On SMBs and Linux

[ObiWayneKenobi]

This is somewhat a continuation from my discussion on the thread "Do you use (or want to use) desktop Linux in your SMB?". Just a quick reminder, I'm "IT Director" for a small e-commerce company (in reality I'm the sole IT person, but my position is an important one in the company's goals) that's running a mishmash of Microsoft technology.

Recently, senior management has discussed trying to cut costs and improve efficiency. Before, I was only toying with the idea of using Linux and open-source technologies as a pipe dream, something that I would fantasize about doing, but without any serious consideration. After this discussion though, and pricing out what updating our licenses and software would cost from Microsoft (around $30,000, spread over three years, so roughly $10,000 per year), I'm now starting to really give thought to a Linux migration.

However, I have some concerns first, and I'm hoping some of the knowledgable Linux and SMB experts can offer me some advice:

1) When choosing a Linux distro, should I consider paid support? I dabble in Linux and UNIX commands, but I'm nowhere near as up to speed on them as I am with Microsoft. My home computer is dual-booted with Ubuntu and Windows XP, and I like Ubuntu, but for a business environment should I look at commercial providers, e.g. Novell or Red Hat for the servers? I know that Novell has a "Small Business suite" for SuSE, which would cost us roughly $1,000 a year (I believe it's around $500 for a 5-user license, so we'd need two). Red Hat, I'm not sure of what they offer but most of the pricing I saw was nearly as much as Microsoft. And, of course, Ubuntu is 100% free. For myself, I have no issue using the free version, but is the paid support worth it for an actual business?

2) Is there some sort of Linux equivalent to Active Directory? Not Samba, I mean a way to manage users, computers, create groups, push out software updates, and the like from a single point of administration? For server's we're going to need at least two, possibly three (Network/DNS server, Database server, Web server. Probably will go with all three since current server, which is several years old, can more than likely run Linux and so doesn't need to be replaced). At first, the clients will probably keep Windows XP (albeit move from Office to OpenOffice, and Internet Explorer to Firefox), so Samba probably need to be utilized for network and file services via the Linux server, but what about an all-Linux network? Again, I'm aware of Novell's suite including some sort of one-stop administration, but not of any others.

3) Our company has a standing contract with a CPA to keep our books; we don't have one as fulltime staff. This CPA uses Quickbooks (surprise, surprise) and remotes in to the President's XP computer. I know that remoting can be done via VNC in Linux, but does Quickbooks support Linux? I've read conflicting things on whether or not Quickbooks will run on Linux, but I suppose in a pinch I could run it via WINE? This is a big factor, although I'm not in a hurry to upgrade all the desktops to Linux, they could feasibly stay as XP with Linux servers and still cut costs on avoiding MS client access license fees.

4) This question I'm not really sure if anyone knows the answer to, but I'll give it a shot: For a new deal we're planning, there's a DLL in C# and .NET - remember, our current server is Microsoft and runs IIS, so this isn't a problem. I know about the Mono project, but is it possible to use that C# DLL in a web application running on a Linux server, say a Java or PHP application? This might be a big factor as it's supposed to be a pretty big deal.

Anyways, thanks for bearing along with my questions. I'm really interested in investigating Linux and open-source solutions now.

[joshuak]

Hello ObiWayne,

1) When choosing a Linux distro, should I consider paid support? I dabble in Linux and UNIX commands, but I'm nowhere near as up to speed on them as I am with Microsoft.

Let's take a look at the options.

With SuSE, there is a "free" version you don't have to pay for, but it's aimed at hobbyists who like to do science experiments (i.e. tinker with their PC's) - it's not for business use. Then there is the paid version that comes with support.

With RedHat, there is the paid version that comes with support. But there is also CentOS, a clone of RedHat - works just like it - that is free and comes with "log in to the forum and ask a question" type support. In this case, CentOS is just as ready for business use as RedHat - it is NOT aimed at hobbyists who like to tinker, it is aimed at real business use.

With Ubuntu, you can use the free version and get "log into the forum" type support. You can also pay Canonical for support contracts; there is no technical difference between Paid Ubuntu and Free Ubuntu.

But, should you buy support? I would recommend it, at least for the first year, and then once you know it works in your environment move to a free version. With Ubuntu this is as easy as not renewing the contract; with RedHat this requires migrating to CentOS which is not overly difficult but isn't for the faint of heart.

Support gets you the right to ask someone on the phone: "I set up Samba to share my home directory, with these parameters, and it isn't..." Or maybe even, "My server reboots when I open file X"... Support will NOT get you the right to call someone and ask, "I want to use Program X under wine, can I?"

2) Is there some sort of Linux equivalent to Active Directory? Not Samba, I mean a way to manage users, computers, create groups, push out software updates, and the like from a single point of administration?

As you noted, SuSE has a nice packge for this. RedHat also has Fedora Directory Server, which isn't as comprehensive. There may be others I'm not aware of...

I know that remoting can be done via VNC in Linux, but does Quickbooks support Linux? I've read conflicting things on whether or not Quickbooks will run on Linux, but I suppose in a pinch I could run it via WINE?

I don't think QB runs in Wine. However, the QuickBooks enterprise version does run on a Linux server, so that may be an option. There are also other accounting apps out there that support Linux and Windows (PostBooks is a favorite that supports migrating from QuickBooks) but accountants tend to be picky about which apps they support.

For a new deal we're planning, there's a DLL in C# and .NET - remember, our current server is Microsoft and runs IIS, so this isn't a problem.

In short, no. It's worth it to ask your business partner if there's another way to reach your respective goas - even in big business, we are very nervous about letting someone else's code reside on our server. Is their DLL calling a web service, or doing some other kind of processing? If it's merely calling a web service, there may be ways around it...

Cheers,
-J