Linux

1
Linux

• The future of computing is now
• By Jasper Nuyens
• Managing Director Linux Belgium
• jnuyens_at_linuxbe.com

2
Overview

• Linux on the server
• Linux on the desktop
• Linux as an home entertainment embedded
• Security
• Status in Belgium
• Microsoft Strategy

3
Linux on the server - 2 years ago

• Apache Web server 56 of internet servers (20M),
  Microsoft 30 (10M)
• Fear of Active Directory
• MS Exchange server replacements only commercial
  (Bynari)
• MySQL strong on Linux, weak on Windows
• Development with PHP exclusively on Linux
  LinuxApacheMySQLPHP LAMP

4
Linux on the server - now
30 of all sold servers this year run Linux

• Apache Web server 56 of Internet servers (20M),
  Microsoft 30 (10M) - 68 (38M) vs 21 (12M)
• Fear of Active Directory - Samba 3 Active
  Directory integration Samba 4 alpha is full
  replacement
• MS Exchange server replacements Commercial
  Novell OpenExchange, Bynari GPL OpenGroupware
• MySQL strong on Linux and Windows. Version 4.1
  now with clustering and Stored Procedures
• Strong growth for powerful capabilities and easy
  installation of LAMP and WAMP

5
Novell Linux DesktopEvolution 2.0 Exchange
Connector

6
Linux server excitement

• Kernel 2.6 with even better scheduling
• NIX protocol (low bandwith high performance
  remote desktop)
• Versioned filesystem Reiserfs, Wayback
• All potentially interesting Longhorn features are
  dropped
• All large vendors support Linux now!
• LDAP acceptation in all basic technologies
  (Apache, Linux user authentication, MySQL,)

7
Security - status

• Bill started focus on security on 1/2002 - now 3
  years later
• A lot of Microsoft commissioned studies who
  hardly prove anything
• Security Enhanced Linux by NSA
• NSA guidelines to secure Windows 2000 several
  1000 pages, Windows server 2003 less, but
  still(!) - still a lot easier to harden Linux
• Windowing environment security will only be there
  with Avalon (Longhorn)
• XP SP2 integrates firewall - finally (however,
  it seems to be an upgrade nightmare - backward
  compatibility is very important with Linux)
• Despite the promises, buffer overflows remain the
  largest problem
• Default-off policies for security-frightening
  technologies such as Active-X and IIS are good
  steps (but Linux people could say that already in
  1999)
• Security lags behind with those who didnt pay
  the upgrade tax

8
Desktop Linux - 2 years ago
Level of Windows 95

• Solely on LINUX/UNIX System administrators
  workstation
• First release of KNOPPIX
• No easy VPN client
• Little support for WiFi (802.11x)
• No suspend-to-disk function for laptops
• Windows programs only viable through commercial
  add-ons VMWare, win4lin, codeweavers
• Mplayer good, but only command line
• Support for new hardware was relatively uncertain

9
Desktop Linux - now
Level of Windows XP, and beyond!

• Many small businesses try, and the first office
  roll-outs are a reality. In 2005 we will see many
  large installs.
• KNOPPIX 3.7 is GREAT
• GUI VPN client (eg Xandros 3.0) - first linux
  distribution
• All WiFi-cards supported (native/ndiswrapper) -
  however still dificult to setup
• Good laptop support by most distributions
• Windows programs through GPL wine, and gets
  better and better integrated into distributions
• Mplayer and Xine beat Windows Media Player (codec
  support/framerate)
• Linux support by most vendors and even WallMart
  (US)
• Citrix ICA client for Linux
• User excitement over print-to-pdf function of
  Open Office

10
Linux Desktop Excitement

• Xandros 3.0 (vpn, crossoffice 4.1)
• Mandrake 10.1
• Novell, SUN Java Desktop, Red Hat
• Evolution/Kmail/Thunderbird vs Outlook
• FireFox 10M downloads for Win, Lin, Mac
• But nothing can beat a real look at the system
• FireFox XUL delivers .Net promise
• Linux on Desktop for entire IBM organization and
  Oracle by end 2005!
• Cinelarra Video Editing

11
Linux Desktop Shortfalls

• No central proxy configuration (yet)
• Still no native Adobe software (except for
  Acrobat Reader)
• Small marketing budget
• Fonts are still an issue when exchanging data
• No real replacement for MS Access
• Still less polished than MacOS X

Its difficult to compare this technology with
only an operating system, GNU/Linux is sooo much
more
12
GNU/Linux technology
To name a few things

• CD/DVD mastering - xcdroast
• Video editing/rendering - Kdenlive, cinelerra
• 3D software - blender
• Audio mixing software - Rosegarden,
• PBX/VoIP telco-grade server - Asterisk
• IDS - snort, snortsam,

Microsoft claims to be able to make a better
OS, is Microsoft also going to add thousands of
applications ???
13
Linux Desktop

• . Presentation .

14
Entertainment and embedded

• Lack of games (commercial WineX supported 8
  games)
• Great support for almost every codec and
  multimedia format
• XBoxMediaCenter
• Linux on iPod (?)
• Freevo (skins, plugins)
• Motorola Mobile Phones A768i A780
• Linux uses the same kernel source tree from
  embedded up to the mainframe

15
XboxMediaCenter - music

16
XboxMediaCenter - pictures

17
XboxMediaCenter - videos

18
XboxMediaCenter - videos

19
XboxMediaCenter - weather

20
FreeVo

21
Linux in Belgium

• Used by virtually every large enterprise and
  institution (on the server)
• Lots of small implementation vendors
• Novell and IBM not doing anything big yet
• Most Belgian software and hardware developers are
  in the process of implementing Linux support
• Many enterprises and organisations look at Linux
  on the desktop. Only a few early adopters. 2005
  will be the year of change for many

22
Microsoft Strategy

• Evolution of Linux is seen as competition and
  approached as if it is a product of another
  vendor - While Linux is a free technology
  (should be approached as the internet or
  WiFi)
• Before Microsoft accepted the popularity of the
  Internet, the same mistake was made because
  Microsoft had a competing technology
• The Internet turned out to be the driving force
  of a new technological revolution leading to
  economical blossom worldwide, Linux bears many
  similarities
• Linux can add an incredible value to Microsoft
  and already does so for many many users
  ActivePerl, WAMP, MinGW, CygWin, coLinux, Damn
  Small Linux
• Microsoft only hurts itself by not including the
  new technologies!

23
Microsoft Strategy - the solution

• The solution is clear
• GNU/Linux applications need to be bundled and/or
  integrated in the Operating system (there are
  different possibilities to do so, with or without
  the Linux kernel)
• Microsoft can legally create the best Linux
  distribution (just as Red Hat) with Windows
  binary compatibility and its current licensing
  model
• Microsoft has no other option than to embrace and
  be extended -)