With e-commerce initiatives relentlessly driving the demand for high-availability networking, Linux's stability is helping it encroach on Windows NT's territory in the low-end server space. While Microsoft has campaigned hard to debunk this perception, it doesn't take a research analyst to determine that Linux is indeed more reliable. Our labs have Linux-based servers displaying uptimes of more than 300 days, while Microsoft often recommends its customers reboot Windows NT every 30 days. Our Windows NT machines rarely go more than a month or two without a reboot, while we spike our Linux servers with ridiculous loads, and they keep on chugging. System administrators from both large and small ISPs praise Linux's relentless reliability over neighboring Windows-based machines. Another observation numerous administrators have made is that when Linux servers come under heavy load, they simply function at a slower pace; NT servers under load often stop working entirely.

Linux also has the remarkable ability to be modified without rebooting. Whether it's patches or configuration changes, the mandatory reboot we have all grown to hate in Windows NT apparently doesn't sit well among hosting companies, either. This difference in rebooting is actually driving some decision-makers in the dot-com space to go with Linux. As mentioned, our NT servers rarely go more than a month before rebooting, and the patching and reboot sequence we maintain around the labs is laughable, at best. Microsoft appears to have solved this problem in Windows 2000, but it remains to be seen how that operating system holds up in production environments--its deployment is still quite limited.

It is interesting to note, however, that in our May testing of the Linux/Apache combination, Linux did not hold up as well as expected on the performance side. Windows 2000 beat Linux in most of our Web-based tests especially when we added multiple processors. Although performance and SMP issues are being addressed somewhat in the Linux 2.4 kernel, for many deployments these shortcomings are of surprisingly little consequence. Adopting the horizontal-scaling approach to alleviate front-end load is a common solution. While Linux-based load-balancing solutions, such as Red Hat's Piranha, have been slow to catch on, placing a series of front-end Linux-based Web servers behind third-party commercial load-balancers is an extremely common practice. Stacking Linux machines in this fashion is easily accomplished for most applications.

The Future of Linux

There are some steep technology shortcomings that the Linux revolution has yet to overcome, but the sole inhibitor on that front is time. The true challenge that lies ahead is not one based on technology, but of acceptance and market maturity. Although the adoption of Linux by third-party vendors was questionable one year ago, the debate is now moot. It is obvious that Linux is gaining market share in multiple areas, and the trend will only continue. However, the applications inevitably make or break an OS's overall usefulness. Linux needs CA, IBM, Novell and Oracle and more vendors like them if it is going to play in the enterprise.

Based on the responses demonstrated by CA and Novell, as well as what we've heard from other engineers, we suspect Linux has yet to be digested by most of the vendors' support networks. Products are obviously shipping, and vendors are coming through on their Linux-themed promises, but we've still got what looks to be a long road ahead of us. The synergy has begun, but buyers need to read between the lines--stories vary on a per-vendor basis. Many vendors appear to be as new to Linux as their customer base is.

Linux's adoption and dominance in niche areas are inevitable. It's not a matter of "if" but of "when," and that "when" is closer than it's ever been. Like all technology decisions, however, you must know where, how and when to deploy Linux to make it a valuable ally. One size rarely fits all. The truth is, you can do just about anything with Linux--given enough time, expertise and resources. But we all know life in the IT world is rarely this simple, and few people right now are Linux gurus.

Greg Shipley and Kevin Novak are Chicago-based consultants. Send your comments on this article to them at gshipley@neohapsis.com or knovak@neohapsis.com.