Certification and Training
Trained tech support will help you resolve issues faster and with more confidence, possibly letting you get by with 8/5 support. So find out what certifications your prospective support provider requires of its tech-support people. Because most common problems are solved by Level 1 technicians, those techs should be certified. LPI (Linux Professional Institute), RHCT (Red Hat Certified Technician), RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer), SAIR/GNU and CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) Linux+ certifications are leading curriculum choices.
Hardware
The most crucial consideration when purchasing new hardware is to verify that it will support the Linux distribution you want.
It's wise to stick with your Tier 1 hardware vendor for the machines that will power the OS, but it's critical that both the Linux vendor and the hardware vendor support your distribution on that hardware. Red Hat and SuSE certify a boatload of hardware, including server-level equipment from Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, all of which offer hardware solutions that ship with various versions of Linux.
Network automation is gaining momentum. Here's how you can drive this powerful technology to its full potential.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
