Linux server sales show high-end trend

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It's policies like "per-processor lisensing" that drives this.

Proprietary software lays a cap on one of your most obvious routes for growing our capacity: by requiring you to pay more, per-new-processor, or per-x-number-of-CALs, etc. The advantage Linux-based solutions offer, is that once you've built the system, you can grow it as fast and as far as your hardware budget will allow.

The truth about networked solutions, is that you only tend to roll out a major new technology once every few years, and that most of the time, you are just duplicating solutions you hav already implemented elsewhere. Build a file-and-print server to handle two hundred and fifty seats, say, and all you are likely to need to do in the future, WRT that technology, is roll out ANOTHER two hundred and fifty seats-worth of capacity.

It's stating the obvious, I know, but with systems like Linux, the only cost required to do this, is to duplicate the hardware (or plug more chips into your existing hardware and make it run multiple ways). However, with proprietary solutions, there's an inescapable cost in duplicating the software licenses.

A lot of people in this world seem to think it's software that does the work: it isn't. The software is just there to let the hardware do the work. If the software can't get the Hell out of the way and let the hardware do its work, then people will use other software, that will; and one of the most obtrusive aspects of A LOT of the software in this world, is the habit it has of demanding another quarter off you, everytime you want to do something new with it.

If you think this isn't a problem, now, wait until they start loading multiple cores onto single chips, and you find yourself being told that, that new processor you just bought, isn't actually ONE processor, but four, or eight, or thirty two, etc...

Picture the scene in a decade's time:
Software Sales Rep: "That'll be thirty two times $2000, please, since you're using the new thirty-two-core 'Mary Celeste' chip from Intel."
Sys Admin: "But I only want to build-in eight more seats-worth of capacity, at the moment!" (Turns to Intel Rep) "Can't I buy a processor with only, say, eight cores on it?"
Intel Rep: "Good heavens, no: we only sell the twirty-two core ones, these days. It's years since anyone was making eight core chips. We can either sell you a thirty two core 'Celeste', or, alternatively, one of our super new 'XXeon Valdez' SIXTY FOUR core ones, for an extra two dollars fifty..."
Sys Admin: "But that'd cost me another $64000 to implement!"
Intel Rep: "Hey, don't talk to me: I'm the hardware guy. I make the cheap sh*t that actually does the work, remember! You need to take this up with 'Mr MegaCycle-Gobbler', over there."

Posted by: DanIelWalker_z   Posted on: 02/27/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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