There are a huge number of versions of Linux. Over 300 distributions have been flagged on DistroWatch.com in the last month alone, and there have been about 700 of them in the history of Linux. How to choose among this abundance?

The two main criteria to consider are:

1. Distribution popularity. The more popular your distribution is, the easier it will be to find manuals for it on the Web. The large community means you can easily get help on the distribution's forums if you're having trouble getting started. Finally, the more common a distribution is, the more applications and packages are ported for it. It is better to choose popular solutions with a ready-made package base than to suffer from building from source in some exotic distribution.
2. The development team behind it. Naturally, it's best to look at distributions supported by large companies like Canonical Ltd., Red Hat, or SUSE, or distributions with large communities.

Keep in mind that even the best distributions have analogues that are not much inferior to them. If you are not satisfied with the choice of Lifehacker, you can try alternatives.

For those who have never used Linux - Linux Mint

New users migrating from , should definitely install Linux Mint. Today it is the most popular Linux distribution. This is a very stable and easy to use system based on Ubuntu.

Linux Mint is equipped with an easy and intuitive interface (Cinnamon shell for modern computers and MATE for older machines) and a convenient application manager, so you will not have problems finding and installing programs.

Pros: simplicity, caring ordinary users. You don't need any specific knowledge to install and use Mint.

Minuses: a large number of pre-installed software that may never come in handy.

For those who want to have the latest software - Manjaro

It is a popular Linux distribution based on Arch. Arch is an incredibly powerful and feature-packed distribution, but its KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy, as opposed to the name, makes it too hard for beginners. Arch is only installed via the command line.

Manjaro, unlike Arch, has a simple graphical installer and yet combines the powerful features of Arch such as AUR (Arch User Repository) and rolling release. AUR is the richest source of Linux packages. If an application is on Linux, it probably already is on the AUR. So in Manjaro you will always have the latest packages.

Manjaro comes with a variety of desktop skins to choose from: functional KDE, GNOME for tablet screens, Xfce, LXDE and more. Manjaro, you can be sure to be the first to receive the latest updates.

Pros: AUR, thanks to which you can install any application without unnecessary movements. Always fresh software.

Minuses: original design of desktop shells. However, nothing prevents you from replacing it.

For home server - Debian

A home server can be useful for many purposes. For example, to store data and backups, download torrents, or arrange your own dimensionless .

Debian will take root well on your home server. It is a stable and conservative distribution that has become the basis for Ubuntu and many other Linux systems. Debian only uses the most trusted packages, making it good choice for the server.

Pros: stability and a large set of applications.

Minuses: the need to manually configure the distribution after installation.

For Media Center - Kodi

If you want to set up your own media server, choose Kodi. Strictly speaking, Kodi is not a distro, but a full-featured media center player. You can install it on any Linux, but Ubuntu + Kodi is the best choice.

Kodi supports all types of video and audio files. He knows how to play movies, music, organize your photos. Kodi will turn anyone into universal device for fun.

Thanks to extensions, Kodi can download media files via torrents, keep track of the new seasons of your favorite TV shows, show videos from YouTube and other streaming services. In short, Kodi can do everything.

In addition, Kodi is very beautiful and optimized to be controlled from remote control or Android devices. You can easily customize the Kodi interface with a variety of visual skins.

Pros: a huge number of functions and convenient management.

Minuses: standard interface may not be to everyone's liking, but it is easy to replace.

Desktop - Kubuntu

The KDE graphical environment is ideal for desktop use, and Kubuntu is the most popular KDE distribution. Like many other distributions, it's based on Ubuntu, which means you won't have any application compatibility issues.

Kubuntu is beautiful, functional, and highly customizable. Even novice users can easily handle it. It is a stable and polished system that provides all the necessary features for a home desktop PC.

Pros: a large selection of packages, a wonderful set of KDE applications, and a huge amount of interface customization.

Minuses: Kubuntu uses stable version KDE, which means that the latest features of this shell come here with a delay. If you want to try out the latest KDE, KDE Neon is here for you.

For old computer or netbook - Lubuntu

This version of Ubuntu is based on the LXDE shell, which is lightweight and modest in terms of resource consumption. It is focused on old or low-power machines. If you don't have much new computer or a netbook that can't handle Windows, you might as well install Lubuntu.

This Linux distribution consumes little system resources and is able to run on almost any configuration.

Pros: very fast and light system. However, it supports the same packages and applications as its older sister, Ubuntu.

Minuses: The look and feel of LXDE may not be to everyone's taste, but that's a small price to pay for performance.

Alternative: .

For tablet or transformer - Ubuntu

Ubuntu is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions. As of version 17.10, Ubuntu ends support for the Unity shell and migrates to GNOME. And GNOME looks pretty good on devices with touch screens. If you have a tablet and want to try installing Linux on it, try Ubuntu with GNOME.

Large GNOME interface elements, customizable gestures and extensions make Ubuntu a great touchscreen system.

Pros: Ubuntu is a widespread distribution, which means that you can easily find all the necessary software. In addition, most of the Linux sites are dedicated specifically to Ubuntu.

Minuses: the GNOME shell is convenient, but at first it seems unusual.

For laptop - elementary OS

As the name suggests, this version of Linux is very simple. You won't have any problems learning it. It runs easily on laptops and consumes battery slowly.

The interface of elementary OS is similar to macOS, so it will be a pleasure for Mac fans to use. Animations, window decoration - everything here is so smooth and pretty that you can just admire the system. Nevertheless, behind the beautiful elementary OS shell lies a full-fledged Linux that supports all the applications necessary for work.

Pros: beautiful interface, own indie app store.

Minuses: Pantheon's graphical shell, although it looks stylish, is not very functional.

Recently I was asked to look at the computer at home.

The situation is standard, after starting the black screen. After examining the "patient", it became clear about the need windows activation. But that's not all, by activating the license (a real one, not something like a loader ...) it turned out that the master had recently been called and he treated the computer for viruses.

The situation turned out like this: after starting everything works, but after a few minutes, about 2-3, after the download is complete, the fun begins.

Numerous programs imposed by the Internet are launched, amigo browser, mail satellite, various automatic system updates that supposedly keep your programs up to date and so on ...

As a result, the system is heavily loaded and hangs, in my case it hung tightly, nothing helped. Restoring the system and removing all these "programs" positive result not allowed. The system still hung and buggy.

The surest option suggested itself - reinstallation, and all problems will be solved!

Most masters do this, and you will earn more money by selling licenses for antivirus, office, operating system, plus drivers, etc., the amount is not frail. Now the maintenance of a computer on the windows operating system does not result in a frail amount, for a simple user.

But now is not about the moral side of this issue.

I spent a few minutes communicating with the owners of this computer, or rather about an hour and a half. We just talked about viruses, what its tasks do on this computer and who uses it.

The conclusion after the conversation turned out like this.

The computer is used for surfing the Internet.

Watch videos, listen to music.

Download media content from the Internet.

For writing essays and other things for study.

Games are almost not needed, they said that for the sake of the stability of the computer and the absence of viruses, games can be abandoned.

Suggested to switch to Linux.

Then the most interesting thing began, the child said that he could not live without google, another needed a Yandex browser and VK. A certain amount of time was spent explaining what is what.

As a result, I launched linux mint from portable (my own, brought with me) hard drive. I let them use it, do what they always do on their computer. internet surfing, social media, printing documents. Change the appearance of the desktop, change wallpaper colors and more.

I must say that almost without prompting, they got used to it pretty quickly, understanding where the programs are and how to run them.

Told them how to search desired programs in the program manager, telling them it's kinda google play like in android.

Got to the printer.

I thought there would be problems, and in vain I started all this. I launched my printer at home for quite a long time, climbing and re-reading the entire Internet, I have canon lbp 6000, we need dances with ubn.

But no, I just connected it to my computer and after a while it was installed. Not just installed, but prints, moreover, correctly and without problems, the HP laserjet p1005 printer.

They told me that everything suits them and were glad that you can forget about viruses, they wanted to say goodbye to me already, but after learning that it all works from a “flash drive” (portable HDD) via usb, and after installation it will work much faster ...

Their joy knew no bounds.

Installation took quite a bit of time, more I saved user data.

What conclusion did I draw for myself.

People have long been ready to switch to linux - there is no one who will explain it all to them at the initial stage and tell them.

No more spending money on renewing and purchasing licenses for antiviruses, windows itself, and office.

If you need a computer for studying, surfing the Internet, watching and listening to media content and do not use specific programs that have no analogues in linux.

Use linux, find a knowledgeable wizard who will explain everything to you in detail, at the initial stage, install and configure.

Spend your money not in vain, and not on programs that need to renew their license in a year if viruses do not “eat” your computer earlier, but on training and with benefit.

Benefits of moving to Linux.

The advantages are obvious, the absence of viruses, randomly installed programs, renewal of licenses, everything works stably and without freezes. Drivers are installed once and out of the box, just connected the device, waited a bit and everything works.

lInux consumes less resources, and it is not necessary to have a powerful computer, which costs big money, on an ordinary office computer it works very fast.

The main condition is that there is a constant access to the Internet, in our time - this is not a problem at all, for most users.

As for games, everything is not so bad, if desired, everything works in linux, even Steam already supports a decent number of games and works quietly in Linux itself.

I don’t remember whether or not I said above, I installed Linux mint 18.1. - the easiest Linux for novice users, similar to the interface on windows. Everything works out of the box - installed and you can work.

If you have any questions write I will try to answer.

Good luck to all!

10 comments on ““Linux is for the home.””

Nice and helpful post.
Such topics need to be covered more and more widely. People are milked, humiliated, imposed ... because of their ignorance.

Of course, the good should not be imposed either, but it is necessary to cover it.

Typical Linux mantras - which they repeat like our father - for free (freebie), the absence of viruses and other nonsense. There are viruses, insert your flash drive into any computer with Windows and immediately make sure that you, yes, they are not active, but this does not mean that they are not there. The problem with Linux starts with the drivers, not all the details are written here, and not a word about pro-priority products.

1. You will have the main wasp when you start working in your specialty and there are certain requirements for ...
   You shouldn't count other people's money - they want to pay, they don't want to - they don't pay (although they pay you partly for setting up all this stuff) ... Linux is cheaper?! What is this from? How much do companies pay admins on Windows and Linux?!

2. So the average user will cost a pretty penny the constant call of the master to fix something. The cheapness of Linux is only at first glance ... That's what the user will do when one day he does not see the GUI at boot due to the fact that GRUB has crashed?

3. This does not happen, flies and often. Nobody is experimenting with anything. It's just that when you turn on the PC, there is always an internal alarm, either it will start or not. With Windows, it's a different matter, where the data storage location does not depend on the location of the Home folder (aka My Documents), so it's easy to rearrange the system without losing data

4. For the third year in a row, Mint 18.1 is spinning (if I'm not mistaken) in parallel with Windows 7 (which was installed only for the sake of games donated to the child on the DR). Nothing is buggy, it does not hang, and in general everything suits everyone. At first, my wife was a little pissed off at the unusual office interface, then she got used to it. For a mode of use similar to that described in the article, tench is the most (and most importantly a freebie, at least for me, because I install it myself)

• Translation

We present to your attention a translation of an article by Jack Wallen from linux.com, which is dedicated to the most promising Linux distributions of 2018. About twelve months ago we shared a similar review with you. What has changed in a year?

Jack says that in 2017, there were trends in the Linux world regarding the increase in the number of distributions. This year, he expects the ecosystem to become more stable and Linux to grow in both server and desktop computing.

What to choose for someone who is going to switch to an open source platform this year, or for someone who wants to change what they use for something new? If you go to Distrowatch and look at the rankings of distributions, the main thing that you can see there is an unimaginable scope of possibilities. The wealth of choice is good, but it means that choosing exactly what you need will not be easy.

So, which Linux distributions should you pay attention to this year? Jack has some ideas about this, and he wants to talk about them in this material. As in the past year, systems divided into several categories will be considered here. Namely, we will talk about distributions for administrators, lightweight and desktop systems, Linux for professionals and for IoT, as well as server platforms.

Best Distribution for System Administrators: Debian

• Ease of use.
• Extreme stability.

Debian is currently in second place in the Distrowatch rankings. Download the distribution, install it, customize it according to your needs and enjoy a stable and comfortable work. This system may not look very trendy compared to others, but Debian is just the distribution that makes dreams come true. system administrators into reality.

Best Lightweight Distribution: Lubuntu

At the top of the 2018 lightweight distro list is Lubuntu. While there are tons of options out there, few of them even come close to the ease of learning that this distro has to offer. And although Lubuntu's system requirements are not as modest as, say, Puppy Linux, we have before us a member of the Ubuntu family, and the convenience of working with it compensates for some "gluttony". However, do not be afraid that the Lubuntu distribution will be too slow on a less modern computer. Yet, system requirements Lubuntu are quite adequate. Namely, we are talking about a Pentium 4, Pentium M or AMD K8 processor, 512 MB of memory for working with local applications, or 1 GB for normal work on the Internet (Youtube, Google+, Google Drive, Facebook).

Lubuntu uses the LXDE desktop, which means that Linux newbies won't run into problems. The applications included in the distribution (such as Abiword, Gnumeric, Firefox) are characterized by high speed, convenience and simplicity.

Best Desktop Distribution: Elementary OS

This is confirmed by one story that happened to me. I was sure that the release of Ubuntu 17.10 would make me switch back to Canonical distributions. Very soon after switching to the new Ubuntu with GNOME, I found myself missing the convenience and reliability of Elementary OS. As a result, after two weeks with Ubuntu, I returned to Elementary OS.

Anyone who tries Elementary OS immediately feels at home. The Panteon desktop is an example of a great combination of attention to detail, user-centricity and convenience. And with each update, it only gets better.
Although Elementary OS is ranked 6th in Distrowatch's rankings, I believe that this distro will reach at least the third position by the end of this year.

The developers of Elementary are very aware of what users want. They listen to those who work on their OS and develop the system in the appropriate direction. However, Elementary OS is already in excellent condition. As a result, there is a feeling that developers can only make minor improvements to the system. Anyone looking for a desktop distribution that offers a well-designed interface will have a hard time finding something that can beat Elementary OS. If you're looking for a system that has a remarkable level of reliability and ease of use, then Elementary OS is made for you.

The best distribution for those who know what's what: Linux From Scratch

Best IoT Distribution: Ubuntu Core

Another security-related feature of Ubuntu Core is the login mechanism. Ubuntu Core works with Ubuntu One ssh keys, and it's organized in such a way that the only way to log in is to use an Ubuntu One account and ssh keys. This helps to ensure a high level of security when working with IoT devices.

Best Server Distribution: Ubuntu Server

However, RHEL is far from the only server distribution. In fact, Red Hat is not even the absolute leader in corporate server systems. If you look at the statistics for cloud installations only in Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, here Ubuntu is far ahead of RHEL. According to Cloud Market, EC2 data indicates that RHEL has less than 100,000 deployments, while Ubuntu has more than 200,000. This is a very serious result.

As a result, it turns out that Ubuntu is the undisputed leader in the field cloud servers. And when you add in the ease of working with Ubuntu and with containers, it becomes quite clear that the Ubuntu Server distribution has won a landslide victory in the server systems category. And if you need commercial support, Canonical can offer the Ubuntu Advantage program.

The only feature of Ubuntu Server that some may not like is that by default this system uses only a text interface. If necessary, you can install a graphical shell here, but work with command line Ubuntu Server is quite simple (perhaps one of those skills that every Linux administrator should have).

The choice is yours

Dear readers! As usual, we ask you to tell us what you use and why, and what Linux distributions you would recommend to others.

Tags: Add tags

Linux is a free and secure operating system available for home and office use. Features of this operating system:

• free license,
• free office programs, Internet browsers, multimedia players and editors for graphics, video, audio,
• security,
• low chance of hacking,
• performance,
• greater control of the system by the user,
• flexibility and great customization options for advanced users,
• no unnecessary notifications or imposed and hidden actions,
• absence of viruses for this OS (practically none, or I don't know about it),
• lack of hidden tracking components, as in Windows 10 (and this affects the security of the user and his business).

This raises the question: why do employees of various firms, large and small, still use Windows? It must be admitted that the use of Windows is not always the result of comparative analysis and a decision based on a criteria-based assessment of various OS. This system is simply imposed on people, but about something else software they do not know a computer or have not tried it.

Of course, in larger companies, such as state. institutions, universities, IT companies, know about the benefits of Unix, Linux, use secure systems, servers with terminals and other programming developments. However, for an audience of ordinary office workers, Windows is the only non-alternative system that is inseparable from a desktop or laptop.

Why there are more Windows users than Linux, Unix users

• simple and convenient interface,
• familiar system
• popular operating system for which thousands of programs are written,
• accounting and banking programs are written for Windows and have no analogues for other operating systems,
• thousands of games have been developed for this OS, which means that it is more often installed on a home computer,
• this OS, earlier than others, began to provide the interests ordinary users: entertainment and convenient window interface, instead of the command line,
• often IT departments themselves may not be familiar with other operating systems, they use Windows without an alternative.

However, the situation may change if you start learning and using Linux for office tasks and for software development.

Why Linux can replace Windows OS and give more options

Apart from free license and respect among programmers, Linux is already becoming more convenient for daily use at home and at work. Currently, comfortable work on a computer running Linux is not inferior to Windows at all. Windows, files and folders, a set of office programs, easy installation of new programs - all this is implemented in Linux. It is a friendly system available to all users.

Although there are fewer programs for Linux, nevertheless, it has necessary set for office work:

• LibreOffice - a set of office programs for creating text documents, spreadsheets, presentations,
• Gimp - Pretty powerful program drawing,
• App Center - download and install new programs from trusted sources in a few clicks,
• Web browsers Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera - choose any convenient browser or find more in Linux,
• Internet utilities: Skype, QutIm (icq, and other messaging services), Mozilla Thunderbird for working with mail, torrent managers,
• Media players: Audiacious, VLC, Video player, SMPlayer - programs for watching videos and listening to music,
• Video editors Lightworks Beta, Kdenlive, Openshot, and audio editors Audacity, Jokosher, Wavosaur - for those who love to create.

Also for Linux there is a utility for launching Windows applications called Wine (possibly from the words WINdows Execute). With this program, some games and applications can be run on Linux OS, just like on Windows.

For developers, there are device virtualization utilities: Genymotion, VirtualBox, as well as high-performance compilers and design and development environments.

Media tools in Linux are less developed than in Windows, MacOS, games are even less developed. However, for video processing, recording music and video, there are free programs for Linux.

What Linux distributions are

Linux is a family operating systems, which are similar to each other, but differ in functions, interface. Why? - Because Linux offers open source code, that is, it can be copied, modified, improved and released under a new name, offering the features that a certain audience will like.

Ubuntu is the most popular flavor of Linux. It has the most convenient interface and performs the necessary actions to configure the network, time, desktop, graphical shell.
Kubuntu - as the name implies, this is Ubuntu, but with the letter K - it means that the KDE graphical shell is installed there (more on graphical shells below).
Lubuntu - Ubuntu with LXDE GUI.
Linux Mint is a pretty handy and beautiful system.
Debian is more optimized for server building and programmer work.
Linux Mandriva, openSUSE, RedHat, Fedora are also Linux families.
Gentoo is a very complex system and not suitable for home use.

Thus, you can select several systems at once and install them all on your computer. Linux systems can work perfectly with other OSes, meaning you can install Ubuntu alongside Windows and then add another and another system if needed. When the computer boots, you will be prompted to select a system to boot.

How to Install Linux

Linux can be installed without the help of a programmer, but it is possible that the first time without prompts it will be more difficult and a wrong installation can remove the OS you are using. However, installation can be completed within two hours.

1. Download the OS image (a file with the extension .iso - a disk image) - for example, Ubuntu http://ubuntu.ru/ click download. Choose Ubuntu Desktop 64-bit or Ubuntu Desktop 32-bit - try one, then the other (if it doesn't work)
2. Create a bootable flash with Unetbootin programs https://unetbootin.github.io/
3. Boot the computer from this bootable flash (to boot not from a disk, but from a flash, you usually need to press f2 immediately after turning it on or esc to configure the BIOS).
4. You can try to run without installation, or you can install
5. If you like this OS, ask in search engines about installing programs and setting up - there are a lot of answers

What to do immediately after installing the OS

As Windows users are probably used to, after installing the OS, you need to install programs. For Linux, this is not necessary, because, for example, Ubuntu already contains:

LibreOffice, which has Writer, Calc, Impress, are analogues of Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Mozilla Firefox is a pretty nice browser.
And there is no need to install an antivirus because the system is protected.

There is also no need to buy a license.

Installing Linux programs

For installation additional programs in Linux, you need to use the terminal or Application Center (your choice). The App Center is usually available in Ubuntu's sidebar or can be found in the main menu.

It's easy to find programs in the App Center. But if you want to use the Internet search, then you can find many recommendations for installing and configuring programs on various sites, such as ubuntu.ru.

Remember: Linux programs can run on any Linux operating system. Therefore, it is not necessary to search, for example: " skype installation Ubuntu" - although this is the most popular request with this OS, or "install Skype Debian" - all these requests are identical to "install skype linux". Same for Chrome, icq and all other programs

desktop and GUI Linux

For any OS of the Linux family, including Ubuntu, you can change the appearance - graphical environment. This is also called the Desktop, but it includes not only the background image, but also the menu style, label styles, folder and window design.
Ubuntu comes with the Unity desktop by default.
For more similarity with Windows 7, you can install the LXDE or Gnome desktop. There are also others to choose from: Xcfe, KDE, Cinamon...
All this helps to better customize the computer in the way you like it, and it also demonstrates the flexibility and versatility of the Linux OS.

Accounting software for Linux

What about accounting and office programs where to download these necessary components, this issue will be further covered on tlito.ru.
Thanks.

At some point, Linux became a familiar tool for me. There was Red Hat, there was SUSE, and then there was a new distribution that didn't exist before - Ubuntu. This distribution was the first Linux with a human face for me. Largely because the developers have set themselves a clear and precise task: to create a distribution kit that a housewife can install. Download from the Internet, click "next", "next", "next" and that's it. It could be automatically installed next to Windows, while Ubuntu could (again automatically) reduce the partition for Windows, allocate space for itself there, install on the disk where Windows is already installed, work and not interfere. And it was an attempt to create Linux "with a human face", which, in my opinion, was absolutely successful. Precisely because Ubuntu was available not only to professionals and not only to people from the academic environment (as a response to production or work needs), but also to ordinary people.

Linux at Home: Web Surfing and Home Video

In 2008, I chose Ubuntu for my home for several reasons: firstly, it made it very easy to install multimedia codecs (audio, video, mp3, DVD, Xvid, etc.). A person clicks "install" - everything is installed and working. Secondly, unlike many well-known, established and conservative distributions, Ubuntu had a fresh set of software. Yes, it was not always stable, something could “freeze” or break, but it was often updated, these problems were solved and, therefore, the software set was always fresh. This constant freshness attracted me greatly at that moment. Because in me personally there is always a craving for something new - and the “forever new” Ubuntu responded very well to this craving. And at the current moment - in 2015 - he answers exactly the same as in 2008.

Today, Ubuntu is my #1 distro that I, as a CIO of a mature systems integrator and as an advanced IT professional, enjoy using wherever I can. at home desktop computer, on a laptop - for surfing the Internet, for editing, editing and viewing home video, since this distribution has about a dozen convenient, decent, free editors(Pitivi, Kdenlive, OpenShot), which suit me completely as convenient tools for simple home video editing. By the way, I started making especially a lot of videos before and after the birth of a child. My wife and I were given a camera, I began to shoot a lot. I must say that when shooting, I mainly used the AVCHD format. And now, except on hardware players and in Linux, it has not been humanly reproduced anywhere. At least on Linux, it certainly didn't make my home computer buzz, puff, and smoke while playing video.

Windows generation vs. Linux generations?

At some point, having fully mastered Linux at home, I began to seriously think about using this OS at work. Unfortunately, the majority of Russian IT specialists are focused on working with Windows. They are "sharpened" for this OS. It can be said that they are born with it, grow "within it". This is facilitated by both the high popularity of Windows on home PCs and the focus on Windows Educational process - from school to higher education.

And it naturally turns out that even advanced IT specialists working for system integrators, specialists with a wide, deep expertise good quality it is often more comfortable to come and work mainly in Windows. This is a huge success for Microsoft, which created the system. A holistic closed loop that grows Windows users from childhood. These users, becoming professionals in IT, in turn successfully grow the next generation of users of this OS.

Linux at work: monitoring the performance of free software projects

Unlike them, at some point I realized that I could not only use Linux in the service, but also get additional benefits due to this. Working at that time in an average, but already mature integrator as a leading specialist in the IT outsourcing department, I began to actively look for tasks that could be effectively solved using open source software.

And almost immediately I paid attention to the development of the monitoring system of my company. The main thing turned out to be to provide the head of the IT outsourcing department with a rational justification for these changes and to connect this with our main priority - the constant increase in the number of clients with a high level of management culture (medium and big business) and improving the quality of their service.

Fortunately, the head of the department turned out to be receptive to a new person, thinking first of all about the benefits for customers and the benefits for us as an IT service provider. He gave the go-ahead to test free alternatives, realizing that for an IT outsourcer who relies on good long-term relationships with customers, open source software has a much greater advantage over paid products than for any other IT company.

Nagios, Zenoss or Zabbix?

For testing, we chose three free software-based systems: Nagios, Zenoss, Zabbix. After thorough testing and analysis, we decided to change the Windows-based Advanced Host Monitor monitoring system, which was not very well suited for our work profile, to a much less resource-intensive and suitable Zabbix monitoring system based on Linux and open source software. And now, for more than five years, having walked a difficult path with us, changing several versions and now processing two orders of magnitude more data, this system helps us to ensure the same high quality of work for customers throughout Russia.

Now our monitoring system is configured automatically for both clients and our company. That is, as soon as a new server is added or turned on (be it Windows or Linux), it is configured completely automatically. In other words, we excluded manual settings: here mail server, here the database server - their place was taken by auto tuning. Translated into business language, these are zero labor costs and a serious decrease in the influence of the human factor (For example, a specialist forgot that there is a disk, forgot that there is a certain service, forgot that an important program was installed, and as a result, an IT outsourcer may miss a failure or an event affecting the availability of services.) Now, thanks to a monitoring system based on Linux, we are deprived of all these misfortunes understandable to others.

VyOS for clients: no rake, please!

Let me give you another example of a successful replacement of a proprietary product with open source software. A significant part of our clients used the Microsoft TMG firewall, which provides companies with Internet access, intrusion protection, etc. At some point, Microsoft stopped supporting it and we had to look for an alternative. Of course, we began to look in the direction of open source software here too and quickly found what we needed: a specialized Linux distribution kit designed to configure Vyatta firewalls, and now VyOS. Clients love it. And even more so for us - we can build networks without regard to the need for license fees, create fault-tolerant systems, rationally divide functions between individual routers, transfer successful solutions between clients, etc. The success of this solution was greatly facilitated by the fact that we did not “attack on a rake", and, given our previous experience with open source software, we initially approached the issue of choosing and using a distribution kit in a systematic way. First, we conducted thorough testing and analysis of the product, then transferred our test lab to it, then the production environment. We developed a holistic concept, standard solutions and regulations for its use, trained personnel.

From point solutions to the development of a direction for open source software

Now, looking back, I understand that these projects have brought us much more benefits than we first thought. Thanks to the absence of license fees and high opportunities for adaptation specifically to our tasks (due to open source code), these solutions have turned from a system that provides the main activity into a separate project area. And also significantly expanded our capabilities when conducting complex IT audits for most customers.

But there is no doubt that open source software in a corporate environment also has many disadvantages related to local personnel issues and a general personnel crisis in IT, in some places low code quality, often missing support, etc. Therefore, making a choice in favor of open source software, any system integrator needs to more seriously than usual, to approach the development of decisions and take on a much greater measure of personal responsibility for these decisions. Largely because he does not have a powerful corporation behind him, on which one can "blame" the blame for possible miscalculations.

The Free Software Community: You're Not Alone

Using and modifying Zabbix, we “felt in our own skin” another main advantage of open source software: you are not left alone with the manufacturer. And it is not obliged to accept the rules of the game imposed on you.

Alas, when interacting with a proprietary software vendor, the consumer can rarely influence the latter: if the vendor wants, he will solve the consumer's problem by adding the functionality he / they need. If he doesn’t want or can’t bring the issue into the category of mass ones, he won’t solve it. Since it will be unprofitable for him for production and business reasons.

Yes, updating open source software is difficult, it may be “painful”, or it may not work out. But everyone can try, every purposeful and smart user or company has a chance to create something on their own, something that will bring real, pure benefit to people.

Wherever I can due to business needs, I use Ubuntu Server (mainly when testing new products with internal customers). In other cases, we use a bunch of CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

For those customers who are not ready to pay the cost of licenses, but have matured to use open source software, and for those who do not see additional benefits in commercial support, we suggest using CentOS. For the same (most) part of the customers for whom it is important to have OS support or for whom support is required by strict internal regulations, we suggest using RHEL.

What do CIOs think about open source software?

Often, IT managers, even if they have the necessary competencies, are not eager to take on additional responsibility and use open source software without commercial support. And this is understandable. After all, the situation with any new IT initiatives and products in a business of any scale and focus is often such that when everything is good, no one will praise the CIO, and when something is bad, all responsibility for this inevitably falls on him. And here the phrase “we contacted the support service, they acknowledged the existence of an incident, we are waiting for a response and a solution” serves as a kind of shield for the CIO and his people.

Although, in my opinion, in a situation where the CIO on the side of the client company really understands the subject, when he is deeply in the subject, he has enough resources, specialists and competencies, he can and should take this responsibility upon himself. Since the company has a chance to get a lot at the exit. Moreover, there is a community formed around free software, there are colleagues from the same market who are always ready to help in especially difficult situations.

The importance of open source software for the business of a system integrator: in the bottom line

For the strategic and operational development of the business of the right system integrator, the СentOS + RHEL bundle is extremely convenient, because it perfectly covers the needs of both small and medium-sized, as well as large customers with a high management culture. And at the same time, it allows the IT service provider to unify solutions, reduce the number of specialists required to maintain competencies and seriously reduce the cost of providing services. All this has a very positive effect on the competitiveness of the integrator and on its "survivability" in the market. This is especially true in difficult economic times. However, it is worth considering the fact that "it is necessary to prepare the sleigh in the summer", i.e., build systemic work with open source software, for obvious reasons, you need to start when the market is on the rise.

Finally

When we are asked how many of your clients use open source software, I answer honestly: “Almost all, often without even knowing it.” And all because today it is almost impossible not to use open source software. After all, he is the future.