[NBLUG/talk] Linux in offices initiative

Jordan Erickson jerickson at logicalnetworking.net
Fri Aug 29 09:17:12 PDT 2014


I administrate networks for a number of small businesses in the area.
Most of which, when I come to start working with them, have some kind of
Windows server (if they have a server at all). This is because the
people who set up their network know Microsoft products. The consultants
usually come in with their standard Windows servers, desktops and
practices, put everything together, and then leave.

I still have yet to find "normal" techs and consultants using Linux on a
regular basis with their clients. Why not, you ask? Well, IMHO the
bottom line is money. Have you noticed that Microsoft is a very large
and rich corporation? How did they get that way? Well, by selling
software, of course. But not just that - they have sold an ecosystem, a
business model that the mainstream follows, including the tech industry.

Regarding standard utilities and practices', many distributions have
accomplished this to some degree - Red Hat, Novell, SuSE... it's out
there. IMHO this isn't the hurdle to overcome for general acceptance. If
you want Linux to become the new standard in office servers, you must
simply assure each business you convert that they will continue to not
have to worry about the back-end infrastructure, that someone will be
there to take care of it all for them. Look at it from a service point
of view, not a product point of view.

In my experience, using Linux as an office server has huge benefits. I
can tailor each environment to the needs of the business. I am not stuck
in doing things a certain way. My clients know that I am the one that
supports their network, and that is their bottom line. As long as you
know how to accomplish goals, they don't care what's running in the
network closet.


Cheers,
Jordan

Jordan Erickson (PGP: 0x78DD41CB)
LNS: 707-636-5678, http://logicalnetworking.net

 

On 08/29/2014 07:59 AM, Omar Eljumaily wrote:
> Steve, thanks.  You're right.  A lot of the issues are pretty generic
> to business.  I think, however, that Linux can become a ubiquitous
> business tool.
>
> There's no doubt that Windows office server is losing market share. 
> One important question is whether those offices shedding Windows
> Server will switch to Linux or just go completely cloud for file and
> application serving.
>
> My own experience is that when run properly a Linux server in a small
> office can save a lot of time and money, and it would be difficult to
> mimic that efficiency with Windows Server, and virtually impossible to
> do it completely on the cloud.
>
> It's still a bit of an esoteric field, though.  It would be nice to
> have a sort of default set of applications and guidelines for doing it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Omar
>
>
> On 8/27/2014 9:16 AM, Steve S. wrote:
>> Omar,
>>
>> Good topic... feel free to "barge in and start blabbing" when it's a
>> nice meaty on-topic post!  :-D
>>
>> Some of these things seem like real Linux issues; indeed, some of them
>> are rather larger than a local list can reasonably "solve," e.g. your
>> #1 (GUI tools reliable across multiple major releases):
>> intercompatibility between different Linuces' windowing environments
>> is a notable issue, and IMHO one that holds Linux back from greater
>> business acceptance.  Obviously, dev's can port... but when a business
>> is deciding what to implement, "can be ported easily / might be ported
>> someday" makes a less-than-compelling case... ;-)
>>
>> Some of the others, honestly, are pretty generic business issues;
>> take, for example, your numbers 2 (backup) & 3 (cloud vs. local for
>> applications/servers) -- which these days IMHO are really best
>> considered as a set, with a coordinated data/app/server strategy.
>> This is a question that every business needs to address, and
>> Linux/Windows/OS-X/VMS/OS400/GEOS/whatever is less relevant than is a
>> cost/benefit/risk analysis of the issues.
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 11:03 AM, Omar Eljumaily <omar at omnicode.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Hello, I've been using Linux servers in a couple of small offices in
>>> Santa
>>> Rosa for about 15 years now.  I've developed a sort of laundry list of
>>> issues that I think would make things much easier for businesses to use
>>> Linux in their offices.
>>>
>>> I found your Linux user group and was wondering if anybody had any
>>> thoughts
>>> on the idea of developing a list of apps and/or best practices for
>>> using
>>> Linux in office settings.  I know there are already things like this in
>>> various forms, and a lot of apps that are already available.  Perhaps
>>> putting something like this together would be just a matter of
>>> assembling
>>> existing apps and information.
>>>
>>> Some of the issues that I deal with on a daily basis, and I believe
>>> aren't
>>> addressed in a formal manner for Linux are the following. I'm using
>>> Centos
>>> right now, but am in the process of moving to Ubuntu LTS for various
>>> reasons.
>>>
>>> 1. A robust, consistent solution for GUI based configuration
>>> management that
>>> works across major releases.
>>>
>>> 2.  Best practices for backup & mirroring, including recommendations
>>> for
>>> hardware and hot swapping.
>>>
>>> 3. A solution for cloud synchronization of local data.  Also
>>> concerning this
>>> issue would be a discussion of when (or if) it makes sense to run a
>>> local
>>> server as opposed to an offsite cloud server or application.
>>>
>>> 4. Standardized maintenance agreements with example pricing.
>>>
>>> 5. Firewall and security recommendations.
>>>
>>> 6. Development of a consistent platform for application serving. Some
>>> variation of LAMP, but with provisions for trials, plug and play, etc.
>>>
>>> These is a short and incomplete list.  Sorry to barge in and start
>>> blabbing
>>> about it.  I thought it would be nice to start a conversation with
>>> local
>>> people about this if anybody's interest.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Omar
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> talk mailing list
>>> talk at nblug.org
>>> http://nblug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/talk
>>
>>
>
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