Altrux Solutions

Why use Linux, when there are so many alternatives out there? Perhaps the most compelling answer is that Linux provides industrial strength reliability at virtually no cost. Because the kernel builds on the distilled wisdom of 30 years of UNIX development, Linux provides a robust and secure platform, that will handle a heavy server load with ease. Unlike Windows 9x, Linux offers proper memory management, true multitasking, and support for multiprocessor machines with up to 64Gb of RAM. If that's not enough, virtually every aspect of the system can be tuned and modified without the need for reboots, so your system will run for months at a time.

The reliability described above translates into tangible benefits for your business. Because Linux uses the respected UNIX security model, end users of Linux workstations or servers operate within a totally protected environment. They are simply unable to upset the machines' configurations, and to render them inoperable. The worst thing an end user can do is damage their own data, but on a machine with multiple users, no user can interfere with the actions of any other. This means that the days of repairing accidentally corrupted systems, and of the associated endless reboots, are well and truly over.

The Linux kernel, and all of the components of a complete system, are under virtually continuous development. You can opt to stay with tried and tested, stable versions of your favourite products; or you can upgrade as often as you like, and stay on the cutting edge of software development. With Linux, you don't have to wait for a new release of the entire system; you can track individual software components as fast as the developers themselves.

One of the most important design drivers for Linux is scalability. Although the latest 2.4 kernel supports enterprise-class mainframe hardware, it still runs just as happily on venerable 386 or 486 PCs. In fact, it runs a lot more happily than any modern variant of Windows, because you can only activate the parts of the system you need. Many organisations are bringing five or six year old PCs back into service, using Linux, and these machines will comfortably act as DNS name servers, light web servers, firewalls and routers. Expensive hardware is largely wasted in such circumstances, so the potential for cost savings by recycling older machines is enormous.

Linux is free in more than one way. Not only are most distributions available on the Internet at zero or nominal cost, but Linux is also free in the sense of freedom. Once you have a distribution on CD, you are legally entitled to copy it as many times as you wish, to give it to your friends, install it on any number of machines, and to modify it.

Because the Linux kernel, and all the GNU software tools that make up a large part of most distributions, is entirely open source, you can view and edit the source code. You are free to improve any parts of the system as you see fit, and to recompile applications in a customised way. This level of freedom is unprecedented, and puts you back in total control of your systems, in a way that is utterly impossible with proprietary software.