An update on the war against Microsoft's war against Linux

David M Williams
Monday, 05 May 2008 08:47

Opinion and Analysis

Microsoft have done themselves a disservice. They could have used that case study as a reason why its existing customers ought to upgrade. Instead, they went the anti-Linux route and squandered that opportunity whilst simultaneously showing themselves to be devoid of honesty by seeking to somehow score a point against Linux using it.

Consequently, I believe my articles have been reasonable and fair critiques of the case studies presented. Some I couldn’t even read; the two latest items listed under “Case Studies” on the Get the Facts Compare site have a sound bite but the actual Word doc with the story has been omitted!

Sadly, by the time of writing, Microsoft have not yet issued any response to me. Although, I do note the HiChina case study has mysteriously dropped off the front page. It’s not under the historical “What’s new” list either. Spooky! Never mind, it’s still up via its direct link. (UPDATE: It's gone! The case study has been completely eradicated from Microsoft's site. It would be interesting to know the reason why.)

There is a new case study, however.  This time we are told we will get the facts on learn “Why are customers choosing Windows Server 2008 over Linux” using the City of Uppsala, Sweden, for evidence.

As usual, the sound bite on links to another page which gives a tad more detail but not the real content itself.  We read that the Swedish municipality increases network security and reduces costs. As this is a comparison site, no doubt readers are to assume that compared to Linux, Uppsala increased network security and reduced costs.

Was there a real comparison? Did a similarly configured Linux system get pitched against a Windows system and the measurements showed one had higher security and lower expenses? For that we need to click on the case study Word doc.

I feel a mild affinity with Uppsala, having seen the thrilling (but reckless) video footage of an anonymous motorcyclist ride the 68km from Stockholm to that city within 14m 55s but that’s a story for a different type of web site.

The case study tells us The City of Uppsala is the fourth largest municipality in Sweden with a population of 185,000. It operates two separate computer networks. The first is the most obvious, being the internal computer network used by the staff of the city administration. The second is a network used by students and staff at the local public schools.

The administration network included 150 server computers running a mix of Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003 Server products. This served 6,000 users over 4,500 client computers. The school network served 20,000 users on 7,000 client computers using 100 servers which were a mixed bag of Windows Server 2003, Linux and Novell NetWare.

Savvy readers will appreciate right away what a complex environment the City had in place. It’s no doubt there was impetus for change. Let’s see what other drivers existed.

CONTINUED