Channel Strategies for the CIOLinux systems integrators have an opportunity to help small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) realize the benefits of switching
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to an open source platform. This Linux
Systems Integrators Guide will help you sell open source services based on SUSE and Red Hat Linux,
and it explains how to install and support Linux for customers seeking a migration to open source
operating systems.
* VARs/SIs
will be the new face of open source support
As more systems integrators start using open
source components for creating business solutions, they're becoming the source for support.
Frankly, executives don't care about the underlying technology as much as they do about who they're
going to call when there's a problem and whether the systems integrator will be able to help them.
From a change perspective, it's generally more economical and reliable for companies to outsource
the support for open source applications. As adoption of open source applications increases, more
and more vendors are offering support for these open source applications, and the support contracts
simply follow the implementation contracts.
* Linux
server virtualization services
Both Linux distributions utilize Xen
for their virtualization
strategies, though there are differences. Xen has been available on Novell's SUSE for over a year
now, while Red
Hat just stepped to the plate recently. Xen virtualization is widely considered to provide the
best performance, and fully virtualized environments allow for more guest instances. Xen, a hypervisor,
which can execute several virtual
machines on one piece of hardware, is based on paravirtualization.
This virtualization strategy already has the support of many of the largest vendors.
* Fedora
and Red Hat Linux overview
In terms of reliability, the general consensus is that Linux is comparable to many commercial Unix
systems but more reliable than most desktop-oriented operating systems. This is especially true if
you rely on your computer system to stay up because it is a Web server or a file server. (You don't
have to reboot every time you change something).
* Because you can get the source code, you are free to change any part of the Linux system, along with any open source software that comes with it, in any way that you choose. Unlike many self-contained commercial products, open source software tends to be built in pieces that are meant to interact with other pieces, so you are free to mix and match components to suit your tastes. As I mentioned earlier, Linux is a culture that encourages interoperability. For example, if you don't like a window manager, you can plug in a different one because so many were built to operate within the same framework.
* All-in-One
Guides: Linux Migration Project Guide
Most larger businesses today have enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications running on some
kind of Unix platform and would like to take advantage of the many benefits offered by running
their ERP applications on Linux. As you should already know, some
of the advantages of migrating to Linux are cost, flexibility, scalability and enhanced
security features. If offered on the right platform, Linux can scale even better than some Unix
flavors, while offering more flexibility in terms of hardware
and software options. The assessment phase is a key offering that you will need to provide to your
clients. You'll have to go on-site and determine exactly what it is that they have and where they'd
like to be. Your job is taking them there.
* Installing
Linux SUSE 10
The most important part of getting Linux
SUSE 10 up and running is installing the system. Unfortunately, this is also where most users
encounter problems because of differences between the types of information that you need to know
when installing Linux versus Windows. This chapter demystifies the process by helping you through
the installation, pointing out any stumbling blocks that you may hit upon, and offering suggestions
for resolving them.
* Linux
partition on IBM POWER (LoP) services and best practices
If you're going to migrate to LoP, you must understand the critical differences between your source
and target platforms. Ensure applications are supported. The three big problems are: Endianness or byte ordering, data type
length in 32- and 64-bit environments and data alignment differences in the architectures. If
you're going to port, you must study these areas in detail. The number of tested, native
applications available for LoP just exceeded the 2,500 mark. Here is a link that shows you the list
of all applications
currently migrated to LoP.
This was first published in June 2007