Linux Scales New Heights, Dec 23, 2002

The creeping legitimacy of open source was given a big boost in 2002 when major vendors including IBM, Oracle and Sun Microsystems pledged support. On the surface, it seems like the vendors are just thumbing their nose at Microsoft. But something big is at stake here. By offering customized services for open-source software, vendors stand to lock in customers on service—a much more lucrative market than software licenses.

IBM Wednesday again staged a competitive assault on HP when it launched a new pSeries server with a twist -- it comes, solely, with the Linux operating system.

... the pace of application development for Linux is increasing dramatically, citing that some 4,200 applications have been developed during the past five months mostly for the company's server software, including WebSphere and DB2.

Trends in the vendor and user communities point to Linux as a strong alternative operating system.

If IBM likes it, then it must be all right. That, at least, is what supporters of Linux, an operating system for computers, are hoping. Unlike Microsoft Windows, Linux holds no secrets for programmers. Its source codes can be read like an open book, which makes them easy to adapt to individual needs and cheaper to buy. After years in the doldrums as Microsoft forged ahead in market after market, Linux is making a comeback—and in an unexpected market.

Tech giants are pouring money into Linux development because when users buy Linux, they also buy hardware, software and services that the companies can sell at a profit.

IBM has made some progress in its effort to spread the Linux operating system far and wide, selling thousands of high-tech cash registers to two sizable customers.

As Hollywood goes ever more digital, IBM is gearing up to grab some of its business by introducing souped-up technology for production and editing of video and audio.

Red Hat and IBM have expanded a partnership, with Red Hat bringing its top-end version of Linux to all four of IBM's server lines and with IBM's services and software divisions supporting Red Hat's software.

The multiyear deal, which will be announced Monday, boosts Red Hat's Advanced Server version, which comes with higher-end features than Red Hat's other versions of Linux. Red Hat, the top seller of the Linux operating system, has already signed deals under which IBM rivals Hewlett-Packard and Dell Computer back Advanced Server.

Linux has won in the server market because it scales and is robust. It didn't win by slick marketing, because there wasn't much, apart from the cartoon picture of a penguin and a helping hand from IBM. It won by quality and viral proliferation.

This is bad news for Microsoft. Most of the firm's server products run only on the Windows server. If Windows becomes marginalised, then its server revenues will decline.

Portly penguins aren't usually associated with a high-speed game like tennis. But Linux's favorite mascot will be a very noticeable part of the U.S. Open next week.

The open-source operating system will be center court, running the tournament's major information systems and moving data around the world.

In an effort to further spread the word on the virtues of the Linux open source Latest News about open source operating system, IBM Latest News about IBM Relevant Products/Services from IBM said Thursday that it had turned a number of major companies and organizations into Linux converts, naming Air New Zealand, 7-Eleven Latest News about 7-Eleven and Deutsche Telekom.

IBM has released DB2 v8.1 for Linux (Intel 32 and 64 bit). New features include multi-dimensional clustering (queries and analytics nearly 100% faster), self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, self-protecting, and the ability to consolidate Web Services queries through a single SQL statement

(webmaster's note: the links at CW360 have a fairly short shelf-life, so you may have to look up the article if the link expires)
Most noticeably, Oracle (9i) has said that it is now giving Linux equal status in a market it now sees as being split three ways - between Windows, Linux and Solaris.

This is an enormous boost for Linux fortunes, as the OS now offers the credibility that goes with the support of both IBM and Oracle, an event that finally dismisses any suggestion that Linux is a risky "unsupported" environment attractive to only the very brave or the very foolish IS director.

And it's not just IBM and Oracle leading the charge. Linux continues to grow market share at around 30% a year.

With its Linux Virtual Services, IBM will sell the computing power of its mainframes, charging $300 (about £200) per month for each "service unit" -- about a third the computing capacity that a typical single-processor Intel server can provide, said Warren Hart, director of offerings for IBM's Global Services division.

IBM has contributed two Web services technologies to the Apache Software Foundation to advance the development and adoption of Web services in the open source Latest News about open source community.

The new WebSphere Software Developer Kit (SDK) for Web Services will make it easier for developers to take advantage of the latest in Web services technology to design and create Web services for integrating companies, customers, suppliers and employees over the Internet in heterogeneous environments.

IBM has chosen New York as the venue for its first ever Linux test centre. Situated in Big Blue's Madison Avenue offices, the new Linux Centre of Competence will be just a few miles from the heart of Wall Street, its principal target.

It's no accident, according to Gartner Dataquest. While the Linux Intel server market remains small in terms of revenue, it's growing quickly and it's this growth that has enabled IBM to grab a bigger part of the server market pie.

And IBM knows this. Rich Michos, IBM's v.p. of Linux servers, says, "The Intel platform is the fastest growing platform, and Linux is the fastest growing server OS. Each year Linux is becoming more and more important to IBM and it gains a bigger share." To be exact, Scott Handy, IBM's director of Linux solutions marketing, says that 27% of new servers requests are for Linux servers." And, those requests are increasing.

IBM initially will fund the center in Manhattan with $1 million, helping financial services companies move their software to Linux computers, the company said. Though the company didn't disclose how many employees will work in the center, other IBM facilities for helping customers and companies develop their software typically have 12 to 50 employees.

Germany has signed up IBM for a major public sector computer contract, dealing a blow to software giant Microsoft in the process.

The German government has signed a deal with IBM and Linux company SuSE that makes it easier for government offices to use the open-source operating system, a move that addresses concerns about relying too heavily on Microsoft products.

This role-change for Linux was spurred partly by large server vendors such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, IBM and NEC, which have become Linux's biggest cheerleaders. While the goal of these companies ultimately is to sell a lot of Linux, the vendors also are involved in the development and strengthening of Linux for use with large-scale enterprise applications.

Linux, the open-source operating system with an outsider mystique, is now proliferating on powerful government computer systems in the United States and abroad with technology giants increasingly providing support.

At a Tokyo trade show today, IBM Corp. is planning to announce the sale of more than 75 Linux-based computer systems to U.S. agencies, including the Air Force, the Defense, Agriculture and Energy departments and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The 'Ready for Real Business' Linux roadshow, hosted by IBM and featuring speakers and demonstrations of Linux technology from around the Middle East, will open in Bahrain on Sunday.

IBM has signed a deal with Landmark Graphics to build Linux supercomputers and PCs for oil and gas companies, the companies will announce Friday.

Armonk, New York-based IBM said it used a carbon nanotube -- a tiny cylindrical structure made up of carbon atoms that is about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair -- to make a transistor similar to today's silicon-based electronic switches, or transistors.

How a former has-been kicked its old habits, got open-source religion, and regained its status as one of the biggest, baddest tech companies on earth.

International Business Machines Corp and Britain's business software maker Sage Group Plc announced on Tuesday they will offer the Linux operating system to medium-sized businesses around the globe.

No financial details were disclosed by either of the two companies, but Wladawsky-Berger said IBM, which is struggling with stagnating revenues, said it regards small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) as its "biggest growth area".

IBM today unveiled an Intel-based telecommunications server that is optimized to run carrier-grade Linux, capitalizing on the service provider industry's move to Linux-based solutions. The server will offer 58 percent better performance than a competing Sun Microsystems UNIX server in a key industry benchmark. A typical configuration of the new IBM eServer, this announcement represents IBM's bid for leadership of the $4.5 billion market segment for telecommunications servers, where Sun gets a significant portion of its total revenue.

The company on Tuesday announced a new eServer based on the Linux operating system for the telecommunications industry. At the same time, Big Blue introduced a new Linux Service Provider Lab to test Linux software for telecommunications companies.

IBM hopes the new eServer will increase sales in a market that has traditionally been dominated by Sun Microsystems. IBM's latest product is priced lower than its current telecom servers in a move to attract telecommunications companies, which have been cutting capital spending.

Connected computers will be the battleground where the benefits and shortcomings of open source and proprietary software development are finally revealed, according to developers from both camps.

"Eventually, the Grid will give every researcher or entrepreneur access to computing power they could never afford before," said David Turek, vice president of Linux emerging technologies at IBM. "And ultimately, the Grid could make computing as accessible as electricity or telephone service -- always there, you turn it on when you want to and pay only for what you use."

IBM today announced the number of IBM Business Partners supporting IBM's Linux*-enabled software increased more than 800 percent over the last year.

IBM Business Partners are riding the momentum behind the fast-paced growth of the Linux operating system. In one year, the number of Business Partners supporting IBM's key software running on Linux grew from 548 to more than 4700.

The company will use tools from software maker VMware to allow IBM x360 eServer models to run the Windows and Linux operating systems in various combinations.

IBM will discuss the VMware licensing deal later Tuesday at its Partnerworld conference. The deal fits into two Big Blue efforts: the X architecture initiative to offer more sophisticated Intel-based servers and an overall emphasis on the open-source Linux software.

Hewlett-Packard expects "a breakout year" for Linux, CEO Carly Fiorina says. This spring, HP will add Linux systems to the pay-per-use programs it offers Windows and Unix users. Under the program, HP assumes full life-cycle management of a customer's servers, and customers can dictate the size of their infrastructure based on computing needs. HP is also enhancing its broader Linux services; for example, it will offer Linux porting and migration services, along with security and telecommunications application services.

IBM, having embraced Linux, now is on a mission to convince others that the operating system is worthy of real-world use.

To further its cause, IBM put on display at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo here four big-name Linux customers--clothing retailer L.L. Bean, digital animation studio Pixar, department store chain Boscov's and financial services giant Salomon Smith Barney.

... Kusnetzky gives IBM credit for the approach. "It shows a well-thought-out marketing strategy. They are taking more advantage of Linux and the open-source movement than any of their competitors," he said.

Indeed, IBM's support of Linux has succeeded in drowning out rival server companies with substantial support backing for Linux.

The new Z-series mainframe for Linux, which costs $400,000 US and is aimed at processing transactions at large businesses, is IBM's first mainframe sold without the company's traditional z/OS mainframe operating system, the company said Friday.

IBM is looking to highlight its e-business infrastructure products and services with a new campaign featuring National Basketball Associations legends.

The first spot, "The Game," began airing this week and introduces the players and the premise, while five additional spots will refine and deepen the metaphor. "Unsung Hero" focuses on Middleware (McDaniel) as a well-integrated team's critical component; "Linux" concentrates on Schrempf 's character as the driving force of seamless interoperability; "The Other Side" explores team Crash; "The Big Idea" concentrates on Gervin and legacy systems; and "Endless Season" highlights continuous uptime -- that is, that there's no off-season for team Infrastructure.

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