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Why should you bother with Linux? That’s a fair question and one that is difficult to answer. If you’re curious about UNIX or other operating systems, then Linux gives you a great environment to experiment with at a very reasonable—if not free—cost. If you need more power from your hardware than Windows or DOS gives you, then Linux is the operating system that can give it to you. If you need a robust, reliable server for your company Internet or World Wide Web services, Linux can do that just fine and very inexpensively. But, if you don’t want to learn something new, don’t want to leverage your existing hardware, and like the frequent crashes involved with Windows, then forget about Linux!
Let’s get one thing clear right from the start. Even though Linux is not called UNIX, it is a complete UNIX implementation. It conforms to many of the same standards as off-the-shelf, genuine, dyed-in-the-wool UNIX (in fact, better than many commercial UNIX versions), and it would be very difficult for even a veteran UNIX user to know whether they were working with Linux or UNIX without using tools that specify the identity of the system. Why isn’t Linux called UNIX? Copyright reasons.
Because Linux is UNIX in all but name, it’s a great way to learn UNIX. Not only can Linux run on most PCs that are sitting around your basement (try that with most commercial UNIX versions today; most of them need a Pentium or fast 80486), it is a fraction of the cost of a full-blown UNIX. Anything you learn with Linux is directly transferable to a UNIX platform. Applications you write under Linux can usually be recompiled under UNIX and work perfectly.
Having said all that, Linux is an obvious way to learn the joys of UNIX. UNIX is one of the most powerful operating systems available and is commonly used by large corporations and other companies focusing on research and development. The reason is simple: UNIX puts the most power at a developer’s fingertips. It’s also the best way to network a bunch of machines. While you may not need to know UNIX now, you never know what will come up in the future. It looks great on your résumé, too.
You really can run a business on a system using Linux. UNIX is the most widely used business operating system, so it makes sense that Linux can do the same, too. It’s entirely feasible for you to use a set of networked Linux servers connected to any other type of client machine (Windows, DOS, Macintosh, or other UNIX workstations) to control your entire business.
In the early days of Linux development, this was considered risky because the operating system just wasn’t stable enough. Companies can’t afford a server that crashes repeatedly. Since then, Linux has matured, become more robust, and offers all the features except the very high security classifications that commercial UNIX offers. It’s not uncommon for a Linux system to go years without requiring a shutdown or a lockup (although you should occasionally reboot Linux systems to clean out temporary file directories and logs). That’s something that very few other operating systems can claim. (How often has your Windows system crashed in the last couple of months?)
The real difference between using Linux or commercial UNIX for your business comes down to two issues: Linux is cheaper, but commercial UNIX has better technical support. Obviously, if money is no object for your business (at least in the thousand-dollar range that a complete commercial UNIX platform costs), then the first issue is not applicable. Technical support is important, especially for businesses, so it is often useful to pay for commercial UNIX versions for this feature alone. Having said that, it’s also true that you’ll usually get better technical support for Linux over the Internet than commercial UNIX help lines offer!
Linux is ideally suited for running a Web server, FTP server, or email service to your home, office, or organization. Most of this is because of the UNIX heritage. All these services first appeared under UNIX, and the operating system is ideally suited to these tasks. Linux can be easily configured to work as an Internet server, as you will see in Chapter 47, “Setting Up an Internet Site.”
Is Linux better than Windows NT, UNIX, or Macintosh for use as an Internet server? Perhaps better is not the word. It’s certainly not any worse and costs less than all the others. Plus, Linux has a ton of public domain software available to help support Internet services, and there’s lots of experience using Linux for small ISPs that you can draw on.
The Linux operating system is attractive to many users because it offers a UNIX workstation environment on old and new Intel-based machines alike. The hardware requirements are not very demanding, unless you want to get into application development and extensive GUI use. You’ve got an old 80386 sitting in the basement? Why not convert it into a Linux platform. It’ll run just fine. Ready to upgrade your older 80486 or early Pentium and just can’t throw it away when the new machine arrives? A perfect Linux platform awaits you.
This chapter looks at the basic hardware necessary for Linux installation. The minimum requirements are discussed, as is support for most peripherals. Expanding your system with new hardware is covered later in this book in the system administration section.
Because Linux was mostly developed by PC users, the hardware support built into the operating system is fairly typical for a PC. There are few esoteric devices that have drivers, unless a programmer took the time to write one and then released it to the Linux community. There is also a scarcity of third-party vendors offering hardware accessories (such as multiport boards) for Linux, although this is slowly changing as Linux use becomes widespread.
The minimum system requirements for Linux is an 80386SX or better, 2MB RAM or more, floppy disk drive, a hard drive with 40MB or more, and a video card and monitor. Having said that, most users’ systems are better equipped. To get realistic performance from a non-GUI (character-based) Linux installation, you need an 80386 with 8MB RAM. If you want to run X or Motif, a fast 80486 or Pentium with 16MB RAM is plenty.
Let’s look at each of the component parts of a Linux system in a little more detail.
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