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Automaker Audi Implements Linux: Page 2 of 5

Enderle points out that while Linux is proving reliable for all types of tasks, any system runs better in a single-task environment like Audi's.

"Windows' reliability jumps in cases like that," Enderle says. "In fact, one of the most stable systems is the Windows PBX. Once you increase the complexity, you increase the likelihood of failure."

It's still rare for an IT shop to choose Linux as a go-to system architecture as Audi has, Enderle says, but it's becoming more common, particularly in Germany, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. "It lends itself to environments that have been heavily Unix or OS/2," he says.


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Indeed, Linux is most often replacing big Unix-RISC systems rather than Wintel systems, Enderle says, even though he sees Wintel as catching up to Unix-RISC in terms of scalability and reliability. The reason: Unix and Linux administration are very similar, whereas a move to Windows requires new tools and skill sets. Perhaps this begins to explain why Sun Microsystems is hurting so badly, says Enderle. "Linux is taking Unix off right at the knees."