[NTLUG:Discuss] Linux newbie has a few questions

[Christopher Browne]

On Sat, 20 Jan 2001 12:45:21 CST, the world broke into rejoicing as
"Geoff Staples" <geoff at hostgod.com>  said:

> Here's my situation. I've been in the computer business as a
> programmer, systems designer, newsletter owner, project manager, and
> CIO.

Hardly busy at all, then :-).

> In my present re-incarnation, I have just started a new web hosting
> company (www.HostGod.com). We specialize in PHP and mySQL website
> development. So, I am now a PHP and mySQL developer. (Haven't got a
> clue about Perl, but I'm pretty good with PHP, Java, ASP,
> ColdFusion, and other tools that we use!)  Our servers are in Canada
> and run freeBSD. Our focus is PHP and mySQL rather then the other
> tools mentioned (even though we do development in those areas as
> well.)

Nearly-an-aside: Have you had exposure to FreeBSD as part of this?  If
so, then that's certainly a whole lot useful in becoming comfortable
with Linux.  In effect, "Once you know one Unix, the differences are
just details."

> The above is to give you a context for the questions I'm going to
> ask.

> Currently, we are running a Windows NT Server / MS BackOffice
> server. I want to replace this with a Linux server that will be used
> for the following:

> Run Linux, Apache, PHP, and mySQL to be used as a web development tool.

Certainly a realistic thing to try.

> This will NOT be used to test software that supports web-hosting. It WILL be
> used to develop and test websites.

Cool.

> I would also like to use this machine as Proxy Server and Firewall
> for Internet access by our entire LAN.

Hmmm...  I'd tend to think your purposes are somewhat contradictory.

Opening things up on the machine to do development is contradictory
with locking things down to treat the machine as a firewall.

A firewall should generally have as little stuff installed as possible
so that it may be made robust.  

A real world firewall is a wall built of fire-resistant bricks;
anything that you add other than a little cement is liable to burn
:-(.

With a network firewall, you want the minimal set of services
configured so that it is as easy as possible to validate that nobody
can do anything nefarious to the system.

> NOW THE ACTUAL QUESTIONS!

> Should I use Linux boxes as programmer development workstations or
> should the developers machines run Windows 2000 pro?

Obviously Linux :-).

But seriously, it all depends on what the developers intend to
actually _DO_ on the machines.  If they intend to run Windows-based
web development apps, then Windows of some form is preferred.  

If what you need is a web browser, text editor, installations of
Perl/PHP/Python/.., then it doesn't greatly matter.

If what you want is to annoy the developers, then choose whichever
option you figure will annoy them most.  Or the converse :-).

A mixed environment that might even include Windows 98, Windows ME,
and MacOS-X could be preferable if you are concerned about ensuring
that the web apps "play well" with a variety of web browsers.

> Given general office administrative functions, is it realistic to
> get rid of ALL of our Windows machines for clerical / administrative
> personnel?

> Or, do I need to keep Windows on the desktops of admin folks?

What financial software do you use?  Is it tied to Windows?  How about
word processing and spreadsheets?

There are would-be equivalents to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that run
quite well on Linux.  Whether or not the admin staff will find them to
be _acceptable_ substitutes is a matter of considerable controversy.

> If I continue with Windows for website developers and for
> administrative staff, should I be using Linux for anything other
> then servers?

I'd like to say "no," but it is not obvious that this is a realistic
answer.  The "office" software that is available for Linux has been
consistently improving; whether or not it is yet "ready" is a matter
of controversy.

> FINALLY,

> (And I know you will find this unbelievable) But, I've never
> actually seen a Linux machine, much lest played with one. Where can
> I go to see an actual Linux workstation, well outfitted with Linux
> software so that I can get an idea of what the touch and feel of a
> Linux system is?

I guess the ideal would be if there were a local "storefront" where
you could see a demo system.

You can certainly see systems "live" at the monthly NTLUG meetings;
see <http://www.ntlug.org/> for more details...

> WELL, THIS REALLY IS THE FINAL ITEM:

> If I need to give developers and/or administrative personnel access
> to both Linux and Windows, can I get by with dual boot machines or
> do I need to put two workstations at the desks of those that need
> access to both Linux and Windows?

There are a couple other options which I hope doesn't confuse things
worse; there are options for running applications under emulation or
invoking them remotely that work fairly well:

-> Users might run Windows on some desktop machines, and use "telnet"
   (there are some _much_ better options than the one that comes
   natively with Windows) to access terminal sessions on the Linux
   boxes.

   This is an _extremely_ feasible solution; companies have _long_
   done this for access to Unix and to MVS systems from Windows.

-> Users might run Linux-based graphical applications, displaying
   output on a Windows system using VNC (a free, somewhat slow option)
   or using an X system such as Hummingbird Exceed.

   A bit less useful than telnet, to be sure...

-> Users might run both OSes concurrently via an emulation system like
   VMWare.

   This would allow you to (for instance) have users boot up Linux,
   and boot up Windows atop VMWare.  This does mandate having a fairly
   "beefy" system as this consumes considerable memory.

   VMWare is being sold commercially for this purpose; how suitable
   this will be is not trivial to evaluate.
--
(reverse (concatenate 'string "gro.mca@" "enworbbc"))
http://vip.hex.net/~cbbrowne/unix.html
Why are people born?  Why do they die?  Why do they spend so much of the
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