Conversion to Linux

[Arthur Pemberton]

On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 11:25 AM, Haworth, Michael A.
<Michael_Haworth at pas-technologies.com> wrote:
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sean Crago [mailto:cragos at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 11:11 AM
> To: Haworth, Michael A.; KCLUG
> Subject: Re: Conversion to Linux
>
> You want gradual, system by system? Okay: Can you give us a couple of
> examples of the systems you run and which are the most problematic?
> ---------
>        500+ WinXP desktop and laptop mix and 30 servers across three continents
>        Exchange 2007 (kinda screws up using Evolution at this point, and probably not switching anytime soon)
>        BES server
>        Office 2003/2007 mix with everyone running Outlook 2007 - need pivot tables to work in OOo spreadsheet
>        Vellum Graphite (has a *nix distro)
>        Currently implementing Sharepoint - would love to find an OS alternate for this
>        Access '97 database that must be accessible by about 45 users
> ---------
> Also, you say that you're the only person in your firm with deep
> experience in the Lunixes - How many other people might end up
> responsible for these systems if you were to take leave? Feel up to
> the task of training 'em and documenting everything?
> ---------
>        Total of 6 people worldwide in our IT department - most are highly trainable or chomping at the bit already.
> ---------

First of, let me just point out that your company is deeply invested
in Microsoft at this point, and either way, you should state to your
bosses now is probably the make or vreak time in moving to a more
heterogeneous environment.

= Desktops =

Besides running office software, what are they commonly used for? And
what are the average specs of these machines? Also, hypothetically
speaking, are all the WinXP licensees valid?

= Exchange =

How much of Exchange's functionality do you all use? I've heard of at
least two (commercial) drop in replacements for Exchange on Linux. If
all you all do is email, then you may want to go with a simple Postfix
setup however.

= BES =

I'm guessing this ties you to Exchange. But really, you don't need a
100% to Linux conversion to reap benefits.

= Office Suite + Access =

How well does OpenOffice.org 3 meet your current needs? Keep in mind
that you can connect OO.org Base to a MySQL db. Of the remaining
important features, you may want to way the cost of contracting
someone to write that feature for you against MS Office 200x in the
future.

= Vellum Graphite =

Will your current licensees transfer to a different operating system?

= Sharepoint =

As I understand it, your CALs for this are going to be very expensive,
and you're going to need at least 500 of them. This one area alone
could grant you a large amount of savings, the important thing is,
what do you all need Sharepoint for? After you completely invest in
Sharepoint, it may never again be cost effective to switch away from
Microsoft.

= Access =

Again, without further details, I'd assume OO.Base can handle that.




Additionally, given the large number of changes, you all may want to
use unsupported Linux distros on the server side to lower costs, while
I think RHEL is worth the price, I don't think you're going to be able
 to sell it amidst all the other changes.

I suggest Centos or Debian on the server side (I personally prefer
RedHat based distros) and if you can convert the workstations, Ubuntu
may be useful there, but I have no experience with Ubuntu myself.

Now may be a good time to repoll the available skill sets of your team
to see how well they can make the transition.

-- 
Fedora 9 : sulphur is good for the skin
( www.pembo13.com )