[Novalug] Business Oriented Install-Fests [was: Where is Linux today?]

Robert Kuropkat robert@kuropkat.com
Tue Jun 17 18:46:48 EDT 2008


*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*

An interesting, business oriented install-fest might be seeing
automated, network based installs as well as updates/upgrades and
generally maintaining enterprise wide baselines.  And I'd like to see
the free as in beer alternatives.  I'm not adverse to recommending
commercial options to my organization, but usually, the only difference
I see in the free vs commercial solutions is a six figure price tag,
just for the ease of initial setup.  The price seems a bit steep to me,
but on the other hand, so is the still brutal setup of some of the free
tools.

i.e.  Enterprise [non-commercial] tools are in a state today, where
workstation installation where 5 years ago.

I'd really like to see a demo and some more work done on products like
Unattended or Unattended-GUI that make it easier to setup and control
installs such as Red Hat, Ubuntu AND Windows.  I'd like to see this as
perhaps a cornerstone to various system recovery strategies, eg. back up
the data, not the apps or OS.  This is particularly useful when the
corporate lease expires on your Dell 2650 and it gets replaced with a
brand spankin' new Dell 2950.  Classic backups don't help much there.
It would be nice to twiddle an install script, reboot the new server,
select a menu option, let the latest version of your OS do it's slick
new hardware detection and walla!  New server.  Load the data and done.
 It's also useful when you know you have standard business or developer
apps but have developers who want to use different distros.  With a good
set of tools, there should be no need to restrict the deployed OS options.

Show me how I can do that without spending tens, or even hundreds of
thousands of dollars and I'd attend.

Follow that up with other corporate boggeymen preventers such hard drive
encryption, anti-virus etc. and you get even farther down my check list.

Add the big brother items, such as network monitoring, penetration
testing, etc. and I can probably even pay to attend.

Show me how to setup linux services equivalent to Windows services on a
one to one basis and INTEGRATE them (MS Exchange -> ?, Active Directory
-> OpenLDAP) and I'm into the icing.

Note: I don't need a list of apps, I already know most of the options.
What I don't have is a smooth way to roll them out, integrate them and
show how they compare to the Windows counterparts the rest of the larger
corporation is using as well as the value add of even using them rather
than submitting to "the man" and going the route the rest of the
corporation has.

Sure I can bulldog my way through them and will, but I think you hit on
an interesting idea.  Why should I have to?  This is what install-fests
were for!  And the reason you had so many of them once was because word
would spread and each time new people would attend, but also, those who
attended the last would be ready for advanced topics at later ones.

The "nice side" to Windows solutions is you usually have very limited
options and the corporate suits are already used to laying out tons of
cash for them.  But if you are a one off organization in your company,
no one knows what to do, nor do they want to bother or pay for it.  Only
once it is well established and proven will they tend to give it greater
thought.

Robert Kuropkat


Tanenhaus Michael wrote:
> I would respectfully disagree with Maxwell on this one. I believe strongly that Linux is simply changing rather than stagnating. The adoption of the open source model is EXPLODING! Linux has achieve relevance as a server operating system and is being adopted at a good pace.  
> 
> In regards to Desktops - Vista has been a great enhancer in getting people to come off auto pilot and actually evaluate the different options available to them. I think the LiveCD/LiveDVD has become more popular because of this trend.  
> 
> One of the side effects of change is that the audience changes with the products. Most business models for OSS software revolve around enterprise support for OS and applications. This in turn drives marketing and sales specific to delivering this message of corporate value. As the focus changes from whats cool about the technology to what is good for business the audience who is listening changes as well.  
> 
> I run a consulting company who has a primary mission of forwarding OSS technologies (including Linux) in the enterprise. We are partnered with Novell (SuSE) because their solutions using the technology deliver a great deal of business value. I have watched this thread with interest because one of the marketing events we are looking at for this year is coincidentally an InstallFest. The question for us has been what is the interest level - and who would be the audience to attend?   
> 
> I believe Linux conferences and marketing are essential for keeping Linux and OSS relevant and therefore growing in adoption; and I believe that there is definitely an audience for these conferences - because we see a lot of questions about Linux; I am just not sure its the same audience as 5 years ago.  
> 
> For the record - we DO recommend Linux :)  For server and Desktop environments. This is a relatively recent change for us - we did not believe the enterprise desktop distributions were ready until about 12 months ago. I believe it to be a viable option against Vista and Apple - and have demonstrated it with our own staff.  
> 
> I am very excited about OSS and Linux; I think it has become a major influencer in technology innovation and has bypassed Microsoft is injecting new and different ideas into the marketplace. That sort of competition is great for everyone - its gets the juices flowing!  
> 
> 
> 
> Michael Tanenhaus
> Principal
> Mavenspire, Inc
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Novalug mailing list
> Novalug@calypso.tux.org
> http://calypso.tux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/novalug



More information about the Novalug mailing list