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What Does Linux Have To Offer Technically? What's In It For Me?
In the server market, Linux has made inroads most strongly as dedicated-use servers such as:
- Internet servers (including e-Commerce servers)
- Embedded systems
- Application servers
- File/print servers
- Development systems
As an example, the Apache* Web server, running on Linux, serves more Web sites than all other servers, including Microsoft's IIS*.
Capitalizing On Linux Features
Running your solution on Linux may improve the overall reliability and availability of your platform, enabling you to increase the actual and perceived quality of your solutions, serve your customers better, and even penetrate new markets.
Additionally, Linux has features available to the IntelŪ DialogicŪ product developer as well as the end-user, which can be realized out of the box. All that is necessary is to simply run your boards along with your existing application software on a Linux based machine. Other benefits specific to converged communications solutions require application development, integration services, or both.
While the list of features and capabilities of Linux is impressive and demonstrates the operating system's capabilities, the following analysis puts the focus largely on those features that have relevance for IntelŪ DialogicŪ board-level products or are of particular interest to our customers (for a more comprehensive review of the features and enhancements that will be available in latest version of Linux (2.4), visit Linuxtoday.com ).
Enhanced Reliability and Availability, the Cornerstone of Linux
Although Linux is widely acknowledged as being extremely robust and reliable, work is proceeding at a furious pace to enhance those features even more. In the area of the disk file system, these features increase system reliability and enable recovery in the event of an unexpected failure:
- Journaling file systems for Linux eliminate the need for a file system consistency check after an unintended shutdown due to a power outage or other similar event.
- A Logical Volume Manager (LVM) included with Linux lets the user dynamically resize disk partitions on the fly, as well as set up software-based RAID systems.
Additionally, there are features that you can use for greater improvements in mission-critical applications requiring high reliability and availability. Such out-of-the-box benefits include:
- Reduced reboots - adding new software should not require your customers to reboot their systems at all. In addition, changing items like IP addresses, protocols, and device drivers, requiring rebooting on some operating systems, does not on Linux.
- Automatic system recovery and logging tools for total system management.
- Network servers for truly distributed environments
- Loadable device drivers for added configuration flexibility and system availability
Although most out-of-the-box features will be available simply by migrating your solution to Linux, even more reliable solutions can be obtained by making the most of the services via new hardware configurations. These features include:
- RAID support for resilient data storage
- Standards-based redundant network links for improved network connectivity and reliability
- Redundant power supplies with power monitoring services for improved resilience to environmental factors
- High-availability server chassis with hot-swap capability for increased solution availability, thanks to improved fault isolation and recovery.
There are also a number of underlying capabilities that can be made the most of by the Dialogic system software and/or the customer solution:
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
- CORBA* (Distributed Object Broker)
- 64-bit processor support for ItaniumŪ processors
- Enhanced message Internationalization and Localization
- X Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- Dynamically Loadable Device Drivers
- Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) support
- Apache Web Server
- Plug-N-Play device
- Java* Virtual Machine
- Clustered system support
Enhanced Performance At Lowered Costs
For those solution providers who aim to increase throughput while simultaneously lowering costs, Linux offers considerable benefit. For instance, Linux support for I2O (a dedicated I/O processor) bandwidth-intensive applications allows certain applications to offload their I/O load to dedicated processors, speeding up the overall system.
Hardware requirements are no greater for Linux than they are for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000, and you don't usually need to upgrade your hardware to get the benefit of this OS.
Linux is license free, so developers, integrators, and end-users do not need to purchase costly "client-access" licenses. A small portion of those savings invested in hardware upgrades will typically yield a significant benefit to everyone involved.
Additional benefits can be realized by proactively making the most of the following features offered by the OS:
- The top tool for processor accounting and RAM allocation
- scatter/gather I/O for streamlining moving data from non-contiguous RAM to contiguous disk
- Processor affinity to allow threads to be locked to a particular processor where cache hits are more likely to improve performance
- More flexible/proc interface for system tuning
Enhanced Scalability for Incremental Growth
Scalability allows systems to grow when expansion is needed. This feature is particularly useful for companies that start small due to financial limitations, or in a business model in which capacity growth is tied to subscriber or revenue growth. A scalable solution lets these customers install a small system and increase capacity as needed without having to perform major changes or what is sometimes called a "forklift upgrade" on their base machine.
Enhanced scalability in Linux is provided out-of-the-box via Symmetric Multiprocessor (SMP) support and a common API across the various Linux variants. Even the lowest-level variant of Linux has SMP support. As a result, even desktop machines can make the most of the benefits of having multiple processors in a single machine. Scalability in Linux permits steady growth of up to 16 processors within a single server.
Linux implements a common API across many different types of hardware. The same application can therefore run unchanged on a small laptop computer as well as on a large multiprocessor back-end server. Furthermore, the same Linux API is supported on an embedded configuration (one with a minimal memory utilization and without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse - sometimes referred to as "headless") so you can port your solutions to embedded systems with few application changes.
Other out-of-the-box scalability benefits of Linux include:
- Dynamic SMP allocation for applications lets developers and system administrators reconfigure their systems to optimize for changes in SMP hardware and SMP needs, even while the solution is still running
- Load balancing lets large multi-server solutions maintain equilibrium of user load across different servers for optimal system performance
Additionally, you can also proactively make use of the following enhancements to improve the scalability of your solution:
- Up to 64GB of addressable memory (EMA)
- Application load balancing
- Clustering supports for a virtually unlimited number of servers
Enhanced Manageability Lowers Ownership Costs
Contrary to common belief, manageability and not initial purchase cost is the primary component of total cost of ownership (TCO). Improving the overall manageability of your solutions will lower your customer's TCO considerably. Even though Linux is free, most companies have come to understand that the most profound financial benefits of using Linux come from its ease of administration, the wealth of tools available, and its flexibility.
By building management components from true open standards and protocols, the collective work of many hundreds of open source projects developed over the years can be utilized to let you choose the most appropriate suite of management capabilities. Manageability features that customers can benefit from in their solutions include:
- LDAP - allows centralized directory services. Fully compliant with X.500 and other directory servers, it greatly simplifies name services
- Terminal Servers - allows the use of thin clients in client/server configurations. Clients can make the best use of server resources (processing, disk, RAM, etc.) so that they can be deployed on inexpensive hardware, and inherit standardized configuration and updates.
- Scripting Capabilities - allows the use of common interpreters such as the Bourne shell*, Perl*, Python*, or PHP to control complex management attributes of the operating system as well as the solution
Expanded Interoperability Improves Efficiency and Reliability
The ability to interoperate within heterogeneous environments is becoming more important as large, complex systems are built using components from different commercial sources. Such systems often link existing legacy subsystems that transcend geographic boundaries.
Linux has added or enhanced many cross-operating-system integration features including:
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Linux development has focused on building a cohesive strategy for the heterogeneous enterprise and service provider environments that are becoming increasingly important in the world of converged communications. The convergence of code bases can only improve efficiencies within your organization apart from improving the overall reliability of your solutions.
Plug and Play
The Linux plug and play capability improves system availability by minimizing the configuration required when new hardware is introduced, or when failed hardware is removed from a system. If the hardware also supports hot swap, then changes can be made without shutting down the system or halting applications.
The new Linux hardware detection tool, "Kudzu," can be used to resolve conflicts when new hardware is introduced into the system. This wizard resolves many conflicts automatically and, if necessary, provides an easy-to-use interface that walks system administrators through the steps required to resolve conflicts manually.
Enhanced Globalization Features
If you're looking to increase your global account opportunities,; then globalization, or the modification of software for localization in specific geographical areas or dialects, becomes important. Although not all user interfaces (UI) warrant globalization, it is likely that some need to be localized. The pressure to modify software for local use will grow more as software developers make the most of the tools in products like Linux, and as customers get used to this capability. For example, although English is the most commonly used UI for system administration, solutions often benefit when end-user interfaces are localized. With Linux, you can build on such features right away.
Other Miscellaneous Functionalities of Linux
Linux also provides the following miscellaneous functionalities that can be of assistance, depending on your specific solution:
- Disk Quotas and Dynamic Volume Creation is great for bounding Call Data Records, billing data, voice mail files, and trace dumps, so that overflows don't crash your system
- File encryption allows disk-based files to be encrypted so that intruders who manage to get through your customer's firewall can not view data stored on disk
- HTML Help is portable across Windows and Unix, and provides a standard look and feel for all online documentation, which can be kept up-to-date via hyperlinks to Internet-based sources
When And How Can I Get Started On My Linux Migration?
A Good Rule of Thumb
Once you've decided that a Linux-based solution is right for you, the decision of when to migrate to Linux will depend, in part, on the current phase of your solution's life cycle. There are four phases:
- Development Phase - solutions that are still in the planning and development stage
- Enablement Phase - solutions that have started limited deployment, usually via beta trials and limited customer releases
- Presence Phase - solutions that have been made generally available and are competing for market share
- Volume Phase - solutions already in the field that are shipping in large volumes
Since the journey from Development Phase to Presence Phase normally takes between one and two years, those of you with products in the Development or Enablement phase are likely to want to capitalize on the features and added robustness of Linux as soon as possible. This will help you compete with established solutions and breathe new life into your existing product lifecycle. Since Linux has been in widespread use for a number of years, it is possible that many of you are already using it in your labs, incorporating it into the design of your future solutions/versions.
You can also switch to Linux at a later point in your product's life cycle as pressure mounts from competing products that are using Linux, or from customers who have heard about the features of Linux and are demanding increased reliability, scalability, or manageability. Linux adds a new dimension on which you can differentiate your solution from that of your competitors.
Assessing Your Individual Needs
Each product manager needs to make his or her own assessment about migrating to Linux, taking into account the unique needs of the solution, the architecture, and your specific customers. It is vital that you review the changes outlined above in light of your own unique needs. Changes to your existing solutions will require some effort even if you are just planning to utilize the out-of-the-box benefits of the operating system. You will need to retest your solution and you may also need to modify your packaging, training, and documentation.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
- When do my solutions require added robustness?
- How critical is lowering the TCO of my solutions?
- At what point is it strategic to leapfrog the competition by providing advanced features?
- Can I capitalize on the interest and excitement generated by a new operating system?
- What dependencies do the other software packages that make up my solution place on Linux?
Let's consider an example of this last item. With all of the major database vendors such as Oracle*, Informix*, and IBM* supporting Linux, often at a much more aggressive price point than that charged for other platforms, an application that heavily uses database technology can be very cost-effectively deployed on Linux, with a much greater level of reliability to boot.
Linux Is Making It Easier
Linux makes it financially very easy to migrate to onto this platform. Prices are effectively non-existent for the operating system and there are no costly "Client Access Licenses" (CALs). As indicated earlier, an unlimited number of users and/or other client connections can tap any Linux server without incurring additional costs.
Intel Is Helping
- It is our view that by providing a version of software for our converged communications products that operates compatibly in a Linux environment, our customers will be able to start using the many out-of-the-box enhancements to Linux without having to modify existing solutions. Linux offers many benefits for telephony solutions, including reliability and scalability, increased performance, and enhanced manageability.
If you need additional assistance in making the decision to support Linux, or in understanding how to best support Linux, don't forget that Intel offers a range of Professional Services to meet your needs, whether it is by helping you design a migration plan, or by actually implementing such a plan.
For further information about the availability of the System Release for Linux, contact your local account representative or sales representative at 1-800-755-4444 (US)
Charts Source: IDC - Server Operating Environments: 1998 Year in Review and Server operating Environments: 1999 Year in Review
00-6995-001
09-21-00
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