Cost-Effective Network Solutions for the Small and Medium-Sized Office

The explosive growth of the Linux operating system and the Open Source Software movement has recently received extensive coverage in the national news media.    This is timely news for business owners and operators interested in cost-effective computing solutions for small and medium-sized offices.    Linux is the powerful and feature-rich operating system (OS) originally developed by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds and now enhanced and maintained by programmers around the world.    It is available for download free of charge on many internet sites and on CD-ROM from many commercial vendors for a nominal charge.    The OS itself and nearly all of the software for it is freely available and distributable under Open Source Software guidelines.    This freedom to adapt, improve, and distribute the software contributes to the vast array of flexible and economical solutions available to business owners and operators.   

Among the software packages available for the Linux OS is the Apache web server.    A recent survey of over two million World Wide Web sites found that nearly half used the Apache server.    Apache's closest competitor is the Microsoft Corporation.    Microsoft's combined web server offerings power approximately 21% of the web sites surveyed as opposed to Apache's 48%.   

Another popular software package available for the Linux OS is the Samba network server.    Samba is a suite of programs that will enable a Linux host to function as a network file and print server for Windows 95 and NT workstations.    Installation and setup for most small and medium-sized networks are very straightforward.    Only very large sites and those with special access requirements need extensive customization.    In addition, Samba running on the Linux OS offers a very reliable, stable, and economical alternative to the Windows NT server platform.    Samba will also coexist with and complement the Windows NT server platform in environments where NT is already in use.   

Although Microsoft's dominance of the desktop is without question, Linux is not without its supporters in this arena.    Recently Netscape announced its support of the Open Source Software model and the Linux OS when it released the source code for its Netscape Navigator and Communicator products to the internet community.    Corel Corporation recently announced that it would port its major software products to Linux, including the latest versions of WordPerfect Suite and Corel Draw.    The popular Adobe Acrobat reader is also available for Linux.    While Microsoft's Windows variants will continue to be the dominant desktop OS, Linux increasingly provides a reliable cost-effective alternative on desktop as well as server platforms.   

To date the biggest obstacle to the acceptance of Linux and Open Source Software in a business environment has been the perceived lack of technical support.    Vendors such as Red Hat Software and Caldera, however, offer comprehensive technical support options on both a per-incident and a contract basis, and 30-day free installation support.    Their support plans are comparable to those of the major commercial software vendors.    These options are in addition to the traditional internet newsgroup and email list support, long a mainstay of more technically minded users.    The internet and email list support often proves to be more responsive than the traditional commercial support options from the major software vendors.    As always, a business owner's first line of support for such systems should be the vendor or consultant responsible for the initial installation and configuration of the system.    Despite the platform chosen or the initial cost of a system, its real cost will be decided by a system's reliability and usability throughout its life cycle.