.
    1287. 

  1287. 

  1288. <p>"I heard from one reader who said that at his site, Linux on a 486
    1289. 

  1289. is outperforming Windows NT on a 200MHz Pentium, and he has Linux
    1290. 

  1290. machines that have been running without interruption since before
    1291. 

  1291. Windows NT 4.0 was released.
    1292. 

  1292. 

  1293. </p><p>"I also heard from enterprise-class sites where Linux is considered
    1294. 

  1294. a proven choice, with source-code accessibility outweighing the dubious
    1295. 

  1295. advantage of more traditional vendor support. What others promise
    1296. 

  1296. someday, Linux gives many users now--at a bargain price.
    1297. 

  1297. 

  1298. </p><p>-- Peter Coffee, 
    1299. 

  1299. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/opinion/0413/13coff.html">
    1300. 

  1300. We do not have a failure to communicate</a>, 
    1301. 

  1301. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/"> 
    1302. 

  1302. PC Week</a>, 4-13-98.
    1303. 

  1303. </p></blockquote>
    1304. 

  1304. 

  1305. <a name="ms-summit">Indeed,</a> Windows NT is a great improvement over Windows 3.1 or Windows
    1306. 

  1306. 95, but it still has a long way to go before it can reach the level of
    1307. 

  1307. stability offered by even the 
    1308. 

  1308. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">
    1309. 

  1309. Open Source</a></b> (free) UNIX operating systems.  When
    1310. 

  1310. pitted against Sun Microsystems's Solaris, there's really no comparison
    1311. 

  1311. at all.  At the recent Microsoft Global Summit, 
    1312. 

  1312. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.crn.com/">Computer Reseller News</a> journalists
    1313. 

  1313. Barbara Darrow and Stuart Glascock interviewed some of the attendees:
    1314. 

  1314. 

  1315. <blockquote>
    1316. 

  1316. "We have a
    1317. 

  1317. Solaris box that hasn't been rebooted in two years," said
    1318. 

  1318. James Domengeaux, president of Comspace.Com, a
    1319. 

  1319. Houston-based Web reseller. In comparison, NT servers
    1320. 

  1320. are rebooted often, he said. "That's a problem especially in
    1321. 

  1321. e-commerce if you're talking transactions per second,
    1322. 

  1322. because how many orders do you miss?" he said.
    1323. 

  1323. 

  1324. <p>-- Barbara Darrow and Stuart Glascock,
    1325. 

  1325. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980728S0004">
    1326. 

  1326. Microsoft Admits NT Trails Solaris</a></b>,
    1327. 

  1327. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.crn.com/">Computer Reseller News</a>,
    1328. 

  1328. 28 July 1998.
    1329. 

  1329. </p></blockquote> 
    1330. 

  1330. 	
    1331. 

  1331. <p>Windows NT's lack of stability is a known issue yet managers tend to
    1332. 

  1332. deal with it in discrete ways, reports one IT professional:
    1333. 

  1333. 

  1334. </p><blockquote>
    1335. 

  1335. "'I know three companies that are silently putting more and more into
    1336. 

  1336. UNIX . . . at the expense of NT, simply because NT falls over too
    1337. 

  1337. often,' says Peter Flynn, a consultant in Cork, Ireland. NT is known to
    1338. 

  1338. crash too frequently for many IT manager's tastes. Typical causes are
    1339. 

  1339. memory access violations and I/O errors. 
    1340. 

  1340. 

  1341. <p>"These companies aren't inclined to talk about their decisions
    1342. 

  1342. 'because of pressure from upstairs,' Flynn says. 'The
    1343. 

  1343. buy-Microsoft-only ethos has taken over from the buy-IBM-only, and
    1344. 

  1344. managers who decided [against advice from technology people] to use NT
    1345. 

  1345. rather than UNIX are now unwilling to lose face,' he adds.
    1346. 

  1346. </p><p>-- Mark Gibbs, 
    1347. 

  1347. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nwfusion.com/intranet/0330linux.html">
    1348. 

  1348. Lookin' into Linux</a>, 
    1349. 

  1349. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nwfusion.com/">Network World</a>, March 30, 1998.
    1350. 

  1350. </p></blockquote>
    1351. 

  1351. 

  1352. 

  1353. <p>Any IS professional who has worked in a Windows NT environment has
    1354. 

  1354. intimate knowledge of the infamous "Blue Screen of Death," a situation
    1355. 

  1355. in which the normal desktop windowing system disappears completely and
    1356. 

  1356. is replaced by a full screen of hexadecimal numbers on a blue
    1357. 

  1357. background.  The <i>only</i> method of recovery in this situation is
    1358. 

  1358. powering the machine off and rebooting.  What causes "blue screens" in
    1359. 

  1359. NT varies.  In my own experience, the following can induce this state
    1360. 

  1360. of failure:
    1361. 

  1361. 

  1362. </p><ul>
    1363. 

  1363. <li>When both IPX/SPX and TCP/IP protocols are used and technicians put
    1364. 

  1364. a machine with a static IP address on a different subnet;
    1365. 

  1365. </li><li>When some 16-bit Visual Basic applications are <i>not</i> being run
    1366. 

  1366. in "separate memory space."  NT does not run them in separate memory
    1367. 

  1367. space by default.  This is a <i>manual</i> configuration which should
    1368. 

  1368. be set for each and every 16-bit application on the machine;
    1369. 

  1369. </li><li>Certain brands of memory modules or cache will induce this, even
    1370. 

  1370. though the same hardware runs fine under other operating systems, such
    1371. 

  1371. as Windows 95.
    1372. 

  1372. </li></ul>
    1373. 

  1373. 

  1374. <p>In some situations, Linux too will complain about its hardware.  I 
    1375. 

  1375. personally have not experienced this despite having installed Linux on 
    1376. 

  1376. a wide variety of hardware, but it may happen.  It appears to happen 
    1377. 

  1377. mainly when one is compiling the kernel on a machine with bad memory. 
    1378. 

  1378. For more information see 
    1379. 

  1379. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/">Signal 11</a>. 
    1380. 

  1380. The above list is by no means complete.  As a matter of fact, Tim
    1381. 

  1381. Newsham, a software developer for both Windows and UNIX platforms,
    1382. 

  1382. found this short list very misleading:
    1383. 

  1383. 

  1384. </p><blockquote>
    1385. 

  1385. In the BSOD section you mention a few ways that a BSOD can be caused.
    1386. 

  1386. I think this (small) list is misleading to the reader.  There are
    1387. 

  1387. <i>so</i> many ways that an NT system can crash, that by listing a
    1388. 

  1388. small number you are likely to give the wrong impression.  More
    1389. 

  1389. dangerous yet is the fact that your cases mostly involve a person who
    1390. 

  1390. is on the console doing something BAD to cause a crash.  Many of the
    1391. 

  1391. ways to crash an NT system happen inadvertently in the day-to-day
    1392. 

  1392. operation of the system (indeed, leaving the system on too long while
    1393. 

  1393. running a myriad of applications can cause bizarre crashes with little
    1394. 

  1394. clue to their cause).  Additionally malicious users can trigger crashes
    1395. 

  1395. due to shoddy implementation in software modules such as the login
    1396. 

  1396. program (LSA) or the tcp/ip stack.
    1397. 

  1397. 

  1398. </blockquote>
    1399. 

  1399. 

  1400. The "Blue Screen of Death" can be commonplace in some computing
    1401. 

  1401. environments and is often difficult to troubleshoot due to the either
    1402. 

  1402. cryptic or non-existent error reporting.  In addition to this, NT is
    1403. 

  1403. particularly prone to virus attacks on the Intel-based hardware.  For
    1404. 

  1404. operating systems on Intel hardware that must be booted from a hard
    1405. 

  1405. drive, i.e. NT Server, the Master Boot Record of a hard drive can be
    1406. 

  1406. the death of the operating system.  Linux, along with several other
    1407. 

  1407. UNIX operating systems that run on Intel-based hardware, can load a
    1408. 

  1408. compressed kernel from a boot floppy, thus avoiding this problem. What
    1409. 

  1409. this means is, an NT Server can theoretically be crashed by a virus
    1410. 

  1410. written 10 years ago for MS-DOS computers.  Anyone planning to deploy
    1411. 

  1411. an NT Server in a mission critical environment should consider this
    1412. 

  1412. fact.  I personally have encountered MBR viruses in a corporate
    1413. 

  1413. environment running Windows NT 4.0 (no Windows 95 clients!), and their
    1414. 

  1414. effects are devastating.  In addition to this, most viruses that would
    1415. 

  1415. incapacitate a Windows operating system don't have an effect on UNIX
    1416. 

  1416. operating systems since they often require the MS Windows environment
    1417. 

  1417. to do their damage.
    1418. 

  1418. 

  1419. <p>One real-life situation involving NT's reliability is reported by
    1420. 

  1420. the University of Nebraska Press's Information Systems Department
    1421. 

  1421. manager, Quinn P. Coldiron, who writes,
    1422. 

  1422. 

  1423. </p><blockquote>
    1424. 

  1424. Life after moving Cats [an order fulfillment and inventory system] to
    1425. 

  1425. NT was a nightmare. The system was crashing two to three times a day
    1426. 

  1426. with no reason that I could find. I was on the phone with Microsoft and
    1427. 

  1427. Cats constantly, but nobody could figure it out. Microsoft had me apply
    1428. 

  1428. Service Packs one through three and a few HotFixes, which helped, but
    1429. 

  1429. it still was crashing at least twice a week with the infamous "Blue
    1430. 

  1430. Screen of Death". After many weeks and about $1500.00 in phone support
    1431. 

  1431. from Microsoft, the technical support rep told me that I should find a
    1432. 

  1432. better software package than The Cat's Pajamas. This was not the
    1433. 

  1433. solution I was looking for, since this is the package that a sizeable
    1434. 

  1434. percentage of presses our size nationwide are running, so I was forced
    1435. 

  1435. to bring the old Novell server back into production until I could
    1436. 

  1436. figure something out. . . . Fourteen months later, we are running Linux
    1437. 

  1437. as our server.
    1438. 

  1438. </blockquote>
    1439. 

  1439. 

  1440. 

  1441. <p>The UNIX equivalent of the "Blue Screen of Death" would be called
    1442. 

  1442. "kernel panic."  It obviously exists, since I have heard and read about
    1443. 

  1443. it, but I've never been witness to it in my professional career. 
    1444. 

  1444. Although I am sure that UNIX servers do crash on occasion, these are
    1445. 

  1445. extremely rare events.	If and when a UNIX server crashes, it is almost
    1446. 

  1446. always due to a hardware failure of some sort.	Any software induced
    1447. 

  1447. problems in a UNIX environment generally make themselves known over a
    1448. 

  1448. period of time, sometimes in the form of overall gradual performance
    1449. 

  1449. degradation of the system, giving the administrator ample time to track
    1450. 

  1450. down the source of the problem, correct it, and stop/restart the
    1451. 

  1451. <i>process</i> (very rarely the entire machine!) causing the problem. 
    1452. 

  1452. In general, a UNIX server is halted only in the following situations:
    1453. 

  1453. 

  1454. </p><ul>
    1455. 

  1455. <li>Due to a hardware failure, for instance, a hard drive fails;
    1456. 

  1456. </li><li>A hardware upgrade needs to be performed;
    1457. 

  1457. </li><li>A lengthy power outage has occurred and the backup power supply
    1458. 

  1458. resources have been exhausted;
    1459. 

  1459. </li><li>The kernel is being upgraded.
    1460. 

  1460. </li><li>A beta kernel is being tested (not recommended for production 
    1461. 

  1461. environments).
    1462. 

  1462. </li></ul>
    1463. 

  1463. 

  1464. If none of the above the above occurs, then a UNIX system's uptime can
    1465. 

  1465. be measured in years.  NT, however, cannot boast of such periods of
    1466. 

  1466. uninterrupted service.	Even if one could eliminate the "Blue Screen of
    1467. 

  1467. Death," NT is hampered by its own design and use of
    1468. 

  1468. difficult-to-recreate proprietary binary configuration files, for
    1469. 

  1469. instance, the NT registry.  Read about a 
    1470. 

  1470. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/massive-nt-failure.html">
    1471. 

  1471. massive NT failure</a> that
    1472. 

  1472. lead to over 10,000 NT machines being rendered useless for any task
    1473. 

  1473. requiring network resources.
    1474. 

  1474. 

  1475. <hr>
    1476. 

  1476. 

  1477. <h3><a name="management">System Management</a></h3>
    1478. 

  1478. 

  1479. <p>The argument that Windows NT is easier to manage due to its GUI
    1480. 

  1480. (point-and-click graphical user interface) is unfounded.  The
    1481. 

  1481. advantage, if any, of GUI over CLI (command line interface, i.e. having
    1482. 

  1482. manually to type commands from a keyboard) is questionable.  The first
    1483. 

  1483. assumption is that Windows NT has an advantage over UNIX because of its
    1484. 

  1484. GUI.  This is wrong.  UNIX operating systems have a GUI as well (see
    1485. 

  1485. this 
    1486. 

  1486. <b>
    1487. 

  1487. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://citv.unl.edu/linux/LinuxPresentation.html#Ease of administration">graphic example</a></b>). 
    1488. 

  1488. 

  1489. </p><blockquote>
    1490. 

  1490. "NT has long enjoyed an intuitive user interface for managing single
    1491. 

  1491. systems, largely benefiting from the exceptional familiarity of the
    1492. 

  1492. Windows look-and-feel adopted by the NT GUI. However, as users begin to
    1493. 

  1493. deploy large numbers of servers, and geographically-dispersed servers,
    1494. 

  1494. some of NT's architectural shortcomings for system management have
    1495. 

  1495. become more apparent, deriving primarily from its design as a
    1496. 

  1496. single-user system. The multi-user design of UNIX supports remote
    1497. 

  1497. access at multiple levels, including the ability to login with a
    1498. 

  1498. character session, via telnet, to edit configuration files, running GUI
    1499. 

  1499. tools over the network-enabled X Window System, and now through Java
    1500. 

  1500. versions of system management tools. NT currently enjoys none of these
    1501. 

  1501. features. Rather, remote NT management typically involves either
    1502. 

  1502. installing a local expert which Microsoft hopes will be easier due to
    1503. 

  1503. NT's larger volumes and similarity to mainstream Windows versions or
    1504. 

  1504. relying on layered system management products from Microsoft or third
    1505. 

  1505. parties. Neither option, though, quite matches the efficiency of
    1506. 

  1506. managing distributed UNIX systems."<br>
    1507. 

  1507. -- Quoted from: 
    1508. 

  1508. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix.digital.com/unix/v4/dhbrown/AIX43.htm">
    1509. 

  1509. An In-Depth Analysis of Five Commercial UNIX Operating Systems and
    1510. 

  1510. Windows NT Server 4.0 (Enterprise Edition) by D.H. Brown Associates,
    1511. 

  1511. Inc.</a>
    1512. 

  1512. </blockquote>
    1513. 

  1513. 

  1514. <p>See also: <b> 
    1515. 

  1515. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/sub9.html">
    1516. 

  1516. NT Lies: Lie 9 - Zero administration is here.</a></b>
    1517. 

  1517. 

  1518. </p><hr>
    1519. 

  1519. 

  1520. <h3><a name="performance">Performance</a></h3>
    1521. 

  1521. 

  1522. <p>Processing power is largely a function of computer hardware rather
    1523. 

  1523. than of operating system.  Since most commercial UNIX operating systems
    1524. 

  1524. run only on high-end workstations or servers, it would be ridiculous to
    1525. 

  1525. compare an 
    1526. 

  1526. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/hardware/largescale/index.html">
    1527. 

  1527. IBM SP2</a>, 
    1528. 

  1528. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/servers/ultra_enterprise/10000/spec.html">
    1529. 

  1529. Sun Enterprise 10000</a>, or a
    1530. 

  1530. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/servers/enterprise/450/;$sessionid$DSWFMQYAABX5HAMW0JZE45UBS1JHEUDO">
    1531. 

  1531. Sun Enterprise 450</a>
    1532. 

  1532. to anything Compaq or Dell produces.  UNIX has
    1533. 

  1533. been historically an operating system for high-end hardware.  To say
    1534. 

  1534. that UNIX outperforms NT based on the results of differing hardware
    1535. 

  1535. would be unfair to Microsoft.  On the other hand, Microsoft has
    1536. 

  1536. reduced, rather than increased, the number of hardware architectures it
    1537. 

  1537. supports.  NT for MIPS has been discontinued due to lack of customers
    1538. 

  1538. and PowerPC support is only marginal.  NT, now reduced to only x86 and
    1539. 

  1539. Alpha architectures will remain "a poor man's server" as it is commonly
    1540. 

  1540. referred to in the IT business.
    1541. 

  1541. 

  1542. </p><p>NT's lack of reliability is only surpassed by its lack of
    1543. 

  1543. scalability.  The superior scalability achieved by the commercial UNIX
    1544. 

  1544. operating systems on their respective hardware is the reason why large
    1545. 

  1545. corporations with high capacity computing needs cannot switch to NT
    1546. 

  1546. even if they wanted to. Mary Hubley, Research Director with the <b>
    1547. 

  1547. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.gartner.com/">GartnerGroup</a></b>, mentions in her article <b>
    1548. 

  1548. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.gartner.com/public/static/datapro/industry/indnews6.html">
    1549. 

  1549. NT and UNIX: Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object</a></b> (January
    1550. 

  1550. 1998) that  the public's overly positive perception of NT's
    1551. 

  1551. capabilities is based mainly on marketing hype:
    1552. 

  1552. 

  1553. </p><blockquote>
    1554. 

  1554. "Many people believe that NT is easier to use than it actually is,
    1555. 

  1555. scales better than it does, and is powerful enough to do what UNIX can
    1556. 

  1556. do. But most of this perception is due to great marketing by Microsoft,
    1557. 

  1557. and is not reality.
    1558. 

  1558. </blockquote>
    1559. 

  1559. 

  1560. If high performance Windows file sharing is of utmost importance,
    1561. 

  1561. then one should consider choosing a server configuration that has
    1562. 

  1562. broken the world speed record for such services, an SGI machine
    1563. 

  1563. running IRIX:
    1564. 

  1564. 

  1565. <blockquote>
    1566. 

  1566. "Samba 2.0 has been benchmarked using the Ziff-Davis NetBench (R)
    1567. 

  1567. benchmarking suite, as the world's fastest Windows server, achieving
    1568. 

  1568. 193 megabits per second file serving performance on a Silicon Graphics
    1569. 

  1569. (R) Origin 200 (R) server with 60 Windows clients."
    1570. 

  1570. 

  1571. <p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://lwn.net/1999/0121/samba.html">
    1572. 

  1572. Samba Team Releases Samba 2.0: 
    1573. 

  1573. World's Fastest Windows Server Software</a></b> as
    1574. 

  1574. sent out on Sat, 16 Jan 1999 16:08:38 +1100 to recipients on the
    1575. 

  1575. Samba Announcement Mailing List (samba-announce@samba.org) with
    1576. 

  1576. the HTML version hosted courtesy of
    1577. 

  1577. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://lwn.net/">Linux Weekly News</a></b>.
    1578. 

  1578. </p></blockquote>
    1579. 

  1579. 

  1580. This announcement also reveals one <i>very</i> important fact regarding
    1581. 

  1581. the interoperability with Windows NT domains:
    1582. 

  1582. 

  1583. <blockquote>
    1584. 

  1584. "Samba 2.0 features the first non-Microsoft implementation of the 
    1585. 

  1585. Windows NT Domain authentication protocols, allowing a Samba 2.0
    1586. 

  1586. server to be seamlessly integrated into an existing Windows NT Domain."
    1587. 

  1587. </blockquote>
    1588. 

  1588. 

  1589. <p>For even more information, try visiting one of the many
    1590. 

  1590. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://samba.org/">Samba Web sites</a> located in 20
    1591. 

  1591. different countries. 
    1592. 

  1592. 

  1593. </p><p>Ann Harrison's article provides an excellent testimonial from 
    1594. 

  1594. Southwestern Bell regarding how Linux outperforms NT:
    1595. 

  1595. 

  1596. </p><blockquote>
    1597. 

  1597. "Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for a Southwestern Bell 
    1598. 

  1598. operation center, . . . 
    1599. 

  1599. adds that his company is thinking about replacing 
    1600. 

  1600. their NT network server
    1601. 

  1601. with Linux. 'Our preliminary tests show that the Linux solution is
    1602. 

  1602. outrunning the NT solution,'
    1603. 

  1603. says Kessell. 'It's much faster.'
    1604. 

  1604. <p>-- Ann Harrison, 
    1605. 

  1605. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremag.com/Sept98/sm098cv.htm">
    1606. 

  1606. In LINUX We . . .</a></b>, 
    1607. 

  1607. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">
    1608. 

  1608. Software Magazine</a>, Cover Story, September 1998.
    1609. 

  1609. </p></blockquote>
    1610. 

  1610. 

  1611. <p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ugraf.com/">European MikroGraf Corporation</a>
    1612. 

  1612. has published the results of their own 
    1613. 

  1613. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ugraf.com/unix-nt/jt/unix-nt.nob.html">UNIX vs
    1614. 

  1614. NT</a></b> performance comparison and explains why:
    1615. 

  1615. 

  1616. </p><blockquote>
    1617. 

  1617. "Several times a month, customers in the printing and prepress industry
    1618. 

  1618. ask us what server platform they should use: Unix or
    1619. 

  1619. Windows NT. Windows NT might be acceptable for day-to-day operations in
    1620. 

  1620. the average business, but does not handle the loads that
    1621. 

  1621. publishers typically put on servers.
    1622. 

  1622. </blockquote>
    1623. 

  1623. 

  1624. <p>The interesting thing about MikroGraf's 
    1625. 

  1625. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ugraf.com/unix-nt/jt/unix-nt.nob.html">
    1626. 

  1626. UNIX vs NT comparison</a> is that the same hardware was used in two of
    1627. 

  1627. the four tests, a Digital Model 2100: once with Digital UNIX as the
    1628. 

  1628. operating system, and again with Windows NT on the same hardware.
    1629. 

  1629. 

  1630. </p><p>To be fair, one should compare NT Server's performance to that of
    1631. 

  1631. Linux or FreeBSD, since all three operating systems run on the same
    1632. 

  1632. hardware, Intel, the hardware-type most often used with NT. 
    1633. 

  1633. Unfortunately, a truly objective analysis of performance would have to
    1634. 

  1634. based on benchmarks, but these are not plentiful and usually only focus
    1635. 

  1635. on specific areas like Web performance: 
    1636. 

  1636. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.calderasystems.com/news/features/971222.keylabs.html">
    1637. 

  1637. Caldera OpenLinux vs. Windows NT: WebBench Performance Test</a>.  The
    1638. 

  1638. general consensus among IT professionals is, however, that Linux and
    1639. 

  1639. FreeBSD greatly outperform NT.	Considering that these UNIX kernels are
    1640. 

  1640. custom-compiled to contain only the software actually required by the
    1641. 

  1641. administrator, Linux and FreeBSD can function more efficiently than NT.
    1642. 

  1642. Inherently, any operating system requiring fewer resources will
    1643. 

  1643. outperform a more <i>bloated</i> operating system like NT.  UNIX does
    1644. 

  1644. not require a graphical user interface to function.  NT does.  Anyone
    1645. 

  1645. knows that graphics require incredible amounts of disk space and
    1646. 

  1646. memory.  The same holds true for sound files, which seem to be so
    1647. 

  1647. important to the Microsoft operating systems. 
    1648. 

  1648. 

  1649. </p><p>Benchmarks performed on similar UNIX operating systems using the
    1650. 

  1650. same hardware are more meaningful.  
    1651. 

  1651. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.tdl.com/~netex/mb/mb.html">Net Express</a>, an
    1652. 

  1652. Internet retailer of x86-based hardware, whose systems are "designed
    1653. 

  1653. for scientists, engineers and the telecommunications industry," shows
    1654. 

  1654. what results can be achieved with the proper operating system:
    1655. 

  1655. 

  1656. </p><blockquote>
    1657. 

  1657. 

  1658. <hr>
    1659. 

  1659. 

  1660. <h4><font size="-1">Byte UNIX Benchmark 3.2 for OS Comparison:</font></h4>
    1661. 

  1661. 

  1662. <p><font size="-1">In addition we are presenting these Byte UNIX
    1663. 

  1663. Benchmark 3.2 results for comparing the relative speeds of three
    1664. 

  1664. popular UNIX/UNIX-Clone OS's. Tests were conducted on Pentium 133MHz
    1665. 

  1665. machines with 32MB's of RAM, the Triton-II 430HX chip set and a
    1666. 

  1666. BusLogic SCSI controller: </font><br>
    1667. 

  1667. </p></blockquote>
    1668. 

  1668. 

  1669. </td></tr></tbody></table>
    1670. 

  1670. 

  1671. <table border="1">
    1672. 

  1672. <tbody><tr>
    1673. 

  1673. <th align="left" bgcolor="#0000FF"><b><font color="#FFFFFF">System</font></b></th>
    1674. 

  1674. 

  1675. <th bgcolor="#0000FF"><b><font color="#FFFFFF">Bytemarks</font></b></th>
    1676. 

  1676. </tr>
    1677. 

  1677. 

  1678. <tr>
    1679. 

  1679. <td><font size="-1">Linux on a Pentium 133MHz </font></td>
    1680. 

  1680. 

  1681. <td align="center"><font size="-1">12.2</font></td>
    1682. 

  1682. </tr>
    1683. 

  1683. 

  1684. <tr>
    1685. 

  1685. <td><font size="-1">BSD on a Pentium 133MHz </font></td>
    1686. 

  1686. 

  1687. <td align="center"><font size="-1">9.8</font></td>
    1688. 

  1688. </tr>
    1689. 

  1689. 

  1690. <tr>
    1691. 

  1691. <td><font size="-1">Solaris 2.5 on a Pentium 133MHz </font></td>
    1692. 

  1692. 

  1693. <td align="center"><font size="-1">6.2</font></td>
    1694. 

  1694. </tr>
    1695. 

  1695. 

  1696. <tr>
    1697. 

  1697. <td><font size="-1">Solaris on a Sun Sparc-II Ultra 167MHz System </font></td>
    1698. 

  1698. 

  1699. <td align="center"><font size="-1">13.7</font></td>
    1700. 

  1700. </tr>
    1701. 

  1701. 

  1702. <tr>
    1703. 

  1703. <td><font size="-1">Solaris 2.5 on an Orion Pentium Pro 200MHz </font></td>
    1704. 

  1704. 

  1705. <td align="center"><font size="-1">13.5</font></td>
    1706. 

  1706. </tr>
    1707. 

  1707. </tbody></table>
    1708. 

  1708. 

  1709. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    1710. 

  1710. <tbody><tr>
    1711. 

  1711. <td>
    1712. 

  1712. <blockquote>
    1713. 

  1713. 

  1714. <p><font size="-1">From these results we can see that Linux is a very efficient
    1715. 

  1715. OS. Scores for Linux on the Pentium 133 were nearly as fast as Solaris
    1716. 

  1716. 2.5 on a 167MHz Sparc Ultra or a 200MHz Pentium Pro!!!</font></p>
    1717. 

  1717. 

  1718. <center><p><i><font size="-1">Copyright © 1996 Net Express All Rights
    1719. 

  1719. Reserved. </font></i></p></center>
    1720. 

  1720. 

  1721. <hr>
    1722. 

  1722. 

  1723. </blockquote>
    1724. 

  1724. 

  1725. <p><a name="KickAss">Perhaps</a> an example of the performance
    1726. 

  1726. advantage one could expect to find when choosing a UNIX operating
    1727. 

  1727. system coupled with the 
    1728. 

  1728. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a> (free)
    1729. 

  1729. Apache Web Server can be found in an
    1730. 

  1730. article by Sean Fulton that appeared in INTERNETWEEK on May 5, 1997,
    1731. 

  1731. <b>
    1732. 

  1732. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CWK19970505S0103">
    1733. 

  1733. Towers of Power -- We test five muscular Web servers aimed at high-end
    1734. 

  1734. intranet applications</a></b>.	For NT, the test results were pretty
    1735. 

  1735. devastating:
    1736. 

  1736. 

  1737. </p><blockquote>
    1738. 

  1738. "Telenet System Solutions produced the most surprises during our tests,
    1739. 

  1739. with a BSDi-powered, single-CPU system that kept up with-and in some
    1740. 

  1740. cases outperformed-twin-CPU machines running Windows NT.
    1741. 

  1741. 

  1742. <p>"The differentiating factor here was the BSDi 3.0 OS loaded on the
    1743. 

  1743. machine and its Apache HTTP server software. All of the twin-CPU
    1744. 

  1744. machines were running Windows NT 4.0 with Microsoft's Internet
    1745. 

  1745. Information Server 2.0.
    1746. 

  1746. 

  1747. </p></blockquote>
    1748. 

  1748. 

  1749. <p>While on the subject of Web Server performance, IBM has regained the
    1750. 

  1750. title of fastest Web server with the introduction of its new 262 MHz 
    1751. 

  1751. PowerPC RS64-II microprocessor:
    1752. 

  1752. 

  1753. </p><blockquote>
    1754. 

  1754. "The new processor will also make IBM's S70 one of the fastest Web 
    1755. 

  1755. servers on the market when used in certain configurations, according 
    1756. 

  1756. to a certain benchmark test selected by IBM. In a 12-way configuration, 
    1757. 

  1757. the S70 delivered SPECweb96 performance of 9,081 HTTP operations per
    1758. 

  1758. second, making it the first system to break the 9,000 barrier, 
    1759. 

  1759. according to IBM.
    1760. 

  1760. 

  1761. <p>-- James Niccolai, 
    1762. 

  1762. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980812.ecrs6000.htm">
    1763. 

  1763. New chip to debut in IBM's RS/6000 Model S70</a></b>, 
    1764. 

  1764. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">
    1765. 

  1765. InfoWorld Electric</a>, 12&nbsp;August&nbsp;1998.
    1766. 

  1766. </p></blockquote>
    1767. 

  1767. 

  1768. <p>For enterprise-level processing power, clustering wth Linux can 
    1769. 

  1769. produce awesome results at a modest price.  In a recent report by
    1770. 

  1770. Michael Stutz, NASA's Beowulf project sets an example for the  
    1771. 

  1771. the potential of such <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a>
    1772. 

  1772. UNIX operating systems like Linux in the area of supercomputing: 
    1773. 

  1773. 

  1774. </p><blockquote>
    1775. 

  1775. "Enter <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.beowulf.org/">Beowulf</a>, 
    1776. 

  1776. a system that uses a parallel-processing
    1777. 

  1777. architecture and off-the-shelf machines running the freely
    1778. 

  1778. available Linux operating system. One machine is the server
    1779. 

  1779. node, and distributes a processing job to all of the other
    1780. 

  1780. machines, which are client nodes. 
    1781. 

  1781. <p>
    1782. 

  1782. "The total hardware cost for CCD's 24-node Beowulf cluster
    1783. 

  1783. was US$57,000 -- as compared to most commercial
    1784. 

  1784. supercomputers today, which cost between $10 million and
    1785. 

  1785. $30 million.  The cluster gives 2.4 gigabytes per second
    1786. 

  1786. throughput, which means that a 200 GB hard drive can be
    1787. 

  1787. scanned in only 20 seconds. While it took five to seven
    1788. 

  1788. weeks to analyze the evidence of several intruders in the
    1789. 

  1789. recent Israeli hacker case, Talleur said it would have only
    1790. 

  1790. taken a few hours with Beowulf.
    1791. 

  1791. </p><p>
    1792. 

  1792. "The Beowulf project was developed at NASA by Thomas
    1793. 

  1793. Sterling and Donald Becker in the summer of 1994; today,
    1794. 

  1794. anyone can buy a Beowulf CD-ROM -- Red Hat
    1795. 

  1795. Software's 
    1796. 

  1796. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.redhat.com/product.phtml/EX1000/">Extreme Linux</a>
    1797. 

  1797. package -- for $29. 
    1798. 

  1798. </p><p>
    1799. 

  1799. -- Michael Stutz, 
    1800. 

  1800. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/14450.html"> 
    1801. 

  1801. NASA Greets Beowulf</a></b>, 
    1802. 

  1802. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.wired.com/news/">Wired News</a>, 
    1803. 

  1803. 17 August 1998.
    1804. 

  1804. </p></blockquote>
    1805. 

  1805. 

  1806. <hr>
    1807. 

  1807. 

  1808. <h3><a name="security">Security</a></h3>
    1809. 

  1809. 

  1810. <p>This topic is too vast and complex to be fully addressed in an
    1811. 

  1811. article of this scope.	Security is, however, very important. 
    1812. 

  1812. The following links are excellent starting points for comparing the
    1813. 

  1813. security weaknesses of the various operating systems:
    1814. 

  1814. 

  1815. </p><ul>
    1816. 

  1816. <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/980713np.htm">
    1817. 

  1817. Probing into C2 security claims: Is NT as secure as Microsoft has said it is?</a><br>
    1818. 

  1818. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/sub2.html">
    1819. 

  1819. NT Lies: Lie 2 - NT is less secure than UNIX</a><br>
    1820. 

  1820. (Real security means taking a server off the network and locking it up!)
    1821. 

  1821. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/sub4.html">
    1822. 

  1822. NT Lies: Lie 4 - NT Meets Military Standards</a>
    1823. 

  1823. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.byte.com/art/9711/sec6/art3.htm">
    1824. 

  1824. A BYTE article on Windows NT security problems</a>
    1825. 

  1825. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.iss.net/vd/bill_stout/NThacks/ntfsdos.htm">
    1826. 

  1826. NT secured filesystem (NTFS) can be read from Linux, bypassing filesystem security.</a>
    1827. 

  1827. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.iss.net/vd/bill_stout/ntexploits.htm">
    1828. 

  1828. Known NT Exploits</a>
    1829. 

  1829. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.it.kth.se/~rom/ntsec.html">
    1830. 

  1830. NT Security - Frequently Asked Questions version 0.41</a>
    1831. 

  1831. </li><li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://afcert.csap.af.mil/vulnerabilities.html">
    1832. 

  1832. AFCERT - Security Issues for various operating systems</a>
    1833. 

  1833. </li></ul>
    1834. 

  1834. 

  1835. <hr>
    1836. 

  1836. 

  1837. <h2><a name="misconceptions">Some Common Misconceptions</a></h2>
    1838. 

  1838. 

  1839. <p><b>NT is a toy operating system</b>
    1840. 

  1840. 

  1841. </p><p>For an operating system that <i>has</i> evolved from a toy operating
    1842. 

  1842. system, it offers some professional functionality.  Although it does
    1843. 

  1843. not scale very well -- performance goes down with more than 4 CPUs per
    1844. 

  1844. server -- it has come a long way.  Although I would not recommend it as
    1845. 

  1845. the primary operating system in an enterprise environment, it should
    1846. 

  1846. yield satisfactory performance for small businesses with fewer than 250
    1847. 

  1847. user accounts that do not run mission critical processes.  Please keep
    1848. 

  1848. in mind, however, that a single NT server will not be sufficient to
    1849. 

  1849. service 250 users.  The general recommendation is one PDC (Windows NT
    1850. 

  1850. Primary Domain Controller) and two BDCs (Backup Domain Controllers). 
    1851. 

  1851. Having other server applications on the PDC is also not recommended. 
    1852. 

  1852. Should RDBMS, E-mail, Web, and other typical services be required,
    1853. 

  1853. three NT servers will most likely prove to be insufficient. 
    1854. 

  1854. 

  1855. </p><p><b>By converting everything to Windows NT a company can eliminate
    1856. 

  1856. the problems of a heterogeneous networking environment.</b>
    1857. 

  1857. 

  1858. </p><p>The first assumption here is that a heterogeneous networking
    1859. 

  1859. environment is a problem.  I once worked at a company where NT and
    1860. 

  1860. Novell coexisted with very little conflict.  As a matter of fact, the
    1861. 

  1861. very reason for this coexistence was because Novell outperformed NT in
    1862. 

  1862. the area of file and printer sharing  services.  With UNIX, one can
    1863. 

  1863. create Microsoft-compatible file and printer sharing without the users
    1864. 

  1864. ever knowing that these services emanate from a UNIX server.  For all
    1865. 

  1865. they know, it's an NT server.  This functionality is provided for in
    1866. 

  1866. Sun's UNIX operating system, Solaris.  Linux can use a software package
    1867. 

  1867. called <b>
    1868. 

  1868. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://samba.anu.edu.au/samba/">
    1869. 

  1869. Samba</a></b> that ships with most distributions to achieve this. Samba
    1870. 

  1870. is available for practically all UNIX operating systems.  It has also
    1871. 

  1871. been ported to VMS, MVS, OS/2, Stratus-VOS, Amiga, Novell, and MPE/iX.
    1872. 

  1872. 

  1873. </p><p><b><a name="gui">UNIX is this outdated, cryptic, command-line based
    1874. 

  1874. operating system.</a></b>
    1875. 

  1875. 

  1876. </p><p>Wrong!  CDE (Common Desktop Environment) is a GUI desktop (Graphical
    1877. 

  1877. User Interface: you use a mouse to point and click, or drag and drop on
    1878. 

  1878. a colorful "desktop"; this is the basis for Microsoft's success.).  CDE
    1879. 

  1879. ships with most commercial UNIX operating systems: Sun's <b>
    1880. 

  1880. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/solaris/">Solaris</a></b>, 
    1881. 

  1881. IBM's <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/software/OS/aix43.html">
    1882. 

  1882. AIX</a></b>
    1883. 

  1883. Hewlett Packard's <b>
    1884. 

  1884. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://software.external.hp.com/OS_transition/WHYTRANS.HTM">
    1885. 

  1885. HP-UX</a></b>, 
    1886. 

  1886. DEC's <b>
    1887. 

  1887. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix.digital.com/">Digital UNIX</a></b>, to name a
    1888. 

  1888. few.  For around $90 you can get CDE for Linux if you happen to be
    1889. 

  1889. dissatisfied with your choice of <b>four GUI systems</b> that ship with
    1890. 

  1890. Linux: OpenLook, the GUI that Solaris used to use; FVWM, an 
    1891. 

  1891. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a> (free) GUI
    1892. 

  1892. that has many similarities to the Windows 3.1 GUI; or FVWM-95, another
    1893. 

  1893. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a>
    1894. 

  1894. GUI that mimics the Windows 95 GUI (when looking at a single
    1895. 

  1895. window, one can't distinguish between FVWM-95 and Windows 95). TWM is
    1896. 

  1896. the predecessor of the various FVWM window managers which also ships
    1897. 

  1897. with Linux.  If you've never had the opportunity to sit at a computer
    1898. 

  1898. running UNIX, here are some <b><font color="RED">SCREENSHOTS</font></b>
    1899. 

  1899. of these window managers: 
    1900. 

  1900. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://e.themes.org/sqlgal.cgi?version=DR0.15">
    1901. 

  1901. Enlightenment</a></b>,
    1902. 

  1902. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.plig.org/xwinman/screenshots/dtwm.gif">
    1903. 

  1903. CDE</a></b>, 
    1904. 

  1904. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/images/ted.jpg">
    1905. 

  1905. TED</a></b> (TriTeal's CDE for Linux), 
    1906. 

  1906. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.kde.org/kscreenshots.html">
    1907. 

  1907. KDE</a></b>, 
    1908. 

  1908. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.plig.org/xwinman/screenshots/fvwm-wlug.jpg">
    1909. 

  1909. FVWM 1.24</a></b>,
    1910. 

  1910. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.plig.org/xwinman/screenshots/fvwm-geir.gif">
    1911. 

  1911. FVWM 2.x</a></b>, <b>
    1912. 

  1912. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.terraware.net/ftp/pub/Mirrors/FVWM95/screenshot-full.gif">
    1913. 

  1913. FVWM-95</a></b>, <b>
    1914. 

  1914. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://cslib.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wm/gfx/orig-olvwm.jpg">
    1915. 

  1915. olvwm</a></b>(OpenLook Virtual Window Manger).	These are only some of
    1916. 

  1916. the GUI interfaces available to UNIX users.  Matt Chapman's 
    1917. 

  1917. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.plig.org/xwinman/">Guide to Window Managers for The
    1918. 

  1918. X Window System</a> is an excellent resource on this topic.  You will
    1919. 

  1919. find many more screenshots on his site than I am able to list here. 
    1920. 

  1920. Keep in mind that almost all of these window managers are highly
    1921. 

  1921. configurable; you shouldn't be surprised to see screenshots made of the
    1922. 

  1922. same window manager which look completely different.  As Matt states on
    1923. 

  1923. his page, "Let's face it, people are different, and those that use
    1924. 

  1924. computers use them in different ways for different tasks. So why do
    1925. 

  1925. some think we should all use (suffer?) the same interface?" 
    1926. 

  1926. Ironically, it is Microsoft's graphical user interface that is lacking
    1927. 

  1927. the features of customization.
    1928. 

  1928. 

  1929. </p><p>As for the claim that UNIX is behind the times, it is still the
    1930. 

  1930. operating system of choice for science, engineering, research, and
    1931. 

  1931. higher education.  Most engineers would choose UNIX over NT without
    1932. 

  1932. hesitation.  They are fully aware of its ability to be customized and
    1933. 

  1933. its tuning capabilities for the optimization of specialized computing
    1934. 

  1934. tasks.  Readers' feedback to 
    1935. 

  1935. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.isdmag.com/">isd</a> confirm this attitude:
    1936. 

  1936. 

  1937. </p><blockquote>
    1938. 

  1938. "As we suspected, most designers are adamant: They want their EDA tools
    1939. 

  1939. to run under Unix. What's more, they say that Linux is
    1940. 

  1940. technically excellent by every measure, and NT simply isn't. Painfully 
    1941. 

  1941. aware that technical excellence doesn't guarantee market
    1942. 

  1942. share, many readers say that this time it should.
    1943. 

  1943. 

  1944. <p>
    1945. 

  1945. "Although readers' sentiments overwhelmingly backed Linux, we were 
    1946. 

  1946. impressed with the quality of the input . . . ."
    1947. 

  1947. 

  1948. </p><p>
    1949. 

  1949. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.isdmag.com/Editorial/1998/CoverStory9807.html">
    1950. 

  1950. Engineers Speak Out: Linux vs. Windows NT, Part 1</a></b><br>
    1951. 

  1951. -- Murry Shohat, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.isdmag.com/">
    1952. 

  1952. <i>Intergrated System Design</i> Magazine</a>, July 1998.
    1953. 

  1953. </p></blockquote>
    1954. 

  1954. 

  1955. 

  1956. <p><b>Everyone is converting to NT anyway, we might as well gradually
    1957. 

  1957. replace our UNIX servers with NT servers.  It's the way of the
    1958. 

  1958. future.</b>
    1959. 

  1959. 

  1960. </p><p>If you talk to MIS managers of some large corporations who had UNIX
    1961. 

  1961. and Novell two years ago, and then replaced their Novell servers with
    1962. 

  1962. NT servers, you'll find that none of them can manage without their UNIX
    1963. 

  1963. servers.  It seems that heavy processing is still better accomplished
    1964. 

  1964. with UNIX servers.  So far in my career, every Oracle server I've ever
    1965. 

  1965. seen was running on a UNIX server.  One IT professional, however, did
    1966. 

  1966. send me e-mail saying, "I support several installations of ORACLE on
    1967. 

  1967. NT.  There are performance and functional issues that I encounter which
    1968. 

  1968. I have never seen on UNIX (Pyramid)."
    1969. 

  1969. 

  1970. </p><hr>
    1971. 

  1971. 

  1972. <h2><a name="views">Views of Other MIS Professionals</a></h2>
    1973. 

  1973. 

  1974. <p><b>Robert Schindler, a mechanical engineer based in Florida who has
    1975. 

  1975. been working for the past decade as a free-lance consultant for various
    1976. 

  1976. Fortune 100 companies in the field of structural analysis, writes:</b>
    1977. 

  1977. 

  1978. </p><blockquote>
    1979. 

  1979. "It will be a long time before you hear me praise NT or any other MS
    1980. 

  1980. product.  I believe that Gates and his empire have done more to lower
    1981. 

  1981. the standards of our society than anything else in my lifetime.  If my
    1982. 

  1982. product had the same quality as theirs, airplanes would be falling out
    1983. 

  1983. of the sky hourly.
    1984. 

  1984. </blockquote>
    1985. 

  1985. 

  1986. 

  1987. 

  1988. <p><b>One professional who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job  writes:</b>
    1989. 

  1989. 

  1990. </p><blockquote>
    1991. 

  1991. "At my day job I work at a big firm. It's one of the biggest of its
    1992. 

  1992. kind in the world.  We decided to go with a Network Monitoring and
    1993. 

  1993. Management package from Cabletron.  It's available on both NT and Unix.
    1994. 

  1994.  The people who would run it gave them a blank check for the system to
    1995. 

  1995. be set up under NT because they were more familiar with NT than they
    1996. 

  1996. were with Unix.  About a year and a quarter million
    1997. 

  1997. dollars later, they finally gave up on NT and did it over with Solaris.
    1998. 

  1998.  Why?  NT just doesn't scale up.
    1999. 

  1999. </blockquote>
    2000. 

  2000. 

  2001. <p><b>Tim Newsham writes in response to this article:</b>
    2002. 

  2002. 

  2003. </p><blockquote>
    2004. 

  2004. "I develop software in NT and in UNIX.	I despise NT.  It is a horrid
    2005. 

  2005. beast, it performs very very poorly and it is way too unstable.  Some
    2006. 

  2006. parts of NT are so broken that the majority of time porting software to
    2007. 

  2007. the system involves working around microsoft bugs.  It bothers me that
    2008. 

  2008. so many people are migrating away from unix to NT.  I can only imagine
    2009. 

  2009. that eventually there will be a large anti-NT backlash as management
    2010. 

  2010. types realize how much NT has hurt their organizations.
    2011. 

  2011. </blockquote>
    2012. 

  2012. 

  2013. 

  2014. <p><b>Joseph Day, a consultant in Chicago, replies to Jessie Berst:</b>
    2015. 

  2015. 

  2016. </p><blockquote>
    2017. 

  2017. "I do a lot of software development on both NT, and 95. I can't seem to
    2018. 

  2018. understand why people are hyping up these platforms as being so great.
    2019. 

  2019. . . . The support you get in the Linux community through netnews is far
    2020. 

  2020. superior to anything that you will ever see with Microsoft products. .
    2021. 

  2021. . .  NT has a ways to go before it will reach the level of stability
    2022. 

  2022. that Linux has.<br>
    2023. 

  2023. -- Excerpts from a letter by Joseph Day entitled, 
    2024. 

  2024. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/talkback/talkback_72950.html">
    2025. 

  2025. How did Microsoft pay you to write this article?</a>, Source: 
    2026. 

  2026. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/index.html">
    2027. 

  2027. Jesse Berst's Anchor Desk.</a>  February 16, 1998, 
    2028. 

  2028. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/">ZDNet</a>.
    2029. 

  2029. </blockquote>
    2030. 

  2030. 

  2031. <p><b>Torsten Holvak, a systems administrator in Laramie, WY, replies to Jessie Berst:</b>
    2032. 

  2032. 

  2033. </p><blockquote>
    2034. 

  2034. "Jesse: I'm sure Microsoft, like IBM in the 60s, would love to have
    2035. 

  2035. people believe that choosing something other than their products would
    2036. 

  2036. be a career-limiting move. But it just ain't so! I'd fire an employee
    2037. 

  2037. for putting mission-critical e-mail or Web server applications on an NT
    2038. 

  2038. machine rather than a UNIX box. We use FreeBSD for everything and there
    2039. 

  2039. is nothing more stable. Not only are free UNIX servers faster, more
    2040. 

  2040. powerful, and more stable than NT, but the support is better, too. Just
    2041. 

  2041. try to get an answer from a Microsoft tech without paying big bucks
    2042. 

  2042. and/or waiting on hold. And consider yourself lucky if it actually
    2043. 

  2043. solves your problem. I find it hard to believe that this story appeared
    2044. 

  2044. on your front page. It's embarrassing. I sure didn't THINK you were
    2045. 

  2045. into spreading Microsoft 
    2046. 

  2046. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://sagan.earthspace.net/jargon/jargon_21.html#TAG712">
    2047. 

  2047. FUD</a>. <br>
    2048. 

  2048. -- Excerpts from a letter by Torsten Holvak entitled, 
    2049. 

  2049. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/talkback/talkback_72969.html">
    2050. 

  2050. I'd fire someone for using NT</a>, Source: 
    2051. 

  2051. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/index.html">
    2052. 

  2052. Jesse Berst's Anchor Desk.</a>  February 16, 1998, 
    2053. 

  2053. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/">ZDNet</a>.
    2054. 

  2054. 

  2055. </blockquote>
    2056. 

  2056. 

  2057. <p><b>Quinn P. Coldiron, Information Systems Department manager for the
    2058. 

  2058. University of Nebraska Press, writes about his experiences with Novell,
    2059. 

  2059. Windows NT, and Linux:</b>
    2060. 

  2060. 

  2061. </p><blockquote>
    2062. 

  2062. "After completing the morning duties, we normally run a complete Cats
    2063. 

  2063. [an order fulfillment and inventory system] backup before we continue
    2064. 

  2064. with closing which usually would take two hours to complete on the
    2065. 

  2065. Netware server. The Linux machine was able to do the entire backup in
    2066. 

  2066. 45 minutes, cutting a little over an hour off our closing time. This
    2067. 

  2067. increase in speed came from a decrease in hardware because the Linux
    2068. 

  2068. server was running only 32 MB in RAM and IDE hard drives where the
    2069. 

  2069. Netware server had 64 MB in RAM and SCSI drives. The speed increase has
    2070. 

  2070. been noticed in daily work also. I get almost daily remarks that the
    2071. 

  2071. system seems to be running faster and more reliable. 
    2072. 

  2072. 

  2073. <p>"We have recently upgraded the CPU to a 200Mhz Pentium and have
    2074. 

  2074. upgraded the Memory to 64 MB to handle the newest plans of making this
    2075. 

  2075. server replace our Windows NT file/printer server, which still crashes
    2076. 

  2076. about twice a month for no reason, even after an additional $1,500 in
    2077. 

  2077. tech support with Microsoft. This single computer running Red Hat Linux
    2078. 

  2078. will replace both our Novell Netware 3.11 server and our Windows NT 4.0
    2079. 

  2079. server, while decreasing total hardware requirements. With the recent
    2080. 

  2080. advances from the Samba team in supporting the NT domain structure and
    2081. 

  2081. the December 1997 release of Red Hat 5.0, I expect to have a very
    2082. 

  2082. efficient and inexpensive server for our Windows 95, Windows NT and
    2083. 

  2083. Macintosh clients. <br>
    2084. 

  2084. 

  2085. -- Quoted from: <b>
    2086. 

  2086. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lg/issue29/coldiron.html">
    2087. 

  2087. Replacing Windows NT Server with Linux</a></b>
    2088. 

  2088. 

  2089. </p></blockquote>
    2090. 

  2090. 

  2091. <p><b>On September 29, 1997 Nick Johnson writes in a 
    2092. 

  2092. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://dev4.byte.com/joncon/_fmsg00441.html">Byte Forum</a>:</b>
    2093. 

  2093. 

  2094. </p><blockquote>
    2095. 

  2095. "From an administrator perspective, I have a very difficult time taking
    2096. 

  2096. an operating system seriously when it needs 128 megs of RAM, two
    2097. 

  2097. 200-Mhz processors and 8 gigs of hard drive space just to run a small
    2098. 

  2098. intranet web server, especially when the OS crashes and reboots from a
    2099. 

  2099. simple, standard TCP packet. NT is just impossible to consider when
    2100. 

  2100. reliability and speed are required. You could perform the same task I
    2101. 

  2101. mentioned above on a 386 with 16 megs of RAM running FreeBSD, without
    2102. 

  2102. paying the high Microsoft price tag.
    2103. 

  2103. 

  2104. </blockquote>
    2105. 

  2105. 

  2106. <p><b>
    2107. 

  2107. Mike Hucka, a UNIX administrator and programmer in Michigan, writes:</b>
    2108. 

  2108. 

  2109. </p><blockquote>
    2110. 

  2110. "What boggles my mind is <i>why</i> people are investing so much in NT
    2111. 

  2111. solutions when there is so much evidence that the UNIX solutions are
    2112. 

  2112. more mature, stable, less expensive, and perform so much better?  Why? 
    2113. 

  2113. What is wrong with people?
    2114. 

  2114. 

  2115. <p>"Do people simply not know about the capabilities of UNIX?"
    2116. 

  2116. 

  2117. </p><p>"Do people think that UNIX systems are too difficult to use?  I may
    2118. 

  2118. be biased, but when I look at desktop environments such as CDE on a
    2119. 

  2119. Sun, or KDE, I think that's pretty close to what you find on a PC or
    2120. 

  2120. Mac.  And there is a TREMENDOUS amount of documentation for UNIX now
    2121. 

  2121. available -- just consider all the books published by 
    2122. 

  2122. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.oreilly.com/">O'Reilly &amp; Associates</a>,
    2123. 

  2123. or the online manuals available at Sun's site <b>
    2124. 

  2124. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://docs.sun.com/">http://docs.sun.com</a></b>, or any of
    2125. 

  2125. hundreds of sites with information about every imaginable aspect of
    2126. 

  2126. UNIX.
    2127. 

  2127. 

  2128. </p><p>"And not only that, but you can get free versions of UNIX that are
    2129. 

  2129. comparable in stability and scalability to Solaris, and will run quite
    2130. 

  2130. well on PC class hardware if you so choose.
    2131. 

  2131. 

  2132. </p><p>"And to top it all off, you can get source code."
    2133. 

  2133. 

  2134. </p></blockquote>
    2135. 

  2135. 

  2136. <h3><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/feedback/">
    2137. 

  2137. Feedback from Readers of this Article</a></h3>
    2138. 

  2138. 

  2139. <p>This is a new external section containing some of the best feedback
    2140. 

  2140. I have received in response to the article.
    2141. 

  2141. 

  2142. 

  2143. </p><hr>
    2144. 

  2144. 

  2145. <h2><a name="web">Web Servers</a></h2>
    2146. 

  2146. 

  2147. <p>The life-blood of the Internet is the Web.  This is the face that
    2148. 

  2148. the public sees. If your site is slow, plagued with technical problems,
    2149. 

  2149. or inaccessible, this will surely have adverse effects.  Since most
    2150. 

  2150. large corporations are UNIX-oriented, they normally go with Web server
    2151. 

  2151. software like Apache or Netscape-Enterprise.  
    2152. 

  2152. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.apache.org/">Apache</a></b> 
    2153. 

  2153. was conceived with UNIX in mind.  It is free and currently rules the
    2154. 

  2154. Internet.  Roughly <i>half</i> the Web servers on the Internet are
    2155. 

  2155. running Apache (see 
    2156. 

  2156. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.netcraft.co.uk/Survey/"><b>the Netcraft Web Server
    2157. 

  2157. Survey</b></a>). Microsoft's IIS Web server software does not even
    2158. 

  2158. amount to one-quarter of all Internet-connected Web servers.  Apache is
    2159. 

  2159. currently being used by 
    2160. 

  2160. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://java.sun.com/">Javasoft</a>, 
    2161. 

  2161. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.fbi.gov/">The FBI</a>, 
    2162. 

  2162. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ft.com/">Financial Times</a>, 
    2163. 

  2163. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.imdb.com/">The Movies Database</a>, 
    2164. 

  2164. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.w3.org/">W3 Consortium</a>,
    2165. 

  2165. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.royal.gov.uk/">The Royal Family</a>, 
    2166. 

  2166. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University Libraries Automation Service</a>,
    2167. 

  2167. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.mit.edu/"> M.I.T.</a>,
    2168. 

  2168. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>, and the
    2169. 

  2169. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>.  
    2170. 

  2170. Netcraft also mentions that "Virtual hosting company
    2171. 

  2171. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.rapidsite.com/">Rapidsite</a>
    2172. 

  2172. is now the fifth placed server in the survey. Their hosting system,
    2173. 

  2173. running a personalised version of Apache, supports 44,280 domain names
    2174. 

  2174. on 39,905 distinct ip addresses. An achievement, and probably the
    2175. 

  2175. world's largest hosting system." You will recall that in the
    2176. 

  2176. performance section of this article the 
    2177. 

  2177. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#KickAss">UNIX-Apache marriage put the NT-IIS one to
    2178. 

  2178. shame</a>.  Not only is Apache fast, it's free. 
    2179. 

  2179. Apache's rule over the Internet has also been recognized by 
    2180. 

  2180. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ibm.com/">IBM</a> who now has a partnership with 
    2181. 

  2181. Apache:
    2182. 

  2182. 

  2183. </p><blockquote>
    2184. 

  2184. <b>IBM Teams Up With Apache</b><br>
    2185. 

  2185. "IBM will ship the Apache HTTP server with the IBM WebSphere Application 
    2186. 

  2186. Server, helping
    2187. 

  2187. current Apache users to evolve to e-business solutions. As part of the 
    2188. 

  2188. WebSphere Application
    2189. 

  2189. Server package, IBM will provide commercial, enterprise-level support for the Apache HTTP
    2190. 

  2190. Server. In addition, IBM will be a full participant in the Apache HTTP Server Project, a
    2191. 

  2191. collaborative development effort, and will make contributions to enhance the capabilities of the
    2192. 

  2192. Apache HTTP Server. <br>
    2193. 

  2193. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ibm.com/News/1998/06/223.phtml">
    2194. 

  2194. IBM helps companies turn simple web sites into powerful e-business 
    2195. 

  2195. solutions</a>, IBM News, 22 June, 1998.
    2196. 

  2196. </blockquote>
    2197. 

  2197. 

  2198. <p>For the most robust Web server a corporation could ever need,
    2199. 

  2199. Netscape-Enterprise is a great choice.	Although it is not
    2200. 

  2200. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</a> 
    2201. 

  2201. like Apache, it will meet the most demanding needs. Netscape-Enterprise
    2202. 

  2202. is used by such 
    2203. 

  2203. companies as 
    2204. 

  2204. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bmw.de/">BMW</a>, 
    2205. 

  2205. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.dilbert.com/">Dilbert</a>, 
    2206. 

  2206. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sgi.com/">Silicon Graphics</a>, 
    2207. 

  2207. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.shell.com/">Shell</a>, 
    2208. 

  2208. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/">Sun Microsystems</a>, 
    2209. 

  2209. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sybase.com/">Sybase</a>, 
    2210. 

  2210. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ferrari.it/">Ferrari</a> and 
    2211. 

  2211. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.vatican.va/">The Vatican</a>.
    2212. 

  2212. 

  2213. </p><p>Microsoft's IIS is one of the few things that actually comes with
    2214. 

  2214. Windows NT. It does not possess any special or unique qualities not
    2215. 

  2215. already found in other Web server software. It excels neither in speed,
    2216. 

  2216. nor in popularity, nor in the number of concurrent hits it can handle. 
    2217. 

  2217. It is currently being used by 
    2218. 

  2218. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.compaq.com/">Compaq</a>, 
    2219. 

  2219. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nasdaq.com/">Nasdaq</a>, 
    2220. 

  2220. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nfl.com/">The National Football League</a>,
    2221. 

  2221. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.exxon.com/">Exxon</a>, 
    2222. 

  2222. and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://shop.tesco.co.uk/">Tesco</a>.  
    2223. 

  2223. To further substantiate my claim 
    2224. 

  2224. that Microsoft IIS is not up to speed, while testing the validity of the 
    2225. 

  2225. links for the sites above, I discovered that 
    2226. 

  2226. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://shop.tesco.co.uk/">Tesco</a> was unable to service any 
    2227. 

  2227. requests between 00:02:53 and 00:53:07 GMT on Monday, 22 June 1998. 
    2228. 

  2228. Their Web server kept returning the message <b>HTTP/1.1 Server Too 
    2229. 

  2229. Busy</b> despite my repeated attempts from my own domain and from 
    2230. 

  2230. other domains I telnetted into. The Web server never did manage 
    2231. 

  2231. to deliver their home page.  I simply gave up after 50 minutes of 
    2232. 

  2232. seeing the same error message from various clients in various domains. 
    2233. 

  2233. I have only ever seen this message from IIS Web servers. 
    2234. 

  2234. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://shop.tesco.co.uk/">Tesco</a> is running 
    2235. 

  2235. Microsoft-IIS/4.0.  Telnetting directly into their Web server on port 
    2236. 

  2236. 80 revealed another unprofessional aspect of their site.  Despite the 
    2237. 

  2237. wide availability of ntp servers the world over, their system clock was 
    2238. 

  2238. off by 8 minutes and 51 seconds.
    2239. 

  2239. 

  2240. </p><p><a name="win95">For</a> Windows 95 and NT users, one of the most
    2241. 

  2241. popular places on the Web to get freeware and shareware is a site
    2242. 

  2242. called <b>
    2243. 

  2243. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.windows95.com/">www.windows95.com</a></b>. Due to
    2244. 

  2244. the immense popularity of the site it requires a robust operating
    2245. 

  2245. system and performance oriented Web server software.  Since all the
    2246. 

  2246. software offered at this site is exclusively for Windows 95 or NT, and
    2247. 

  2247. the overall flavor tends to be very pro-Microsoft, one would assume
    2248. 

  2248. that NT servers running IIS would be the logical choice for their
    2249. 

  2249. Internet solution.  Well, here's 
    2250. 

  2250. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.windows95.com/about/faq.html">a quote from one of their own Web pages</a>:
    2251. 

  2251. 

  2252. </p><blockquote>
    2253. 

  2253. <b>What hardware and software is Windows95.com running on?</b>
    2254. 

  2254. <blockquote>
    2255. 

  2255. We use Pentium Pro computers running the BSDI UNIX operating system
    2256. 

  2256. with Apache Web server software. Our servers are connected to the
    2257. 

  2257. Internet via multi-homed T3 connections.
    2258. 

  2258. </blockquote>
    2259. 

  2259. </blockquote>
    2260. 

  2260. Note:  This quote is from February 1998.  They recently changed their
    2261. 

  2261. name from Windows95.com to WinFiles.com although they still have use of
    2262. 

  2262. the windows95.com domain name.	This change took place in March 1998.
    2263. 

  2263. 

  2264. <p>To verify what an Internet site is running at any given time, 
    2265. 

  2265. try the following link:
    2266. 

  2266. 

  2267. </p><center>
    2268. 

  2268. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.netcraft.co.uk/cgi-bin/Survey/whats">
    2269. 

  2269. What is that Site Running?</a></b>
    2270. 

  2270. </center>
    2271. 

  2271. 

  2272. <hr>
    2273. 

  2273. 

  2274. <h2><a name="conclusion">Conclusion</a></h2>
    2275. 

  2275. 

  2276. <p>Ironically, it seems from the observations of experienced system
    2277. 

  2277. administrators that UNIX would be the operating system of choice either
    2278. 

  2278. for installations on a tight budget or huge corporations with a demand
    2279. 

  2279. for high-powered multi-processor servers requiring a scalable operating
    2280. 

  2280. system. <i>Washington Post</i> Staff Writer, Elizabeth Corcoran,
    2281. 

  2281. provides us with a real-world example:
    2282. 

  2282. 

  2283. </p><blockquote>
    2284. 

  2284. Cincinnati Bell Information Systems, for instance, has used Sun
    2285. 

  2285. workstations and servers to process checks for several years. It
    2286. 

  2286. recently bought several top-of-the-line Sun servers to handle the
    2287. 

  2287. demands of a million bills a day. The choices, said James Holtman, CBIS
    2288. 

  2288. vice president, were either Sun servers or IBM mainframes. Microsoft's
    2289. 

  2289. technology "isn't quite there yet. It has a ways to
    2290. 

  2290. grow to match those-size systems," he said.<br>
    2291. 

  2291. (<i>The Washington Post</i>, Sunday, February 8, 1998; Page H01)
    2292. 

  2292. </blockquote>
    2293. 

  2293. 

  2294. Provided that a company is small to medium-sized, has few
    2295. 

  2295. mission-critical processes to be run, is willing to hire additional
    2296. 

  2296. administrators for their Microsoft Exchange and Internet Information
    2297. 

  2297. Server(s), and has a substantial budget for Microsoft's "per server" or
    2298. 

  2298. "per seat" licensing scheme, then NT would be the operating system of
    2299. 

  2299. choice.  The <b>
    2300. 

  2300. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/">Aberdeen<i>Group</i></a></b> has published an excellent <b>
    2301. 

  2301. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/research/comp/onsite/case1/body.htm">
    2302. 

  2302. case study</a></b> on migrating to Windows NT.
    2303. 

  2303. 

  2304. 

  2305. <p>NT is also an excellent choice for managers who need to show that
    2306. 

  2306. they used up their fiscal year budget for hardware/software
    2307. 

  2307. expenditures.  Perhaps this is why it requires no prior purchase
    2308. 

  2308. approval within federal agencies; "NT has become the 'unofficial'
    2309. 

  2309. standard operating system for the federal government.  Federal
    2310. 

  2310. employees whose responsibilities include the acquisition of computer
    2311. 

  2311. hardware/software require prior written approval from above before
    2312. 

  2312. ordering a UNIX operating system or hardware which cannot run Windows
    2313. 

  2313. NT.  For Intel-based hardware or Windows NT, no prior approval is
    2314. 

  2314. required." (as reported by a vendor of Sun solutions who wishes to
    2315. 

  2315. remain anonymous)
    2316. 

  2316. 

  2317. </p><p>For small shops or power users on a budget, or even medium to large
    2318. 

  2318. businesses who are beginning to escape the antiquated mind-set that
    2319. 

  2319. performance is best gauged by the last figure on the sales receipt,
    2320. 

  2320. Linux or FreeBSD can easily exceed the performance and functionality of
    2321. 

  2321. an NT solution, do it with inexpensive Intel-based hardware, and do it
    2322. 

  2322. for $0.00, a price Bill Gates will find difficult to beat.  Why invest
    2323. 

  2323. in an operating system that will require expensive training and
    2324. 

  2324. re-training with each new NT release?  UNIX/Linux administrators are
    2325. 

  2325. plentiful and generally more technically capable than their NT
    2326. 

  2326. counterparts (most UNIX administrators have some coding/scripting
    2327. 

  2327. skills seldom found among the new generation of "NT admins"). Why spend
    2328. 

  2328. almost $5,000 for MS Exchange Server (this price only covers 50 client
    2329. 

  2329. accesses), which in some companies, seems to only be able to handle the
    2330. 

  2330. e-mail of a few hundred employees when you can use the built-in
    2331. 

  2331. "Sendmail" mail server software that ships with Linux, a tried and
    2332. 

  2332. proven application capable of supporting the e-mail demands of
    2333. 

  2333. thousands of employees? 
    2334. 

  2334. 

  2335. </p><p>As to the actual overall features and performance of the two
    2336. 

  2336. operating systems, it seems that UNIX wins hands down.	It offers a
    2337. 

  2337. variety of vendors (no threat of a monopoly), scalability, more
    2338. 

  2338. efficient use of system resources, remote administration, remote
    2339. 

  2339. computing, multi-user capabilities, large palette of (professional)
    2340. 

  2340. software resources, vendor independent standards (POSIX), control of
    2341. 

  2341. users' disk usage (unlike NT), and can't be crashed by viruses written
    2342. 

  2342. 10 years ago for DOS computers.  But the most important thing of all to
    2343. 

  2343. remember from this article when trying to choose between Windows NT and
    2344. 

  2344. one of the many UNIX operating systems is this:
    2345. 

  2345. 

  2346. </p><blockquote>
    2347. 

  2347. A <b>UNIX</b> operating system will give you <b>choices</b>: any type
    2348. 

  2348. of hardware, CLI or GUI, commercial or GNU, diverse choice of vendors.
    2349. 

  2349. It is <b>dynamic</b>, i.e. you can build a customized kernel to fit the
    2350. 

  2350. specific computing needs at hand.
    2351. 

  2351. <p><b>Windows NT</b> will give you <b>restrictions</b>: only Intel or
    2352. 

  2352. Alpha; no CLI, only GUI (try booting NT into CLI-only mode) and then
    2353. 

  2353. only one GUI (no wide choice of windowing systems as can be found under
    2354. 

  2354. X); only commercial MTAs, only Microsoft (ever heard of another company
    2355. 

  2355. marketing "NT Server clone" operating systems?), etc.  NT Server is
    2356. 

  2356. <b>static</b>, i.e. you will never be able to build a customized
    2357. 

  2357. kernel.  One size fits few.
    2358. 

  2358. </p></blockquote>
    2359. 

  2359. 

  2360. <p>Although Microsoft is not the only "restrictions-oriented" software
    2361. 

  2361. vendor promoting its own closed, proprietary solutions, one would hope
    2362. 

  2362. that organizations promoting open systems and solutions would prevail. 
    2363. 

  2363. Netscape is one vendor that promotes diversity and points out
    2364. 

  2364. Microsoft's pro-restriction, anti-choice stance regarding various
    2365. 

  2365. products: 
    2366. 

  2366. 

  2367. </p><blockquote>
    2368. 

  2368. [Our] strategy is in sharp contrast to that of vendors like Microsoft,
    2369. 

  2369. whose business model depends on customers upgrading to the most recent
    2370. 

  2370. version of each operating system. Consider that Microsoft's component
    2371. 

  2371. model, ActiveX, and the underlying components are designed to run only
    2372. 

  2372. on 32-bit Windows. Many Microsoft APIs also run only on 32-bit Windows.
    2373. 

  2373. For example, an application that uses ADSI (Microsoft's API to access
    2374. 

  2374. the LDAP directory protocol), will not run on existing Win16 clients,
    2375. 

  2375. much less on Macintosh or Unix systems. Netscape's LDAP API is
    2376. 

  2376. available on 17 platforms in C and many more in Java. In addition,
    2377. 

  2377. Microsoft's future platform services like "Viper's" transaction
    2378. 

  2378. processing and "Falcon's" messaging only runs on NT 5.0 - an Oracle
    2379. 

  2379. database running on Unix, for example, is not supported. The difference
    2380. 

  2380. is clear: with Microsoft, developers write to the Windows platform,
    2381. 

  2381. with Netscape, they write to the Internet platform.<br>
    2382. 

  2382. -- Netscape, 
    2383. 

  2383. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://developer.netscape.com/docs/wpapers/crossware/#advantages">
    2384. 

  2384. Netscape ONE Advantages</a>
    2385. 

  2385. </blockquote>
    2386. 

  2386. 

  2387. <p>It would seem that the question of which operating system to choose
    2388. 

  2388. would be academic at this point based on the information I have
    2389. 

  2389. provided here, yet every day some highly-capable systems/network
    2390. 

  2390. administrator somewhere is told by his/her manager that the company is
    2391. 

  2391. switching over to NT.  The administrator is left stunned and confused,
    2392. 

  2392. for he/she already knows the information contained in this article.  It
    2393. 

  2393. is the management of your company who should be reading this.  All too
    2394. 

  2394. often management rocks the boat and disrupts the harmony of stable,
    2395. 

  2395. economical, and technically superior implementations when they suddenly
    2396. 

  2396. discover that an unapproved operating system has been in use for quite
    2397. 

  2397. some time, based solely on political reasons:
    2398. 

  2398. 

  2399. </p><blockquote>
    2400. 

  2400. "The corporate IT managers notice someday what is that box in the
    2401. 

  2401. corner and they tell them that it's the departmental Web server that's
    2402. 

  2402. been running for a year and a half, and by the way it's running Linux. 
    2403. 

  2403. One normal reaction is to upgrade it immediately to NT, but what
    2404. 

  2404. happens is that they go back to Linux because the performance
    2405. 

  2405. dropped.<br>
    2406. 

  2406. 

  2407. -- 
    2408. 

  2408. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?/interviews/980409torvalds.htm">
    2409. 

  2409. Linus Torvalds talks economics and operating systems</a>, InfoWorld, April 9, 1998.
    2410. 

  2410. </blockquote>
    2411. 

  2411. 

  2412. This very type of incident happened at <b>
    2413. 

  2413. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/cisco.html">Cisco Systems
    2414. 

  2414. Inc.</a></b> but despite the order from senior management to switch
    2415. 

  2415. over to NT, they are still running Linux (get the 
    2416. 

  2416. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#cisco">details</a></b>).  Obviously, some of the technical
    2417. 

  2417. staff refused to comply with this order.  Why do you think that
    2418. 

  2418. technical people risk losing their positions over this issue?  I'll
    2419. 

  2419. leave this question for you to answer.
    2420. 

  2420. 

  2421. 

  2422. <p>If you are a manager, try to use this information wisely to enhance
    2423. 

  2423. the computing environment at your facility.  Talk to your technical
    2424. 

  2424. people and ask them what works.  Make the right decision.  Don't be
    2425. 

  2425. fooled by salespeople who use buzz words but can't explain them, let
    2426. 

  2426. alone explain their pertinence to <i>your company's</i> computing
    2427. 

  2427. goals.	Seek out companies who have implemented both Microsoft
    2428. 

  2428. <i>and</i> UNIX servers for the type of solution you are considering. 
    2429. 

  2429. Try meeting with their technical people to get objective, first-hand
    2430. 

  2430. reports on the feasibility, difficulty of implementation, and
    2431. 

  2431. initial+ongoing maintenance costs associated with your proposed
    2432. 

  2432. solution.
    2433. 

  2433. 

  2434. 

  2435. </p><hr>
    2436. 

  2436. 

  2437. <h2><a name="compare">Linux and NT Server 4.0 at a Glance</a></h2>
    2438. 

  2438. 

  2439. <p>Since NT is often chosen on the basis of cost-effective hardware
    2440. 

  2440. solutions, Linux will be the UNIX system in this comparison, for it
    2441. 

  2441. thrives on Intel hardware. 
    2442. 

  2442. 

  2443. </p><p>Note: Only the items/features that actually <i>ship</i> with each
    2444. 

  2444. operating system are listed here.  Perl 5.0, for instance, is available
    2445. 

  2445. for all platforms, but Microsoft does not provide this with its
    2446. 

  2446. operating systems. On the same note, most distributions of Linux ship
    2447. 

  2447. with only about four GUIs (window managers) to choose from, yet you'll
    2448. 

  2448. note from a previous section in this article, that this is only a small
    2449. 

  2449. number of what is available for Linux, or any other UNIX operating
    2450. 

  2450. system for that matter.
    2451. 

  2451. 

  2452. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>
    2453. 

  2453. 

  2454. </p><p>
    2455. 

  2455. <table width="85%" border="1"> 
    2456. 

  2456. 

  2457. <tbody><tr>
    2458. 

  2458. <td width="28%"><strong>Component</strong></td>
    2459. 

  2459. <td width="28%"><strong>Linux</strong></td>
    2460. 

  2460. <td width="32%"><strong>Windows NT Server 4.0</strong></td>
    2461. 

  2461. </tr> 
    2462. 

  2462. <tr>
    2463. 

  2463. <td width="28%">Operating System</td>
    2464. 

  2464. <td width="28%">Free, or around $49.95 for a CD-ROM distribution</td>
    2465. 

  2465. <td width="32%">Five-User version $809<br>
    2466. 

  2466. 10-User version $1129<br>
    2467. 

  2467. EE 25-User Version $3,999</td>
    2468. 

  2468. </tr> 
    2469. 

  2469. <tr>
    2470. 

  2470. <td>Free online technical support</td>
    2471. 

  2471. <td>Yes, 
    2472. 

  2472. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linux.org/help/howto.html">
    2473. 

  2473. Linux Online</a> or 
    2474. 

  2474. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.redhat.com/">
    2475. 

  2475. Redhat</a></td>
    2476. 

  2476. <td>No</td>
    2477. 

  2477. </tr> 
    2478. 

  2478. <tr>
    2479. 

  2479. <td>Kernel source
    2480. 

  2480. code</td>
    2481. 

  2481. <td>Yes</td>
    2482. 

  2482. <td>No</td>
    2483. 

  2483. </tr> 
    2484. 

  2484. <tr>
    2485. 

  2485. <td width="28%">Web Server</td>
    2486. 

  2486. <td width="28%">Apache Web Server</td>
    2487. 

  2487. <td width="32%">IIS</td>
    2488. 

  2488. </tr> 
    2489. 

  2489. <tr>
    2490. 

  2490. <td width="28%">FTP Server</td>
    2491. 

  2491. <td width="28%">Yes</td>
    2492. 

  2492. <td width="32%">Yes</td>
    2493. 

  2493. </tr> 
    2494. 

  2494. <tr>
    2495. 

  2495. <td width="28%">Telnet Server</td>
    2496. 

  2496. <td width="28%">Yes</td>
    2497. 

  2497. <td width="32%">No</td>
    2498. 

  2498. </tr> 
    2499. 

  2499. <tr>
    2500. 

  2500. <td>SMTP/POP3 Server</td>
    2501. 

  2501. <td>Yes</td>
    2502. 

  2502. <td>No</td>
    2503. 

  2503. </tr> 
    2504. 

  2504. <tr>
    2505. 

  2505. <td>DNS</td>
    2506. 

  2506. <td>Yes</td>
    2507. 

  2507. <td>Yes, though reports indicate that it is a broken implementation
    2508. 

  2508. with limited functionality.</td>
    2509. 

  2509. </tr> 
    2510. 

  2510. <tr>
    2511. 

  2511. <td>Networking</td>
    2512. 

  2512. <td>TCP/IP, IPv6, NFS, SMB, IPX/SPX, NCP Server (NetWare Server),
    2513. 

  2513. AppleTalk, plus many other protocols</td>
    2514. 

  2514. <td>TCP/IP, SMB, IPX/SPX, AppleTalk, plus many other protocols</td>
    2515. 

  2515. </tr> 
    2516. 

  2516. <tr>
    2517. 

  2517. <td>X Window Server<br>
    2518. 

  2518. (For running remote <br>
    2519. 

  2519. GUI-based applications)</td>
    2520. 

  2520. <td>Yes</td>
    2521. 

  2521. <td>No</td>
    2522. 

  2522. </tr> 
    2523. 

  2523. <tr>
    2524. 

  2524. <td>Remote Management Tools</td>
    2525. 

  2525. <td>Yes, all tools</td>
    2526. 

  2526. <td>Web Administrator 2.0 (a recent addition)
    2527. 

  2527. offers a large, but still not complete,
    2528. 

  2528. set of tools.<br></td>
    2529. 

  2529. </tr> 
    2530. 

  2530. <tr>
    2531. 

  2531. <td>News Server</td>
    2532. 

  2532. <td>Yes</td>
    2533. 

  2533. <td>No</td>
    2534. 

  2534. </tr> 
    2535. 

  2535. <tr>
    2536. 

  2536. <td>C and C++ compilers</td>
    2537. 

  2537. <td>Yes</td>
    2538. 

  2538. <td>No</td>
    2539. 

  2539. </tr> 
    2540. 

  2540. <tr>
    2541. 

  2541. <td>Perl 5.0</td>
    2542. 

  2542. <td>Yes</td>
    2543. 

  2543. <td>No</td>
    2544. 

  2544. </tr> 
    2545. 

  2545. <tr>
    2546. 

  2546. <td>Revision Control</td>
    2547. 

  2547. <td>Yes, 
    2548. 

  2548. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/RCS.html">
    2549. 

  2549. RCS</a></td>
    2550. 

  2550. <td>No</td></tr> 
    2551. 

  2551. <tr>
    2552. 

  2552. <td>Number of file systems supported</td>
    2553. 

  2553. <td>32</td>
    2554. 

  2554. <td>3</td>
    2555. 

  2555. </tr> 
    2556. 

  2556. <tr>
    2557. 

  2557. <td>Disk quotas support</td>
    2558. 

  2558. <td>Yes</td>
    2559. 

  2559. <td>No</td>
    2560. 

  2560. </tr> 
    2561. 

  2561. <tr>
    2562. 

  2562. <td>Number of GUIs (window managers) to choose
    2563. 

  2563. from</td>
    2564. 

  2564. <td>4</td>
    2565. 

  2565. <td>1</td>
    2566. 

  2566. </tr> 
    2567. 

  2567. </tbody></table>
    2568. 

  2568. 

  2569. <table width="85%" cellspacing="0">
    2570. 

  2570. <tbody><tr>
    2571. 

  2571. <td>
    2572. 

  2572. 

  2573. <p>&nbsp;
    2574. 

  2574. </p><hr>
    2575. 

  2575. 

  2576. <h2><a name="bigguys">What are Major Companies Deploying?</a></h2>
    2577. 

  2577. 

  2578. 

  2579. <p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a></b><br>
    2580. 

  2580. Amazon.com Books, the world's largest on-line bookstore, relies on
    2581. 

  2581. DIGITAL UNIX AlphaServer 2000 systems to keep its Internet business
    2582. 

  2582. open around the clock. DIGITAL VLM64 technology keeps data highly
    2583. 

  2583. available to customers. "The extensive Web server capabilities of the
    2584. 

  2584. DIGITAL AlphaServer series, coupled with its smooth upgrade path,
    2585. 

  2585. provided the perfect solution for our rapid growth curve." 
    2586. 

  2586. 

  2587. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.boeing.com/">Boeing</a></b><br>
    2588. 

  2588. Operating systems: HP-UX, IRIX, Solaris, and more NT than some of
    2589. 

  2589. its technical staff would prefer. <br> 
    2590. 

  2590. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/#boeing">Read what Linus Torvalds has to say about Boeing!</a></b><br>
    2591. 

  2591. Web server: Netscape-Enterprise 2.01
    2592. 

  2592. 

  2593. </p><p>The <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.dallascowboys.com/">Dallas Cowboys</a></b><br>
    2594. 

  2594. Operating systems: <b>
    2595. 

  2595. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sgi.com/Products/hardware/servers/products/Irix.html">
    2596. 

  2596. IRIX</a></b> 
    2597. 

  2597. (Silicon Graphics UNIX Operating System) and UNIX System V Release 4.0<br>
    2598. 

  2598. MTA: Netscape Messaging Server 3.01<br>
    2599. 

  2599. Web: Netscape-Enterprise 3.0
    2600. 

  2600. 

  2601. 

  2602. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.dow.com/">Dow Corning</a></b><br>
    2603. 

  2603. "We're a global operation and have always used mainframes. Choosing
    2604. 

  2604. Sun was a higher risk than other choices, but they really impressed us
    2605. 

  2605. with their technology and commitment. Now that we've worked with Sun,
    2606. 

  2606. if we had to do it over again, we wouldn't even consider making a
    2607. 

  2607. different decision. Sun is doing an outstanding job." <br>
    2608. 

  2608. -- Mark Smith, Manager of Information Technology Systems, Dow Corning
    2609. 

  2609. 

  2610. </p><p>
    2611. 

  2611. <b><a name="ms-solaris" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.hotmail.com/">Hotmail</a></b>, 
    2612. 

  2612. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.microsoft.com/">The Microsoft Corporation</a></b>
    2613. 

  2613. <br>
    2614. 

  2614. This free Web-based e-mail service runs a mixture of Sun Solaris and
    2615. 

  2615. FreeBSD.  Apache 1.2.1 is the Web server software.  After Microsoft
    2616. 

  2616. purchased the company in December 1997, they tried to migrate to NT,
    2617. 

  2617. but ". . . the demands of supporting 10 million users reportedly proved
    2618. 

  2618. too great for NT, and Solaris was reinstated."	Get the full story: 
    2619. 

  2619. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/hotmail.html">
    2620. 

  2620. Solaris calls Hotmail shots for Microsoft</a>.
    2621. 

  2621. 

  2622. </p><p><b>
    2623. 

  2623. <a name="usps" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.usps.gov/">
    2624. 

  2624. United States Postal Service</a></b>
    2625. 

  2625. <br>
    2626. 

  2626. "The United States Postal Service deployed over 900 Linux based
    2627. 

  2627. systems throughout the United States in 1997 to automatically recognize
    2628. 

  2628. the destination addresses on mail pieces. Each system consists of 5
    2629. 

  2629. dual Pentium Pro 200MHz (PP200) computers and one single PP200 all
    2630. 

  2630. running Linux." <br>
    2631. 

  2631. -- John Taves, 
    2632. 

  2632. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://members.aa.net/~jtaves/linux.htm">
    2633. 

  2633. Linux is reading your mail</a>, April 8, 1998
    2634. 

  2634. 

  2635. 

  2636. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!</a></b><br>
    2637. 

  2637. ". . . A couple of days later we added a FreeBSD box to our cluster
    2638. 

  2638. of Web servers. Not only did it out-perform the rest of our machines,
    2639. 

  2639. but it was more stable. A few weeks into this experiment and we were
    2640. 

  2640. sold. Although the price was certainly attractive, it was the
    2641. 

  2641. stability, performance, and access to the source code that sold us.
    2642. 

  2642. Ever since then we've used FreeBSD almost exclusively for production as
    2643. 

  2643. well as our development environment."<br>
    2644. 

  2644. -- David Filo, Co-founder of Yahoo! (<i>FreeBSD News</i>, Issue 1)
    2645. 

  2645. 

  2646. </p><p>This list of <b>
    2647. 

  2647. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/">businesses using Linux in
    2648. 

  2648. their day-to-day operations</a></b> seeks to inform the public about
    2649. 

  2649. the reality of Linux as a viable alternative to commercial UNIX
    2650. 

  2650. operating systems.  Companies such as 
    2651. 

  2651. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/cisco.html">Cisco Systems Inc.</a></b>, 
    2652. 

  2652. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/sony.html">Sony WorldWide Networks</a></b>,  <b>
    2653. 

  2653. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/mercedes.html">Mercedes-Benz</a></b>, and <b>
    2654. 

  2654. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/taxi1.html">Yellow Cab Service Corporation</a></b> 
    2655. 

  2655. are mentioned. A description of the capacity in which Linux is being
    2656. 

  2656. deployed accompanies each company's listing.  
    2657. 

  2657. 

  2658. </p><p><a name="cisco">InfoWorld recently wrote about the possibility of</a> 
    2659. 

  2659. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.m-tech.ab.ca/linux-biz/cisco.html">Cisco Systems Inc.</a></b>
    2660. 

  2660. switching from Linux to Windows NT:
    2661. 

  2661. 

  2662. </p><blockquote>
    2663. 

  2663. "Speaking of platform changes, Cisco Systems may be switching over its
    2664. 

  2664. internal network of print servers.  Apparently, the company's current
    2665. 

  2665. infrastructure is based on Linux and works very well, but that hasn't
    2666. 

  2666. stopped the guys at the top from wanting to mess with it.  I'm told
    2667. 

  2667. that in light of Cisco's ever-cozier relationship with Microsoft, its
    2668. 

  2668. senior management issued an order that the existing system be trashed
    2669. 

  2669. in favor of a Windows NT-based setup.  Word has it, though, that
    2670. 

  2670. inertia has won out, and despite the order from on-high, the printing
    2671. 

  2671. system is still -- you guessed it -- Linux-based.<br>
    2672. 

  2672. 

  2673. -- Robert X. Cringely, 
    2674. 

  2674. "No Sunday in the Park: Rain Pushes platforms closer to the precipice," in: 
    2675. 

  2675. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a>, February 23, 1998, vol. 20, issue 8, p. 115.
    2676. 

  2676. </blockquote>
    2677. 

  2677. 

  2678. <p><a name="boeing">Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, mentions</a>
    2679. 

  2679. in an interview with InfoWorld that Linux can often be on the
    2680. 

  2680. "unofficially approved list" at some companies:
    2681. 

  2681. 

  2682. </p><blockquote>
    2683. 

  2683. "But not many people want to come out of the closet to officially say they are using Linux. 
    2684. 

  2684. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/">NASA</a></b> is very open about
    2685. 

  2685. supporting Linux, as are universities.	I know that Linux is used in
    2686. 

  2686. places like <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.boeing.com/">Boeing</a></b>, but I
    2687. 

  2687. can't point people to a Web page that says so.<br>
    2688. 

  2688. 

  2689. -- <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?/interviews/980409torvalds.htm">
    2690. 

  2690. Linus Torvalds talks economics and operating systems</a>, InfoWorld, April 9, 1998.
    2691. 

  2691. </blockquote>
    2692. 

  2692. 

  2693. <p>See also 
    2694. 

  2694. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/webservers.html">
    2695. 

  2695. Web Servers of 101 Prominent Companies/Organizations</a></b>.
    2696. 

  2696. 

  2697. </p><hr>
    2698. 

  2698. 

  2699. <h2><a name="links">Related Links</a></h2>
    2700. 

  2700. 

  2701. <blockquote>
    2702. 

  2702. 

  2703. <p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bell-labs.com/user/tal/papers/ntdesktop/ntdesktop/ntdesktop.html">
    2704. 

  2704. Providing Reliable NT Desktop Services by Avoiding NT Server</a></b><br>
    2705. 

  2705. by Thomas A. Limoncelli, Robert Fulmer, Thomas Reingold,    
    2706. 

  2706. Alex Levine, Ralph Loura,<br> 
    2707. 

  2707. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bell-labs.com/">Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs</a>.
    2708. 

  2708. 

  2709. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://dtf.external.hp.com/linux/">
    2710. 

  2710. HP Delivers 24x7 Worldwide Support For Linux Systems and Applications</a></b>
    2711. 

  2711. 

  2712. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sunworld.com/swol-04-1999/swol-04-idcnt.html">
    2713. 

  2713. NT looking great on paper</a></b><br>
    2714. 

  2714. Microsoft has stolen mindshare from Unix, says IDC<br>
    2715. 

  2715. by Steven Brody,
    2716. 

  2716. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sunworld.com/">SunWorld</a>,
    2717. 

  2717. 19 April 1999.<br>
    2718. 

  2718. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9904/21/ntpaper.ent.idg/">
    2719. 

  2719. CNN.com's version of this same article.</a>
    2720. 

  2720. 

  2721. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2242246,00.html">
    2722. 

  2722. NT beats Linux ... maybe</a></b><br> 
    2723. 

  2723. "Study finds NT is faster than Linux as a Web server...at least
    2724. 

  2724. according to MS-sponsored tests."<br>
    2725. 

  2725. by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols,
    2726. 

  2726. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/">Sm@rt Reseller</a>,
    2727. 

  2727. 15 April 1999.
    2728. 

  2728. 

  2729. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.dhbrown.com/dhbrown/linux.html">
    2730. 

  2730. Linux: How Good Is It?</a></b><br>
    2731. 

  2731. D.H. Brown Associates, Inc., 12 April 1999.
    2732. 

  2732. 

  2733. <!--<P><B><A HREF="/web/20000815100517/http://advisor.gartner.com/n_inbox/hotcontent/hc_2121999_3.html">-->
    2734. 

  2734. </p><p><b>
    2735. 

  2735. Divorcing Thin Server Software from the Hardware<br>
    2736. 

  2736. This article is no longer available.</b><br>
    2737. 

  2737. Please direct inquiries concerning this article to the  
    2738. 

  2738. <a href="mailto:gginfo@gartner.com">GartnerGroup</a>.<br>
    2739. 

  2739. by J. Staten,
    2740. 

  2740. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://advisor.gartner.com/">GartnerGroup Advisor</a>,<br>
    2741. 

  2741. "This document examines this issue in detail, particularly the differences
    2742. 

  2742. between Linux and FreeBSD, the current de facto leaders in the market."
    2743. 

  2743. 

  2744. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://pages.cthome.net/iact/24x7-NTreal.html">
    2745. 

  2745. IACT's 24x7 Report</a></b><br>
    2746. 

  2746. by John Drabik, 
    2747. 

  2747. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://pages.cthome.net/iact/">IACT</a>
    2748. 

  2748. (International Alliance for Compatible Technology).
    2749. 

  2749. 

  2750. <!--<P><B><A HREF="/web/20000815100517/http://www.freebsd.org/~andreas/benches/index.html">-->
    2751. 

  2751. </p><p><b>Comparison between FreeBSD 3.1 SMP and SuSE Linux 6.0 SMP<br>
    2752. 

  2752. (Author has removed this article from FreeBSD's site.)</b><br>
    2753. 

  2753. "Looks promising for the Linux 2.2.3 SMP kernel, but actually FreeBSD 
    2754. 

  2754. is still 19% faster."<br>
    2755. 

  2755. by Andreas Klemm, 
    2756. 

  2756. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD.org</a>,
    2757. 

  2757. 14 March 1999.
    2758. 

  2758. 

  2759. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19990311.html">
    2760. 

  2760. Windows 2000, Users Zilch:<br>
    2761. 

  2761. The Y2K Disaster Parading as Microsoft's
    2762. 

  2762. Windows NT Marketing Plan</a></b><br>
    2763. 

  2763. by Robert X. Cringely,
    2764. 

  2764. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pbs.org/">PBS online</a>,
    2765. 

  2765. 11 March 1999.
    2766. 

  2766. 

  2767. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,389494,00.html">
    2768. 

  2768. IBM to Linux-ize PCs</a></b><br>
    2769. 

  2769. by Carmen Nobel and Scott Berinato,
    2770. 

  2770. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/">PC Week</a> Online,
    2771. 

  2771. 15 February 1999.
    2772. 

  2772. 

  2773. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,387766,00.html">
    2774. 

  2774. Linux: Enterprise-ready</a></b><br>
    2775. 

  2775. "2.2 kernel's multiprocessing, improved memory
    2776. 

  2776. management deliver enterprise goods"<br>
    2777. 

  2777. by Henry Baltazar,
    2778. 

  2778. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/">PC Week</a> Labs, 
    2779. 

  2779. 1 February 1999.
    2780. 

  2780. 

  2781. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,31511,00.html">
    2782. 

  2782. Computing heavyweights warm to Linux</a></b><br>
    2783. 

  2783. by Stephen Shankland, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2784. 

  2784. 27 January 1999.
    2785. 

  2785. 

  2786. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.theregister.co.uk/990126-000022.html">
    2787. 

  2787. Windows NT could triple enterprise upgrade costs - report</a></b><br>
    2788. 

  2788. by John Lettice, 
    2789. 

  2789. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.theregister.co.uk/">The Register</a>,
    2790. 

  2790. 26 January 1999.
    2791. 

  2791. 

  2792. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,31458,00.html?st.ne.fd.mdh">
    2793. 

  2793. New version of Linux posted</a></b><br>
    2794. 

  2794. by Stephen Shankland, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2795. 

  2795. 26 January 1999.
    2796. 

  2796. 

  2797. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/stories/issue/0,4537,387506,00.html">
    2798. 

  2798. Linux Up Close: Time To Switch</a></b><br>
    2799. 

  2799. by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols &amp; Eric Carr, 
    2800. 

  2800. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/welcome.html">Sm@rt Reseller</a>,
    2801. 

  2801. 25 January 1999.
    2802. 

  2802. 

  2803. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?990123.whlinux.htm">
    2804. 

  2804. Linux bandwagon grows</a></b><br>
    2805. 

  2805. by David Pendery, Dan Briody, and Ed Scannell,
    2806. 

  2806. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">
    2807. 

  2807. InfoWorld Electric</a>, 23 January 1999.<br>
    2808. 

  2808. "Momentum behind the Linux platform will soon surge again with both Hewlett-Packard and 
    2809. 

  2809. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.tivoli.com/">Tivoli Systems</a></b> planning to extend their 
    2810. 

  2810. management platforms to the open-source Linux platform, according to high-ranking
    2811. 

  2811. officials at the two companies."
    2812. 

  2812. 

  2813. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,31060,00.html">
    2814. 

  2814. Notes headed to Linux</a></b><br>
    2815. 

  2815. by Erich Luening, Staff Writer,
    2816. 

  2816. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2817. 

  2817. 18 January 1999.
    2818. 

  2818. 

  2819. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.performance-computing.com/columns/penguin/9901.shtml">
    2820. 

  2820. Linux 101</a></b><br>
    2821. 

  2821. by Jon maddog Hall
    2822. 

  2822. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.performance-computing.com/">
    2823. 

  2823. Performance Computing</a>,
    2824. 

  2824. January 1999.
    2825. 

  2825. 

  2826. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,30027,00.html">
    2827. 

  2827. Linux shipments up 212 percent</a></b><br>
    2828. 

  2828. by Stephen Shankland, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2829. 

  2829. 16 December 1998.
    2830. 

  2830. 

  2831. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1998-12/lw-12-freebsd.html">
    2832. 

  2832. The story on FreeBSD: What you should know about this important free
    2833. 

  2833. OS</a></b><br>
    2834. 

  2834. by Cameron Laird and Kathryn Soraiz,
    2835. 

  2835. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxworld.com/">LinuxWorld</a>,
    2836. 

  2836. December 1998.
    2837. 

  2837. 

  2838. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,29416,00.html">
    2839. 

  2839. Unix trounces Windows NT in testing</a></b><br>
    2840. 

  2840. by Stephen Shankland,
    2841. 

  2841. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2842. 

  2842. 1 December 1998.
    2843. 

  2843. 

  2844. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.abcnews.com/sections/tech/FredMoody/moody981120.html">
    2845. 

  2845. Charge of the Linux Brigade</a></b><br>
    2846. 

  2846. by Fred Moody, 
    2847. 

  2847. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.abcnews.com/">
    2848. 

  2848. ABCNEWS.com</a>,
    2849. 

  2849. 20 November 1998.
    2850. 

  2850. 

  2851. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28215,00.html?st.ne.ni.lh">
    2852. 

  2852. Microsoft: Linux a threat to NT</a></b><br>
    2853. 

  2853. by Dan Goodin, Stephen Shankland, and Paul Festa, 
    2854. 

  2854. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2855. 

  2855. 2 November 1998.
    2856. 

  2856. 

  2857. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.opensource.org/halloween/">
    2858. 

  2858. The Halloween Documents</a></b><br>
    2859. 

  2859. "Microsoft Confidential" Documents with annotations and comments<br>
    2860. 

  2860. by Eric S. Raymond, 30 October 1998.
    2861. 

  2861. 

  2862. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19981029S0001">
    2863. 

  2863. Unix Growth Still Outpaces Win NT</a></b><br>
    2864. 

  2864. by Andy Patrizio, 
    2865. 

  2865. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/">TechWeb</a>, 28 October 1998.
    2866. 

  2866. 

  2867. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28065,00.html">
    2868. 

  2868. Gates "on the warpath"</a></b><br>
    2869. 

  2869. by Bloomberg News, 
    2870. 

  2870. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2871. 

  2871. 28 October 1998.
    2872. 

  2872. 

  2873. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?EET19981026S0028">
    2874. 

  2874. Finding Unix ain't broke, chip side balks at NT</a></b><br>
    2875. 

  2875. by Richard Goering,
    2876. 

  2876. EE Times, Issue: 1032, Section: Special Report: Workstations And Windows NT,
    2877. 

  2877. 26 October 1998.
    2878. 

  2878. 

  2879. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sjmercury.com/business/center/unix102798.htm">
    2880. 

  2880. Unix back in the fight with NT</a></b><br>
    2881. 

  2881. by Miguel Helft, 
    2882. 

  2882. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sjmercury.com/">Mercury Center</a>,
    2883. 

  2883. 26 October 1998.
    2884. 

  2884. 

  2885. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/windows/stories/main/0%2C4728%2C358782%2C00.html">
    2886. 

  2886. Wall Street Is Bullish on NT</a></b><br>
    2887. 

  2887. by Michael Moeller,
    2888. 

  2888. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/winpro/">WindowsPro Magazine</a>, 
    2889. 

  2889. 16 October 1998.
    2890. 

  2890. 

  2891. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,4436,2149216,00.html">
    2892. 

  2892. Novell to unveil directory services on Linux</a></b><br>
    2893. 

  2893. by Mary Jo Foley, 
    2894. 

  2894. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/">Sm@rt Reseller Online</a>,
    2895. 

  2895. 13 October 1998.
    2896. 

  2896. 

  2897. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,26490,00.html">
    2898. 

  2898. Intel pushing unified Unix</a></b><br>
    2899. 

  2899. by Brooke Crothers, Staff Writer,
    2900. 

  2900. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    2901. 

  2901. 17 September 1998.
    2902. 

  2902. 

  2903. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/stories/issue/0,4537,349576,00.html">
    2904. 

  2904. Quality Unix for FREE</a></b><br>
    2905. 

  2905. by Brett Glass, 
    2906. 

  2906. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.smartreseller.com/">Sm@rt Reseller</a>, 
    2907. 

  2907. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com//">ZDNet</a>, 
    2908. 

  2908. 7 September 1998.
    2909. 

  2909. 

  2910. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com.au/news/onsun/sept98/">
    2911. 

  2911. ABC switches to Sun SAP environment:<br>
    2912. 

  2912. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has successfully
    2913. 

  2913. migrated its SAP development platform from NT to Solaris, running on
    2914. 

  2914. Sun boxes</a></b><br>
    2915. 

  2915. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com.au/">
    2916. 

  2916. Sun Microsystems Australia</a>, 
    2917. 

  2917. <i>On#Sun</i>, vol. 5 issue 2, September 1998.
    2918. 

  2918. 

  2919. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.independent.co.uk/net/981005ne/index.html">
    2920. 

  2920. Beware the penguin, Bill</a></b><br>
    2921. 

  2921. by Charles Arthur, 
    2922. 

  2922. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.independent.co.uk/">The Independent</a>, 
    2923. 

  2923. 5 October 1998.
    2924. 

  2924. 

  2925. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.computerworld.com/home/features.nsf/all/981005rc1">
    2926. 

  2926. Intranets On A Shoestring</a></b><br>
    2927. 

  2927. by Chris Lindquist, 
    2928. 

  2928. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.computerworld.com/">Computerworld</a>, 
    2929. 

  2929. 5 October 1998.
    2930. 

  2930. 

  2931. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.idg.co.nz/nzweb/b252.html">
    2932. 

  2932. Gates pushes hometown to Linux<br> 
    2933. 

  2933. Linux-based document system costs 10% of Windows NT solution</a></b><br>
    2934. 

  2934. by Christine Burns, 
    2935. 

  2935. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.idg.co.nz/nzweb/nzweb.shtml">
    2936. 

  2936. Computerworld News</a>, 
    2937. 

  2937. 4 October 1998.
    2938. 

  2938. 

  2939. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/windows/nt/security/ntbugtraq/">
    2940. 

  2940. Service Pack 4 vs. NT 5 (a.k.a. NT2000)</a></b><br>
    2941. 

  2941. by Russ Cooper, 
    2942. 

  2942. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com//">ZDNet</a>, 
    2943. 

  2943. 29 September 1998.
    2944. 

  2944. 

  2945. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.performance-computing.com/opinions/throttle/9809.shtml">
    2946. 

  2946. NT's Cloudy Future</a></b><br>
    2947. 

  2947. by Mark Hall, 
    2948. 

  2948. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.performance-computing.com/">Performance COmputing</a>, 
    2949. 

  2949. September 1998.
    2950. 

  2950. 

  2951. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,4436,2140612,00.html">
    2952. 

  2952. New Security Flap Over Windows NT</a></b><br>
    2953. 

  2953. by Mary Jo Foley, 
    2954. 

  2954. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.smartreseller.com/">Sm@rt Reseller</a>, 
    2955. 

  2955. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/">ZDNN</a>, 
    2956. 

  2956. 23 September 1998.
    2957. 

  2957. 

  2958. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com/Database/98_Sep/21/Fea.01.gwif.html">
    2959. 

  2959. Linux Surfaces As Alternative to Windows NT</a></b><br>
    2960. 

  2960. by Masahiro Nakamura, Staff Editor, 
    2961. 

  2961. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://nc.nikkeibp.co.jp/eng/">Nikkei Computer</a>, 
    2962. 

  2962. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com/">AsiaBizTech</a>, 
    2963. 

  2963. 21 September 1998.
    2964. 

  2964. 

  2965. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19980910.html">
    2966. 

  2966. A Fight to the Finnish<br>
    2967. 

  2967. Why Linux Quite Appropriately Scares
    2968. 

  2968. the Bejesus Out of Microsoft</a></b><br>
    2969. 

  2969. by Robert X. Cringely, 
    2970. 

  2970. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pbs.org/">PBS online</a>,
    2971. 

  2971. 10 September 1998.
    2972. 

  2972. 

  2973. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.msnbc.com/news/193825.asp">
    2974. 

  2974. Dell ships PCs, servers with Linux</a></b><br>
    2975. 

  2975. by Connie Guglielmo of 
    2976. 

  2976. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/">ZDNN</a>, 
    2977. 

  2977. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.msnbc.com/news/">MSNBC</a>, 
    2978. 

  2978. 8 September 1998.
    2979. 

  2979. 

  2980. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremag.com/Sept98/sm098cv.htm">
    2981. 

  2981. In LINUX We . . .</a></b><br>
    2982. 

  2982. by Ann Harrison, 
    2983. 

  2983. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.softwaremagazine.com/">
    2984. 

  2984. Software Magazine</a>, Cover Story, September 1998.
    2985. 

  2985. 

  2986. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/CUTTING/lat_linux0824.htm">
    2987. 

  2987. Linux, an Alternative to Microsoft Windows, Shows Value of 
    2988. 

  2988. Free Software</a></b><br>
    2989. 

  2989. by Leslie Helm, Times Staff Writer, 
    2990. 

  2990. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a>, 
    2991. 

  2991. 24 August 1998.
    2992. 

  2992. 

  2993. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/14450.html">
    2994. 

  2994. NASA Greets Beowulf</a></b><br>
    2995. 

  2995. by Michael Stutz, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.wired.com/news/">Wired News</a>, 
    2996. 

  2996. 17 August 1998.
    2997. 

  2997. 

  2998. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/windows/wpro/9809/fs_datacenter_01.html">
    2999. 

  2999. Is NT Ready for the Data Center?</a></b><br>
    3000. 

  3000. by Joseph P. McGarvey, 
    3001. 

  3001. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/winpro/">Windows Pro Magazine</a>, 
    3002. 

  3002. 26 August 1998.
    3003. 

  3003. 

  3004. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980728S0004">
    3005. 

  3005. Microsoft Admits NT Trails Solaris</a></b><br>
    3006. 

  3006. by Barbara Darrow and Stuart Glascock,
    3007. 

  3007. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.crn.com/">Computer Reseller News</a>,
    3008. 

  3008. 28 July 1998.
    3009. 

  3009. 

  3010. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www2.computerworld.com/852564bb0045a5c0/69747ca2461a6aee852564ea0052c19c/7c87db1b2bb59d56852564ec00700a32?OpenDocument">
    3011. 

  3011. NT vs. UNIX: An uphill battle</a></b><br>
    3012. 

  3012. by Kevin Burden,
    3013. 

  3013. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.computerworld.com/">Computerworld</a>, 
    3014. 

  3014. August 1998.
    3015. 

  3015. 

  3016. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRW19980817S0029">
    3017. 

  3017. Open OS Provides Flexible, Stable Computing Platform -- 
    3018. 

  3018. Linux Environment Offers Endless Possibilities</a></b><br>
    3019. 

  3019. by Paula Rooney,
    3020. 

  3020. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/">Computer Retail Week (TechWeb)</a>,
    3021. 

  3021. 17 August 1998, Issue: 215, Section: Business Solutions
    3022. 

  3022. 

  3023. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lantimes.com/98/98aug/808b001a.html?st.ne.fd.mnaw">
    3024. 

  3024. Linux legitimacy rallies NT skeptics</a></b><br>
    3025. 

  3025. by R. Scott Raynovich and Polly Sprenger,
    3026. 

  3026. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.lantimes.com/">LAN Times</a>,
    3027. 

  3027. 17 August 1998.
    3028. 

  3028. 

  3029. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.byte.com/art/9801/sec19/art4.htm">
    3030. 

  3030. Putting Unix in All the Right Places: 
    3031. 

  3031. The reports of Unix's death are greatly exaggerated.</a></b><br>
    3032. 

  3032. by John Montgomery, 
    3033. 

  3033. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.byte.com/">Byte</a>, 
    3034. 

  3034. January 1998.
    3035. 

  3035. 

  3036. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,25013,00.html?st.ne.fd.gif.c">
    3037. 

  3037. Report: Wait on NT 5.0</a></b><br>
    3038. 

  3038. by Ben Heskett,
    3039. 

  3039. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.news.com/">CNET News.Com</a>,
    3040. 

  3040. 6 August 1998.
    3041. 

  3041. 

  3042. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980629S0013?st.ne.fd.mnaw">
    3043. 

  3043. Users Should Skip NT 5.0, Analysts Say</a></b><br>
    3044. 

  3044. by David Wilby, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/">TechWeb</a>,
    3045. 

  3045. 29 June 1998. 
    3046. 

  3046. 

  3047. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue31/raymond.html">
    3048. 

  3048. Open Source's First Six Months</a></b><br> 
    3049. 

  3049. by Eric Raymond, 
    3050. 

  3050. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.linuxgazette.com/">Linux Gazette</a>,
    3051. 

  3051. August 1998. 
    3052. 

  3052. 

  3053. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sunworld.com/sunworldonline/swol-08-1998/swol-08-linuxvnt.html">
    3054. 

  3054. Linux versus NT: 
    3055. 

  3055. Are you getting the most from your OS?</a></b><br> 
    3056. 

  3056. by Cameron Laird, 
    3057. 

  3057. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sunworld.com/">SunWorld Online</a>,
    3058. 

  3058. August 1998. 
    3059. 

  3059. 

  3060. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://cnnfn.com/hotstories/washun/9807/23/senate/">
    3061. 

  3061. Foes fire at Microsoft</a></b> <br> 
    3062. 

  3062. <b>"<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.real.com/">RealNetworks</a> exec tells 
    3063. 

  3063. Senate panel software giant 'breaks' his product"</b><br>
    3064. 

  3064. by staff writer John Frederick Moore,
    3065. 

  3065. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://cnnfn.com/">CNN Financial Network</a>, 
    3066. 

  3066. 23 July 1998.
    3067. 

  3067. 

  3068. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bootnet.com/youaskedforit/lip_linux_manifesto.html">
    3069. 

  3069. Linux manifesto</a></b> (A 
    3070. 

  3070. <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bootnet.com/boot.html">boot</a></b>
    3071. 

  3071. interview with Linus Torvalds)
    3072. 

  3072. 

  3073. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980717.whorlinux.htm">
    3074. 

  3074. Oracle to port database to Linux after all</a></b><br>
    3075. 

  3075. by Paul Krill, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">
    3076. 

  3076. InfoWorld Electric</a>, 17 July 1998.
    3077. 

  3077. 

  3078. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980717.whinformix.htm">
    3079. 

  3079. Informix gets set to embrace Linux</a></b><br>
    3080. 

  3080. by Paul Krill, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">
    3081. 

  3081. InfoWorld Electric</a>, 17 July 1998.
    3082. 

  3082. 

  3083. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2120879,00.html">
    3084. 

  3084. NT: One step forward, two steps back</a></b><br>
    3085. 

  3085. by Mary Jo Foley, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/">ZDNN</a>, 
    3086. 

  3086. 20 July 1998.
    3087. 

  3087. 

  3088. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?INW19980427S0003">
    3089. 

  3089. NT Needs Patch To Comply With Y2K</a></b><br>
    3090. 

  3090. by Ellis Booker, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.techweb.com/">TechWeb</a> 
    3091. 

  3091. (InternetWeek, issue 712), 27 April 1998. 
    3092. 

  3092. 

  3093. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.isdmag.com/Editorial/1998/CoverStory9807.html">
    3094. 

  3094. Engineers Speak Out: Linux vs. Windows NT, Part 1</a></b><br>
    3095. 

  3095. by Murry Shohat, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.isdmag.com/">
    3096. 

  3096. <i>Intergrated System Design</i> Magazine</a>, July 1998.
    3097. 

  3097. 

  3098. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pcquest.com/editorial/edit-may98.html">
    3099. 

  3099. The "Decline" and Rise of Unix</a></b><br>
    3100. 

  3100. by Prasanto K. Roy, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.pcquest.com/">
    3101. 

  3101. PC Quest</a>.
    3102. 

  3102. 

  3103. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea0797/nt/">
    3104. 

  3104. NT Lies</a></b><br>
    3105. 

  3105. by Ed Bott, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/">ZDNet</a>, July 1997.
    3106. 

  3106. 

  3107. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/articles/9804211730214.shtml">
    3108. 

  3108. Sun Joins Linux International</a></b><br>
    3109. 

  3109. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a>, 21 May 1998.
    3110. 

  3110. 

  3111. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/articles/980529098226.shtml">
    3112. 

  3112. Update on Sun joining Linux International</a></b><br>
    3113. 

  3113. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a>, 29 May 1998.
    3114. 

  3114. 

  3115. </p><p><b>
    3116. 

  3116. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://earthspace.net/~esr/writings/cathedral-paper.html">
    3117. 

  3117. The Cathedral and the Bazaar</a></b><br>
    3118. 

  3118. by Eric S. Raymond, 29 January 1998.
    3119. 

  3119. 

  3120. </p><p><b>
    3121. 

  3121. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/research/comp/viewpnts/1997/v10n20/97090178.htm">
    3122. 

  3122. Microsoft: The Joker of Enterprise IS Computing</a></b><br>
    3123. 

  3123. by The <b>
    3124. 

  3124. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/">Aberdeen<i>Group</i></a></b>,
    3125. 

  3125. Executive Viewpoint, Volume 10 / Number 20, September 29, 1997.
    3126. 

  3126. 

  3127. </p><p><b>
    3128. 

  3128. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/research/comp/whtpaper/1998/98031201/98031201.htm">
    3129. 

  3129. Interoperability: Possibility or Elusive Dream? -- An Executive White Paper</a></b><br>
    3130. 

  3130. by The <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/">Aberdeen<i>Group</i></a></b>, March 1998.
    3131. 

  3131. 

  3132. </p><p><b>
    3133. 

  3133. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_abstracts/body1.htm">
    3134. 

  3134. <i>OnSite</i> - Case Study: Migration Migraines</a></b><br>
    3135. 

  3135. by The <b>
    3136. 

  3136. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/">Aberdeen<i>Group</i></a></b>, 1997.
    3137. 

  3137. 

  3138. </p><p><b>
    3139. 

  3139. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_abstracts/body2.htm">
    3140. 

  3140. Case Study: Horns of a Dilemma</a></b><br>
    3141. 

  3141. by The <b>
    3142. 

  3142. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.aberdeen.com/">Aberdeen<i>Group</i></a></b>.
    3143. 

  3143. 

  3144. 

  3145. </p><p><b>
    3146. 

  3146. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.computerworld.com/home/online9697.nsf/all/970724windows">
    3147. 

  3147. Windows NT no match for UNIX, IDC says</a></b><br>
    3148. 

  3148. by Rob Guth, <b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.computerworld.com/">Computerworld</a></b>, 7-24-97.
    3149. 

  3149. 

  3150. </p><p><b>
    3151. 

  3151. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/np102896.htm">
    3152. 

  3152. It will take less drive to make most PC operating
    3153. 

  3153. systems work like Unix</a></b><br>
    3154. 

  3154. by Nicholas Petreley, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a>,
    3155. 

  3155. 28 October 1996. 
    3156. 

  3156. 

  3157. </p><p><b>
    3158. 

  3158. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?/97poy.win3.htm#linux">
    3159. 

  3159. 1997 Product of the Year Award: Operating Systems - Network Operating System</a></b><br>
    3160. 

  3160. by Eric Hammond, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a> Test Center.
    3161. 

  3161. 

  3162. </p><p><b>
    3163. 

  3163. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?/97poy.supp.htm">
    3164. 

  3164. 1997 Product of the Year Award: Best Technical Support Award</a></b><br>
    3165. 

  3165. by Ed Foster, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a> Test Center.
    3166. 

  3166. 

  3167. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://odin.appliedtheory.com/linux-activism/">
    3168. 

  3168. Linux Reviews and Articles</a></b> by Christopher Blizzard. <br>
    3169. 

  3169. This page lists 65 articles or reviews of Linux.
    3170. 

  3170. 

  3171. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://currents.net/magazine/national/1524/inet1524.html">
    3172. 

  3172. Linux Grows Up: Red Hat's commercial Linux beats NT at its own
    3173. 

  3173. game</a></b>, by Maggie Biggs.<br>
    3174. 

  3174. The author is a senior analyst in the 
    3175. 

  3175. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.infoworld.com/">InfoWorld</a>
    3176. 

  3176.  Test Center.  She specializes in database technology and application
    3177. 

  3177. design, development, and deployment via intranets and other networks.
    3178. 

  3178. 

  3179. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/swol-01-1998/swol-01-linux.html">
    3180. 

  3180. Linux lines up for the enterprise: 
    3181. 

  3181. Is there a place in your shop for this inexpensive UNIX?</a></b><br>
    3182. 

  3182. by Rick Cook, in: 
    3183. 

  3183. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/swol-01-1998/">SunWorld - January 1998</a>.
    3184. 

  3184. 

  3185. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.nwfusion.com/intranet/0330linux.html">
    3186. 

  3186. Lookin' into Linux</a></b><br>
    3187. 

  3187. by Mark Gibbs, Network World, March 30, 1998.
    3188. 

  3188. 

  3189. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://guide.sbanetweb.com/press/nw818.html">
    3190. 

  3190. Doing the math to resolve the NT vs. UNIX debate</a></b><br>
    3191. 

  3191. by Wayne Spivak, Network World, August 18, 1997
    3192. 

  3192. 

  3193. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.iserver.com/servers/compare/bsd_vs_nt.html">
    3194. 

  3194. The advantages of using BSDI BSD/OS over Windows NT Server</a></b><br>
    3195. 

  3195. iServer - Verio Web Hosting Inc. - Virtual Servers
    3196. 

  3196. 

  3197. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/sr/business/opportunity/980211b.html">
    3198. 

  3198. Linux: Not Just For Geeks And College Kids Anymore</a></b>, by Jason Perlow, 
    3199. 

  3199. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/">ZDNet</a>, February 11, 1998.
    3200. 

  3200. 

  3201. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/issues/1613/pcmg0068.htm">
    3202. 

  3202. Leaning Toward Linux: Powerful, robust, and free, Linux is worth
    3203. 

  3203. investigating, especially if you plan to set up an Internet
    3204. 

  3204. domain</a></b> by Neil Randall, 
    3205. 

  3205. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/issues/1613/contents.htm">
    3206. 

  3206. ZDNet - PC Magazine Online, July 1997, Vol 16, No. 13.</a>
    3207. 

  3207. 

  3208. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://citv.unl.edu/linux/LinuxPresentation.html">
    3209. 

  3209. Replacing Windows NT Server with Linux</a></b> by Quinn P. Coldiron,
    3210. 

  3210. Information Systems Department manager for the University of Nebraska
    3211. 

  3211. Press.
    3212. 

  3212. 

  3213. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix.digital.com/unix/v4/dhbrown/AIX43.htm">
    3214. 

  3214. An In-Depth Analysis of Five Commercial UNIX Operating Systems and
    3215. 

  3215. Windows NT Server 4.0 (Enterprise Edition) by D.H. Brown Associates,
    3216. 

  3216. Inc.</a></b>
    3217. 

  3217. 

  3218. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bsdi.com/white-papers/compare">
    3219. 

  3219. Comparing BSDI and NT: 
    3220. 

  3220. Building Intranet and Internet Servers with BSDI and Windows NT</a></b>
    3221. 

  3221. 

  3222. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.standishgroup.com/syst.html">
    3223. 

  3223. The Standish Group - SUN Also Rises: Solaris Vs. NT</a></b>
    3224. 

  3224. 

  3225. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.bitwizard.nl/unixnt.html">
    3226. 

  3226. BitWizard B.V. "UNIX vs. NT"</a></b>
    3227. 

  3227. 

  3228. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://pubsys.cmp.com/nc/701/701hreportb.html">
    3229. 

  3229. THE H-REPORT: Which Operating System For Your 'Intranet'?</a></b>
    3230. 

  3230. 

  3231. </p><p><b><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lj/issue46/2494.html">
    3232. 

  3232. Linux Helps Bring <i>Titanic</i> to Life</a></b><br>
    3233. 

  3233. Daryll Strauss, 
    3234. 

  3234. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lj/">LINUX Journal</a>, 
    3235. 

  3235. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.ssc.com/lj/issue46/">Issue #46</a>, February 1998.
    3236. 

  3236. 

  3237. </p></blockquote>
    3238. 

  3238. 

  3239. <hr>
    3240. 

  3240. 

  3241. <h2><a name="acknowledgments">Acknowledgments</a></h2>
    3242. 

  3242. 

  3243. <p>I would like to welcome three new editors who are volunteering
    3244. 

  3244. their services to the UNIX versus NT Organization: Bengt Kleberg,
    3245. 

  3245. Gregory J. Pryzby, and Robert G. Werner.
    3246. 

  3246. 

  3247. </p><p>My very special thanks to Martin Vermeer, who, thanks to his advice
    3248. 

  3248. on form, argumentation presented herein, as well as having provided 
    3249. 

  3249. numerous valuable and sometimes explosive links, has been,
    3250. 

  3250. and continues to be, an invaluable contributor to the
    3251. 

  3251. positive development of this dynamic project.  My deepest appreciation
    3252. 

  3252. goes to the translators who have been generous enough to donate their
    3253. 

  3253. time to this worthy cause: Brian Lin for the Traditional Chinese and
    3254. 

  3254. Simplified Chinese versions, Davor Ocelic for the Croatian translation, 
    3255. 

  3255. Hanus Adler for the Czech translation,
    3256. 

  3256. Kobayashi Osamu for the Japanese translation, Donghun Han for the 
    3257. 

  3257. Korean translation, Bruno H. Collovini for the Portuguese translation,
    3258. 

  3258. and Ilgam Vasilyev for the Russian translation, and Carlos 
    3259. 

  3259. Lizárraga C. for the Spanish translation.
    3260. 

  3260. My thanks also to Nat Makarevitch, Sebastien Blondeel, and 
    3261. 

  3261. Dennis Allard who are currently working on the French translation,
    3262. 

  3262. and to Guglielmo Alfieri, Michele Dalla Silvestra, 
    3263. 

  3263. and Sergio Felleti who are working on the Italian translation.
    3264. 

  3264. 

  3265. </p><p>I would also like to thank the many readers who have contributed
    3266. 

  3266. links to important new articles on this topic, for instance, Lance 
    3267. 

  3267. Bayless, Klaus A. Brunner, 
    3268. 

  3268. Radovan Bukoci, 
    3269. 

  3269. Peter Chen, Reinier de Vos,
    3270. 

  3270. Martin Espinoza, 
    3271. 

  3271. Ariel Faigon, Paul Fischer, P. Gopalakrishnan, 
    3272. 

  3272. Colin Kabaara, 
    3273. 

  3273. Raj Mathur, Howard McKinney, 
    3274. 

  3274. Adrian Mikeliunas, 
    3275. 

  3275. Mike Miller, Mike Stephens, Jim Mohr,  
    3276. 

  3276. Gene Mosher, Philip Obbard, 
    3277. 

  3277. John Oram, Conrad Sanderson, Markus Senoner, Steve Sinnott, 
    3278. 

  3278. Ryan Sumner, Raj Warty, Ken Webster, and countless others.
    3279. 

  3279. 

  3280. </p><p>Equally appreciated is the constructive criticism from Keith H.J.
    3281. 

  3281. Bevins, Joris Braakman, Marty Cawthon, 
    3282. 

  3282. Phillip Chu, Baruch Cochavy, Nicholas Donovan,
    3283. 

  3283. Julian Elischer, Steve Fuller, Alex Gogan, Jake Hamby, Peter Jeremy,
    3284. 

  3284. Adam Johnson, Geoffrey King, Hannu Krosing, Greg Lehey, Kimberly
    3285. 

  3285. McBride, Richard Smith, and David Waine, to name just a few.
    3286. 

  3286. 

  3287. </p><p>No less important was the assistance provided by Leif Erlingsson and
    3288. 

  3288. Damon Conway back around the end of March when I had to upgrade my
    3289. 

  3289. connection and needed their mirroring services, both of whom continue
    3290. 

  3290. to provide mirrors to this site.  Last but not least, my thanks to Ryan
    3291. 

  3291. Sumner for his everlasting moral support on this project.
    3292. 

  3292. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>
    3293. 

  3293. </p><p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://validator.w3.org/"><img border="0" src="./Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX_files/vh40.gif" alt="Valid HTML 4.0!" height="31" width="88"></a>
    3294. 

  3294. </p><p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000815100517/http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/legal.html">©1998 kirch.net Consulting, Inc.</a>
    3295. 

  3295. </p></center>
    3296. 

  3296. 

  3297. 

  3298. 

  3299. 

  3300. 

  3301. 

  3302. 

  3303. 

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    3313.