NT vs. Linux: is zero-administration a reality? (was: Question.)

["Jens B. Jorgensen" <jjorgens@bdsinc.com>]

Timothy Hospedales wrote:
> 
>         Does anyone know if there have been any studies on the cost effectiveness
> of networks based on linux vs networks based on NT? ........ While linux
> seems to be cheaper, where I live technical expertise is in _very_ short
> supply and so linux would probably be alot more expensive to admister.....?

Oh yes, you seek after Microsoft's Holy Grail: zero administration. Guess
what: it's not reality. Ever talk to a mathemetician about complexity?
There are some problems which just can't be simplified. M$ gives you
this GUI veneer over everything but it doesn't solve anything. Consider
SQL Server. You can install the thing a create a single database in a jiffy
but when it comes to performance tuning, replication, managing groups, backups,
etc. you just have to know what your doing. Several months ago I needed
to change the network address our office was using. Someone decided that
though I could run a DHCP server on the Linux box we already use we should
run an NT 4.0 Server for the job. In order to change the base network address
I had to edit each entry and copy/paste the IP and MAC addresses into Notepad,
then delete the scope, create a new one, and then re-enter each IP/MAC copying
it to a newly created entry. If this had been Linux I could have opened
the file and done a quick search/replace and been done in one minute. Sure the
DHCP Manager window looks cool with it's slick tree-view. 

These are two examples but I could go on and on because my job requires
that I write software (and do administration) in NT. NT make simple
things simpler. In the process, by cramming everything into a neat
little GUI it makes complex things difficult or impossible. For these
reasons, NT is a breakthrough for small offices or workgroups who want
to set up a small network and provide File, Print, small database, 
DHCP, and dial-in. For Fortune 500 companies who move to it because they
think they can break free of dependence on highly paid computer experts
who are extremely difficult to replace, they are just fooling themselves.
I can't blame them for wanting a magic bullet but in this case as in most
where a decision is made by someone without the knowledge and experience
required, they're just shooting themselves in the foot.

-- 
Jens B. Jorgensen
jjorgens@bdsinc.com


--
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to
debian-user-request@lists.debian.org . 
Trouble?  e-mail to templin@bucknell.edu .