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Linux Support Services: Page 3 of 5

If you want to rely on newsgroups and mailing lists, avoid exotic hardware--choose a tried-and- true architecture instead. Most Linux installations are deployed on commodity x86 architectures, for example, so finding people in the open-source community eager to help won't be difficult.

Application Support

You're likely to be running open-source software now, including Apache Web servers, Samba file and print servers, and sendmail servers--all of which can be supported by an independent support vendor. System administrators commonly compile and create open-source applications themselves because the Unix operating system doesn't include them. But Linux does. So unless you have a specific need to do it yourself, why not let the vendor apply those security patches and update and test the software for you?

Sys admins commonly install COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) products on servers--so make sure these can coexist with the Linux environment. Thankfully, major independent software vendors are taking steps to certify their software on particular Linux distributions. This is crucial if you're contracting support services: If you're running BEA, IBM, Oracle or Sun software, make sure it's supported on the distribution you select. Also, know that Linux support vendors will send you to your independent software vendor for support of commercial applications, so make sure the ISV supports its products.

Oracle has drummed up a unique solution that will benefit anyone running its products on Linux. Oracle customers receive free Linux support--not just for Oracle software running on Linux, but for Linux in general. This extends down to code-level patches required in the distribution. Through an agreement with Red Hat and UnitedLinux, Oracle can put patches it develops into the Red Hat and UnitedLinux kernel. For this reason, we put Oracle software on the top of the list for Linux support.