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Implementing Linux in Your IT Organization: Page 2 of 5





By the Numbers



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Why do we push Jabber compliance? A Jabber-compliant server will serve up IM locally in a normal fashion, like all IM servers do, and it will let you install "connectors" that will give your users access to international IM services. If you wish (or are required by law) to log traffic, there are tools, like the open-source Bandersnatch project (formerly Jabberwocky, www.jabberstudio.org/projects/bandersnatch), that will let you log all this traffic. And, assuming the simplified bandwidth management built into Jabber doesn't suit your needs, tools such as FaceTime's IM Director can help you regulate the amount of bandwidth IM may consume.

  • Instant messaging vendors and projects: Antepo, www.antepo.com; DeskNow, www.desknow.com; eJabberD, ejabberd.jabberstudio.org; FaceTime Communications, www.facetime.com; i3Connect, www.i3connect.com; Jabber, www.jabber.com; JabberD, jabberd.jabberstudio.org; Jive Software, www.jivesoftware.com; OpenIM, www.javajabber.net/en; Rhombus IM, www.rhombusim.com; WPJabber, wpjabber.jabberstudio.org
  • All the major application servers have long supported Linux. If you go with a commercial vendor, such as BEA Systems, Borland Software, IBM, Oracle or Sybase, you'll get support for your Linux installation. One word of caution, however: Before you start your installation, determine the level of support your vendor offers. If you run into an OS issue, will the vendor walk you through it? Not everyone will. Oracle's "We Make Linux Unbreakable" marketing campaign is aimed at supporting users of Oracle on Linux, no matter whether their problems are with the OS or Oracle's products. On the opposite end of the spectrum, commercial licensees of Borland's Enterprise Server are encouraged to use available open-source resources to resolve OS issues. This difference is reflected in price, and both are good models for different markets.

    If you're looking for an inexpensive solution, several open-source application servers are being used in enterprises on Linux successfully, but be certain you know what you're getting into. Setting up Apache, the Tomcat Application Server and some form of a database is a daunting task if you don't have resources available, in person or online, to get you through problems. This is where a lower-priced bundle, consisting primarily of open-source software with value-added packaging and support, is useful. For example, Borland's Enterprise Server starts at $399 and includes enhanced versions of Apache Axis, Apache Web servers and the Tomcat Application Server.

    Interestingly, most multiplatform application servers are Java-based. The upshot is that you can't swap out your existing application-server infrastructure with any one we mention here without consulting your application-development staff.


    NWC Project: Linux A-List