Explain How Linux Could Work In (real) Scenario
MonsieurEvil
Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">If you dare!</div> (Per Tal and my's original idea for this topic)
My next contract after I leave this place is going to be at a telecom-leasing company (one that I've done a lot of Citrix and Cluster Server work at previously, and have been away from for about a year). I'm coming in to migrate them from several NT4 domains into a single Windows 2003 Active Directory and from a single-site Exchange 5.5 organization into Exchange 2003. I will also be creating a software distribution system (both for apps and OS updates), possibly upgrading Citrix Metaframe 1.8 to Metaframe XP, and other odds and ends.
Current environment (note that I've been gone for more than a year so this may have changed a little, but I keep in contact with friends over there and it doesn't sound like much has overall):
- NT4 Domain (1 Master, 4 resource, a couple small standalone untrusted, running primarily on a PDC and 2 BDC's)
- 4 Exchange 5.5 servers, plus an Exchange Gateway and a Symantec AV SMTP Gateway on another for SMTP, all on Win2000 Servers.
- 1 Symantec Antivirus Coporate 7.6 SSC edition server managing all servers and clients, running on Win2000.
- 2 DNS, WINS, DHCP on replicated Win2000 servers.
- 8 Citrix Metaframe 1.8 Windows 2000 servers for high-end applications like JD Edwards as well as remote access for users over VPN.
- 3 MS Cluster Servers (6 total machines) on Win2000, running File and Print, Business Objects, SQL server, some other things.
- 10 IIS 5.0 Servers on Win2000 and NT4 running a variety of internal and external websites and webapps.
- 8-15 Application servers (hard to say, some should hopefully be gone now) running a variety of in-house and 3rd-party apps on both WinNT4 and 2000.
- 6 SQL Servers running a variety of inhouse and 3rd-party databases (in addition to the ones in MS Cluster), with I believe all on Win2000 by now.
- 4 JDE Edwards mid-tier processing Win2000 servers between Citrix and SUN.
- Around 80 remote NT4 BDC's/file and print servers on (basically) workstation hardware (this part has probably changed the most since I was gone), connected through a variety of networks including frame relay, direct T, and VPN. It may be as low as 40-50 by now though, since the telecom bubble burst in 2002 forced some divestments.
- Around 5 "utility" servers running a variety of IT-specific tasks not used by users, such as workstation images, network/server monitoring software, code respositories, test environments, (the supposedly temporary but still there after a year) in-house software installation services, etc.
- 4 CA Unicenter Win2000 servers running tower monitoring and support tracking info for 10,000 celluar and microwave towers (it's a telecom company after all).
- 2 RRAS servers, plus a couple banks of sonicwall VPN switches.
- EMC Clarion SAN plugged into a variety of servers (Exchange, SUN, App, MSSQL, Cluster, etc. - another one coming soon after I get there), providing about 6 (soon 12) terrabytes of fiber-switched storage.
- 1 Cisco PIX Firewall (with one standby in use as a lab machine).
- A variety of Cisco and Extreme Networks switches and routers.
All server hardware is Dell rack-mounted, usually PE 2400/2500 and 6400/6500 series 2-way and 4-way servers. The exception is 2 SUN Solaris boxes backending Oracle for JDE Edwards.
2000+ users, around that many PC's and laptops running XP and Win2000, all Dell, spread across the WAN, with about 50% centrally located. All use MS Office 2000 or Office XP. There are also a LOT of MS Access applications in use (often on these 'app' servers, many legacy, in various versions from 97 to 2003.
Notes and stuff that the customer is completely inflexible about:
- No limitations on user mailboxes
- Customer big on email groupware, rich-text email, meeting scheduling systems, journaling, etc.; it must be x.500-compliant as well (they don't want to administer network users and duplicate effort on mail users)
- No limitations on file storage, no quotas.
- Customer expects (and currently gets) 99.999% uptime across just about all systems; in the case of the cluster server pieces and the CA Unicenter farm, the expectation is effectively 100% uptime, as they get FAA fines of up to a million dollars an hour if a tower loses power and they don't report it promptly.
- Scalability is their watchword - if it's not, they don't want it, and they want the scalability quantified. They are a recovering company and are looking to the future.
- No non-warrantied, non-supported software. No 'made in a garage' solo-programmer companies need apply. Support agreements and contracts must be guaranteed contractually and typically are in the '1-hour response' timeframe.
- Automated software distribution required for clients
- Automated patching required for clients and servers
- Workstations must be managed (including remote control, lockdown policies, high-security, no users installing AOL nonsense, etc.)
- Hardware will only run 'supported' OS's - if an OS or application vendor does not officially support a piece of hardware, the customer won't buy their OS.
- Must have an x500-compliant or similar LDAP-based Directory Services environment for network management
- Network usage must be minimized and artificially-controllable.
- All network managment must be centralized
- XML (in the MS world, .NET) must be fully supportable as the company is pushing towards much more B2B work with its telecom customers
- 'Virtual OS emulators' are only possible if the software vendor will support it (note that in my experience, this is extremely rare).
And that's about it. When Tal gets back we can start the conversation, unless there are some business-linux experts here that feel like they can offer something (PM if so).
So now - explain to me as to how all this could be replaced with a Linux solution that meets the requirements. BTW, budding engineers, these requirements are very common, mainly in medium and large organizations. And with most customers, not open to negotiation...
Note: and remember, no matter what you tell me, this company is getting Windows 2003 because that's what they want. This is just an intellectual excercise so don't write me a ton of emails asking how well your penguin solution worked, because trust me, it didn't. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> Also, if you are going to get angry and tiresome and accusatory and are incapable of having a dispassionate argument (and you know who you are), you will not be allowed to discuss. Linux experts only, and of those, only ones with an ability to discuss and not just yell like a slashdot imbecile.
My next contract after I leave this place is going to be at a telecom-leasing company (one that I've done a lot of Citrix and Cluster Server work at previously, and have been away from for about a year). I'm coming in to migrate them from several NT4 domains into a single Windows 2003 Active Directory and from a single-site Exchange 5.5 organization into Exchange 2003. I will also be creating a software distribution system (both for apps and OS updates), possibly upgrading Citrix Metaframe 1.8 to Metaframe XP, and other odds and ends.
Current environment (note that I've been gone for more than a year so this may have changed a little, but I keep in contact with friends over there and it doesn't sound like much has overall):
- NT4 Domain (1 Master, 4 resource, a couple small standalone untrusted, running primarily on a PDC and 2 BDC's)
- 4 Exchange 5.5 servers, plus an Exchange Gateway and a Symantec AV SMTP Gateway on another for SMTP, all on Win2000 Servers.
- 1 Symantec Antivirus Coporate 7.6 SSC edition server managing all servers and clients, running on Win2000.
- 2 DNS, WINS, DHCP on replicated Win2000 servers.
- 8 Citrix Metaframe 1.8 Windows 2000 servers for high-end applications like JD Edwards as well as remote access for users over VPN.
- 3 MS Cluster Servers (6 total machines) on Win2000, running File and Print, Business Objects, SQL server, some other things.
- 10 IIS 5.0 Servers on Win2000 and NT4 running a variety of internal and external websites and webapps.
- 8-15 Application servers (hard to say, some should hopefully be gone now) running a variety of in-house and 3rd-party apps on both WinNT4 and 2000.
- 6 SQL Servers running a variety of inhouse and 3rd-party databases (in addition to the ones in MS Cluster), with I believe all on Win2000 by now.
- 4 JDE Edwards mid-tier processing Win2000 servers between Citrix and SUN.
- Around 80 remote NT4 BDC's/file and print servers on (basically) workstation hardware (this part has probably changed the most since I was gone), connected through a variety of networks including frame relay, direct T, and VPN. It may be as low as 40-50 by now though, since the telecom bubble burst in 2002 forced some divestments.
- Around 5 "utility" servers running a variety of IT-specific tasks not used by users, such as workstation images, network/server monitoring software, code respositories, test environments, (the supposedly temporary but still there after a year) in-house software installation services, etc.
- 4 CA Unicenter Win2000 servers running tower monitoring and support tracking info for 10,000 celluar and microwave towers (it's a telecom company after all).
- 2 RRAS servers, plus a couple banks of sonicwall VPN switches.
- EMC Clarion SAN plugged into a variety of servers (Exchange, SUN, App, MSSQL, Cluster, etc. - another one coming soon after I get there), providing about 6 (soon 12) terrabytes of fiber-switched storage.
- 1 Cisco PIX Firewall (with one standby in use as a lab machine).
- A variety of Cisco and Extreme Networks switches and routers.
All server hardware is Dell rack-mounted, usually PE 2400/2500 and 6400/6500 series 2-way and 4-way servers. The exception is 2 SUN Solaris boxes backending Oracle for JDE Edwards.
2000+ users, around that many PC's and laptops running XP and Win2000, all Dell, spread across the WAN, with about 50% centrally located. All use MS Office 2000 or Office XP. There are also a LOT of MS Access applications in use (often on these 'app' servers, many legacy, in various versions from 97 to 2003.
Notes and stuff that the customer is completely inflexible about:
- No limitations on user mailboxes
- Customer big on email groupware, rich-text email, meeting scheduling systems, journaling, etc.; it must be x.500-compliant as well (they don't want to administer network users and duplicate effort on mail users)
- No limitations on file storage, no quotas.
- Customer expects (and currently gets) 99.999% uptime across just about all systems; in the case of the cluster server pieces and the CA Unicenter farm, the expectation is effectively 100% uptime, as they get FAA fines of up to a million dollars an hour if a tower loses power and they don't report it promptly.
- Scalability is their watchword - if it's not, they don't want it, and they want the scalability quantified. They are a recovering company and are looking to the future.
- No non-warrantied, non-supported software. No 'made in a garage' solo-programmer companies need apply. Support agreements and contracts must be guaranteed contractually and typically are in the '1-hour response' timeframe.
- Automated software distribution required for clients
- Automated patching required for clients and servers
- Workstations must be managed (including remote control, lockdown policies, high-security, no users installing AOL nonsense, etc.)
- Hardware will only run 'supported' OS's - if an OS or application vendor does not officially support a piece of hardware, the customer won't buy their OS.
- Must have an x500-compliant or similar LDAP-based Directory Services environment for network management
- Network usage must be minimized and artificially-controllable.
- All network managment must be centralized
- XML (in the MS world, .NET) must be fully supportable as the company is pushing towards much more B2B work with its telecom customers
- 'Virtual OS emulators' are only possible if the software vendor will support it (note that in my experience, this is extremely rare).
And that's about it. When Tal gets back we can start the conversation, unless there are some business-linux experts here that feel like they can offer something (PM if so).
So now - explain to me as to how all this could be replaced with a Linux solution that meets the requirements. BTW, budding engineers, these requirements are very common, mainly in medium and large organizations. And with most customers, not open to negotiation...
Note: and remember, no matter what you tell me, this company is getting Windows 2003 because that's what they want. This is just an intellectual excercise so don't write me a ton of emails asking how well your penguin solution worked, because trust me, it didn't. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> Also, if you are going to get angry and tiresome and accusatory and are incapable of having a dispassionate argument (and you know who you are), you will not be allowed to discuss. Linux experts only, and of those, only ones with an ability to discuss and not just yell like a slashdot imbecile.
This discussion has been closed.