UNIXtoLinuxMigration:

AnIntroduction
ByNathanThomas

Abstract
Thispaperisintendedtoprovideadiscussionofthe
importantconsiderations,bestpractices,andresourcesfor
migrationsfromaRISCbasedplatformtoLinux.It
presentsthedifferencesbetweenUNIXandLinuxand
providesanoverviewofwhattoexpectwhenmigratingto
Linux.Thedocumentshouldserveasageneralreference
guideduringatypicalmigrationandprovideinformationon
additionalRedHatresourcesthatwillassistwiththe
overallstrategyandimplementation.

Revision4a.February2005

Copyright2005RedHat,Inc.Allrightsreserved.RedHatandtheShadowmanlogoareregisteredtrademarksofRedHat,Inc.intheUSandothercountries.Linuxisa
registeredtrademarkofLinusTorvalds.Allothertrademarksreferencedhereinarethetrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.

TableofContents
Introduction........................................................................................................3
WhatisRedHatEnterpriseLinux?..............................................................3
Whatisopensource?...................................................................................4
WhatisRedHat'
sbusinessmodel?............................................................5
Operatingsystemdifferences............................................................................5
BasicUNIXinfrastructure.............................................................................5
Opensourcetools.......................................................................................6
Filesystem....................................................................................................6
Performance.................................................................................................6
Stability.........................................................................................................8
Scalability......................................................................................................8
Security.........................................................................................................9
Enterpriseoperatingenvironment.....................................................................10
TypicalLinuxusages....................................................................................10
ITinfrastructure............................................................................................11
Desktop.........................................................................................................12
ISVapplicationsupport................................................................................13
LargescaleLinuxdeployment.....................................................................13
Remotemanagementcapabilities...............................................................14
Skillstransferandtraining............................................................................15
Directoryandauthenticationservices..........................................................15
Proprietaryapplicationportinganddevelopment.............................................15
AwordabouttheGPL..................................................................................15
TheLinuxdevelopmentenvironment:CandC++.......................................16
Thirdpartylibraries......................................................................................17
RedHatDeveloperSuite..............................................................................17
Specializedportingtools..............................................................................17
Javaandscriptinglanguages.......................................................................18
Softwarepackaging......................................................................................18
SupportingLinuxintheenterprise....................................................................18
RedHatGlobalSupportServices................................................................18
GlobalSupportServicesTechnicalAccountManager................................19
RedHatGlobalProfessionalServices.........................................................19
GNUProenterprisetoolsupport...................................................................20
RedHatGlobalLearningServices...............................................................20
RedHatNetwork..........................................................................................20
Migrationstrategies...........................................................................................21
Suggestedmigrationplansandtimelines....................................................21
ISVapplicationsupport......................................................................................23
Conclusion.........................................................................................................24

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

Introduction
Asenterprisecustomershavebecomefrustratedwiththeprice
andperformanceofproprietaryUNIXsolutions,theyhave
soughtawaytotakeadvantageofthemultivendor,lowcost,
highperformanceenvironmentprovidedbyIntelandAMD
commoditypricedhardware.Historically,thelackofastable,
secure,scalable,andhighperformanceoperatingenvironment
relativetoUNIXhaskeptmanycustomersfrombeingableto
justifyamovetocommoditychipsets.Eventhosecustomers
willingtoacceptthelimitationsoftheMicrosoftWindows
operatingsystemrunningoncommodityhardwarehavefaceda
verytoughmigration,porting,andintegrationeffort.Suchcost
andeffortposeasignificantbarriertoentry.UNIXvariantshave
beenreleasedforcommodityplatforms,butnoneofthemhave
beenabletoprovideadequatehardwaresupport,software
support,orscalabilitytomakeIntelorAMDaneffective
alternativetoRISCbasedplatforms.Now,asaproductofthe
continualimprovementofcommodityplatformsandtherapid
developmentoftheLinuxoperatingsystem,thereisfinallya
viablealternativetoUNIXforrunningenterpriseandmission
criticalapplications.Linuxisnowthefastestgrowingoperating
systemintheworld,accordingtoIDC,anditismostoften
replacingproprietaryUNIXinenterpriseITinfrastructure.This
paperoutlinesthebasicdifferencesbetweenLinuxandUNIX
andprovidesinformationtomakeinformeddecisionsabout
whereLinuxmayreplaceUNIXintheenterprisetoday.
WhatisRedHatEnterpriseLinux?
PriortothereleaseofRedHatEnterpriseLinuxAS2.1,the
LinuxmarketplacewasaverydifficultoneforIndependent
SoftwareVendors(ISVs)ingeneralanddatabasevendorsin
particular.
Theopensourcedevelopmentmodelhashistoricallybeen
drivenatanextremelyrapidpace.Forexample,injust18
monthsRedHatreleasedRedHatLinux7.3,8.0,and9.This
modelwasvastlydifferentfromthemuchlongerreleasecycles
prevalentintheproprietaryoperatingsystemspaceandwasnot
inlinewiththedevelopmentmodelsmanyenterprise
applicationsrequire.
RedHatdevelopedRedHatEnterpriseLinuxasthesingle
targetplatformforallmajorISVsandtheirenterpriselevelserver
applicationstoalleviatetheburdenthepreviousdevelopment
cyclewasputtingonsoftwaredevelopmentcompanies.With
RedHatEnterpriseLinux,RedHatprovidesaplatformthatboth
ISVsandsystemadministratorscansupport.RedHatEnterprise
LinuxAS2.1firstbecameavailableinMay2002.RedHatalso
releasedRedHatEnterpriseLinuxESandRedHatEnterprise
LinuxWSshortlythereaftertocompletetheproductlinewith
distributionsappropriateformidrangeserverapplicationsand
technicalworkstations.RedHatEnterpriseLinuxisreleased
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

approximatelyevery18months,givingISVsmoretimetocertify
anddelivertheirproductsandseeareturnontheirinvestment.
SubsequentreleasesofRedHatEnterpriseLinux,version3and
version4,werereleasedinOctober2003andFebruary2005.
AllversionsofRedHatEnterpriseLinuxaremaintainedbyRed
Hatforsevenyearsaftertheinitialavailabilitydate.RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxproductsareavailabletocustomersthrough
annualsubscriptions,whichincludemaintenance,support,and
upgrades.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxisamorefocusedenvironmentthan
theoldretailRedHatLinuxproductsorthecommunitydriven
FedoraProject.TheRedHatLinuxproductlineisnolonger
availableormaintainedbyRedHat,whiletheFedoraProject
pickedupwhereRedHatLinuxdevelopmentleftoff.TheFedora
ProjectisanendeavorthroughwhichRedHatworkswiththe
opensourcedevelopmentcommunitytobuild,test,and
eventuallyintegratesoftwareintoitsofficialreleases.Software
packagesthecommunitytestsanddeemsstablewilllikely
undergoextensiveinternalQAandbecomepartofRedHat
EnterpriseLinux.WhiletheFedoraProjectprovidesavarietyof
technologiesandapplicationsthatareeithernotbusiness
relatedorarestillintheprocessofdevelopment,RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxpackagesareselectedfortheirstabilityand
applicabilitytoaproductionenterpriseenvironment.
ThelongerreleasecycleforRedHatEnterpriseLinuxdoesnot
meanthatsystemadministratorsmustsacrificethetimely
releaseofsecurityandbugfixupdatestheyhavecometo
expectfromRedHat.Bugfixesandsecurityupdatesare
releasedonanasneededbasistoensurethatcustomershave
themostreliable,stable,andsecuresystemspossible.These
updatesaremadeavailablethroughRedHatNetwork,which
enablestheeasydeploymentofupdatedsoftwaretoalarge
numberofsystems.TheintentofRedHatNetworkistoreduce
administrativeoverheadforcorporatesystemadministratorsby
simplifyingandcentralizingpackagemanagementandsystem
maintenanceatanaffordablecost.
MoreinformationonthecurrentRedHatEnterpriseLinux
productlineisavailableathttp://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/.
Whatisopensource?
Thetermopensourcereferstothepracticeofdistributingthe
sourcecodeofanapplicationaswellasthebinary(compiled)
version.Thisallowstheusertomakemodificationstothecode
andimproveitanywaytheyseefit.RedHatisfirmlycommitted
toopensourcebecauseitallowsalevelofinnovationthatislight
yearsaheadoftheproprietarysoftwaredevelopmentmodel.
Withthousandsofprogrammersabletocontributetothe
operatingsystem,includingdevelopersandsystem
administratorsinsideourenterprisecustomeraccounts,RedHat
isabletofacilitaterapidenhancementsinfunctionality,
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

performance,reliability,andsecuritythattakeproprietary
vendorsyearstoachieve.Thereareanumberofpopularopen
sourcelicenses,includingtheGNUGeneralPublicLicenseand
theBSDLicense.Whilesomeproprietarysoftwarevendorshave
attemptedtopositionopensourcelicensingasaninhibitorto
innovationandapplicationdelivery,suchcriticismsdistortthe
meaningoftheopensourcelicensesandexaggeratethe
instancesinwhichtheGPLimpactsthelicensingscheme
adoptedbyapplicationvendors.Intheoverwhelmingmajorityof
cases,suchastheOracledatabase,vendorssuccessfully
supporttheirapplicationsonRedHatEnterpriseLinuxunderthe
proprietarylicensingmodelfamiliaronWindowsandUNIX.The
sectionofthispaperentitledProprietaryApplicationsPorting
andDevelopmentclarifiestheimpactthatopensourcelicenses
inRedHatEnterpriseLinuxhaveonthelicensingofsoftware.
WhatisRedHat'sbusinessmodel?
RedHathasbuiltaprofitablebusinesswithopensource
software.RedHat'
sbusinessplanistoderivethemajorityofits
revenuefromsubscriptionsassociatedwiththedevelopment,
integration,deployment,support,andmanagementofLinuxin
enterpriseenvironments.Additionally,RedHatworkswithmany
ISVandOEMpartnerstoensurethatRedHatEnterpriseLinux
productsenjoythewidestlevelofapplicationandhardware
certificationsofanyenterprisefocusedLinuxdistribution.
Thelatestmarketanalysisindicatesthatthelinebetween
softwareandsoftwarerelatedservicesisblurringasa
consequenceofthehighdegreeofconnectivityoftoday's
systems.Additionalinformationonthefullrangeofservices
providedbyRedHatisincludedinthesectionofthispaper
entitled,SupportingLinuxintheEnterprise.

Operatingsystemdifferences
AlthoughLinuxisbasicallyaUNIXlikeoperatingsystem,there
areanumberofsubtledifferencesbetweenLinuxandUNIX.
Fewofthesedifferenceshaveasignificantimpactontheend
userexperienceorapplicationfunctionality,butitisimportantto
understandwhatdifferentiatesLinuxfromUNIXtohelp
determinewheretoutilizeitintheenterprise.

BasicUNIXinfrastructure
WithabasicinfrastructuresimilartoUNIX,RedHatEnterprise
Linuxconsistsofakernelthathandlesallhardwareanddevice
interactionaswellasalljobscheduling.Surroundingthiskernel
arealloftheuserspaceapplications,manyofwhicharethe
sameorsimilartothosefoundinthebaseUNIXinstallations.
LinuxcanberunintextorgraphicalmodeaswithUNIX,andthe
graphicalmodeissuppliedbytheX.orgXWindowSystem.
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

LikeUNIX,Linuxcomeswithalargeselectionofbuiltin
applicationsthatcombinetoprovideahighlevelofstandard
functionality.Toolsforworkinginanetworkedcomputing
environmentsuchasBIND,NFS,FTP,Telnet,SSH,rsh,anda
numberofotherapplicationsaredistributedwiththecore
operatingsystemitself.
Opensourcetools
UnlikeUNIX,RedHatEnterpriseLinuxisdeliveredwithahuge
repositoryofopensourcesoftwarethatprovidescomplements
to,ordirectreplacementsfor,thirdpartyISVapplications
availableonotheroperatingsystems.Formanyusersthese
applicationshaveprovedtobeacceptablealternativestosome
ofthetoolstheyhavepreviouslyhadtopurchase;othershave
feltmorecomfortablesimplyusingtheLinuxversionoftheir
existingISVapplications.Examplesofsuchopensource
applicationsincludeApacheforWebserving,Sendmailformail
transfer,CVSforsourcecodemanagement,andPHPfor
dynamicWebapplications.
Filesystem
AllversionsofRedHatEnterpriseLinuxuseEXT3asthedefault
fortheirnativefilestructure,whichisthenext
generationoftheEXT2.EXT3isatunablejournaling
;datamigrationbetweenEXT2andEXT3isseamless
andsimple,withbackwardsandforwardscapabilities.RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxv.3includedEXT3updatesforsecurityand
storagemanagementwithACLsandabundled
LogicalVolumeManager,whileEnterpriseLinuxv.4provides
significantperformanceenhancementswithBlockReservations,
HashtreeDirectories,andimprovedSMPsynchronization
techniques.
RedHatalsoofferscustomersaclusteredfilesystemthatcan
bepurchasedtorunonEnterpriseLinux.RedHatGlobalFile
System(GFS)isahighlystablesolutionforenterpriseand
technicalcomputingapplicationsrequiringreliableaccessto
data.GFSallowsmultipleserversonaStorageAreaNetwork
(SAN)tohavereadandwriteaccesstoasinglefilesystemon
sharedSANdevices,deliveringthestrength,safety,and
simplicitydemandedbyenterpriseandtechnicalcomputing
environments.
Performance
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxishighlyoptimizedtoprovide
exceptionalperformanceoncommoditychipsets.RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxhasbeenoptimizedforenterpriseIToperations
andiscurrentlydemonstratingworldclassperformanceincritical
environments.Anecdotalevidencefromenterpriseusers
suggeststhatRedHatEnterpriseLinuxrunningonInteland
AMDchipsetsareabletomatch,andinmanycasesexceed,the
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

performanceofSolariswhenrunningnativelycompiledC/C++
code.Additionaloptimizationsinspecificincidenceshavebeen
abletoachieve5to20timesincreasesinperformanceoverthe
applicationperformanceonUNIX.Itisimportanttorecognize
thatsignificantlycheapercommodityhardwaremakesitpossible
topurchaseasubstantiallyfasterandbetterequippedsystem
thananequivalentlypricedRISCsystem,allowingadramatic
leapoverRISChardwareincost/performance.Suchstatements,
however,aredirectedonlyatrawprocessingperformance.In
termsofI/Oandnetworkthroughput,evidencesuggeststhat
RISCandcommodityarchitecturesareclosertoparity.Fiber
attachedstoragereads,forexample,willnotusuallybe
noticeablyfasteronLinuxthanonUNIX.Again,thisimplicitly
givesLinuxacost/performanceedgebecauseofthelow
hardwarecost.IncertainnetworkingcircumstancesLinuxisable
tobeatUNIXperformance,althoughmoreattheapplication
levelthanintermsofrawTCP/IPorUDPthroughput
capabilities.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxisachievingoutstandingindustry
standardbenchmarkresultsthatcanbeusedtoassess
capabilitiesacrosstheentireproductline.Theresultscovera
rangeofconfigurations,architectures,andperformancemetrics.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhasbeenacorepartofconfigurations
thatoffersignificantperformanceandcostadvantagesover
traditionalRISC/UNIXenvironments.
TheTransactionProcessingPerformanceCouncilBenchmarkC
(TPCC)hasbecomeahighlyregardedindustryreferencethat
measuresonlinetransactionprocessinganddatabase
benchmarks.AsofOctober2004RedHatEnterpriseLinuxheld
theworldrecordTPCCperformancebenchmarkresult.The
auditedfigureswere1,184,893.38tpmCat$5.52/tpmC.This
resultbeatthepreviousperformancerecord,achievedbyRed
HatEnterpriseLinux2.1,byapproximately17%andwasthe
lowest$/tpmCofthefirsttenperformanceresults.Theresultsof
thisbenchmarkdemonstratethatRedHatEnterpriseLinuxwith
Oracleinaclusteredenvironmentcanbeupto50%fasterthan
thebestWindows2003resultand98%fasterthanthebest
Solarisresult.
ThebenchmarkwasachievedwithRedHatEnterpriseLinux
runningona16nodeHPIntegrityrx5670Itaniumcluster(each
nodebeingquadCPUwith48GBmemory).Thedatabasewas
Oracle10gwithRealApplicationClusters.Thestorage
comprisedover2000diskswithatotalcapacityof93TB.The
applicationservertierwascomprisedof80dualCPUXeonHP
ProLiantDL360G3systems.Thetotalconfigurationcostwas
$6.5M.Thisbenchmarkprovestheoutstandingperformance,
scalability,andcosteffectivenessofRedHatEnterpriseLinux.
OtherrecentlyarchivedRedHatEnterpriseLinuxperformance
benchmarkscanbefoundat:
http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/benchmarks/
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

Stability
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhasbecomewellknownforitsstability
overthepastseveralyears.Storiesofmachineslockedin
closetsrunningforyearsarecommon,andmostusersrarely
experiencesignificantdowntime.Muchofthiscanbeattributed
totherobustarchitectureofthesystemitself.TheLinuxkernelis
designedtominimizetheeffectthatapplicationcomponentswill
haveoneachotherandthekernelwithregardtoresource
allocation.Thismeansthatifsingleapplicationsfail,theywillfail
inisolation,andleavetherestoftheoperatingsystemto
functionasexpected.ButhowdoesaheavilyloadedRedHat
EnterpriseLinuxsystemdeployedinanenterprisedatacenter
environmentholdupunderthethetoughestworkloads?
ResearchhasshownthatRedHatEnterpriseLinuxholdsup
verywellindeed,onparwith,orbetterthanresultsforRISC
basedsystems.ThequalityassurancemeasuresRedHat
appliestotheoperatingsystempriortoreleaseinclude
significanttestingofhighstressoperationalconditions,andwe
considerfailuresatthisleveltobeunacceptableinacommercial
productionoperatingsystem.
Scalability
Linuxhasprovenitselfinenterpriseenvironments,and
scalabilityhasbeenapriorityforRedHatengineering.Each
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxreleasehasofferedincreased
scalabilityoveritspredecessorwithsupportforlargerSMP
systems,morememory,andlargerstoragesubsystems.
AdditionallythearchitecturallimitsonLinuxscalabilityhave
significantlyimprovedandcontinuetoevolve.Priortothe
releaseofRedHatEnterpriseLinux,mostLinuxproductswere
limitedtox86architectures,whichinhibitedLinuxfrom
developingasaverticalenterprisesolution.RedHatEnterprise
Linuxisavailableforsevendifferentarchitecturesandcanbe
deployedonanythingfromanadministrator's
laptoptoa
corporatemainframe.RedHat'
sISVpartnershipsandOEM
relationshipsareverystrong,withRedHatEnterpriseLinux
givingcustomerstheabilitytobuildacompletelyLinuxbased
enterpriseinfrastructure.
AsRedHatincreasesitsfocusonlargescaleremotesystems
management,itisexpectedthatthecosttoaddnodesinterms
ofadministrationwillcontinuetodiminish,allowing,ina
theoreticalsense,unlimitedscalability.Forthosescenarios
wheresingleboxscalabilityisrequired,RedHatEnterprise
LinuxsolutionsbuiltaroundIBM'
sS390andZSeriessystems
arealsoavailable.Inaddition,awholenewgenerationof
datacenterqualitycommodityarchitecturebladesolutionsfrom
suchcompaniesasEgenera,IBM,HP,andDellhavealso
penetratedthemarket.Theseplatformsdeserveamuchlarger
discussionthancanbeprovidedinthispaperandwillcontinue
tobeanimportantcomponentoftheoverallLinuxmarket.
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

Security
Provisionofahighlysecureenvironmentisacorefeatureofthe
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxfamilyofproducts.RedHatEnterprise
Linuxhasfewerserioussecurityvulnerabilityreportsthaneither
UNIXorWindows,despitethefactthatRedHatEnterpriseLinux
containsmanyapplicationsnotincludedinotheroperating
systems.WhilethisisnotscientificproofofLinuxsecurity,itisa
goodindicationofrealworldexperienceforLinux.RedHat
EnterpriseLinuxgivestheadministratorcompletecontrolover
networkportsandservices,andmanysecurityand
authenticationapplicationsarefullysupported,including
Kerberos,SSL,NIS,andPAM.RedHatEnterpriseLinux
securityupdatesareavailabletocustomersviaRedHat
Network.RedHatpackagesaresignedwithRedHat's
GNU
PrivacyGuard(GPG)keyssocustomersarecertainupdates
aredistributedsecurelyfromRedHat.
ThirdpartyfirewallapplicationssuchasCheckpointand
monitoringsolutionslikeBMCPatrolaresupportedandhave
provenverystableonLinux.Customersshouldnotethat
securityrelatedproductsavailablefromISVsareonlycertified
fortheRedHatEnterpriseLinuxlineofproducts.Security
applicationsmodifiedtorunontheFedoracodebasesarenot
supportedbyRedHatortheapplicationvendor.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhasachievedtheUSDefense
InformationSystemsAgency(DISA),CommonOperating
Environmentcertification.TheCOEcertificationmeansthatRed
HatEnterpriseLinuxisapprovedfordeploymentattheUS
DepartmentofDefenseandhaspassedthisagency's
strict
requirementsforinteroperability,performance,andstandards
compliance,atruetestamenttothefederalgovernments
confidenceinRedHatEnterpriseLinuxasasoundsolution.
CustomersinterestedinlearningmoreabouttheCOE
certificationshouldrefertothetheRedHatEnterpriseLinux
COEwhitepaperat:
https://www.redhat.com/apps/webform.html?event_type=whitepa
per&eid=100
Inadditiontotheapplications,managementtools,and
certificationsassociatedwithprovidingsecurityonLinux,itis
importanttounderstandtheroleoftheopensource
developmentmodelinmakingRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsecure.
OpensourcemeansthatallofthecodethatRedHatrunshas
beenthroughalargeamountofpeerreview.Opensource
developmentalsomeansthatnewbugsareresolvedaccurately
andmadeavailableinatimelymannerwithdocumentationfor
thenextroundofpeerrevieworfuturedevelopment.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxcustomerswithaninterestintuning
theirsystemssecurelyshouldrefertotheRedHatEnterprise
LinuxSecurityGuideat:

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/
SecurityenhancementsfortheRedHatEnterpriseLinuxv.3
productlineincludedAccessControlLists,ageneral
purposecryptographicAPIinthekernel,andkernelsupportfor
ipseconIPV4.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxv.4includesnumeroussecurity
features:

SecurityEnhancedLinux(SELinux),whichprovidesafully
trustedenvironment,withMandatoryAccessControl(MAC)
andRoleBasedAccessControl(RBAC)

AnewAuditingsubsystemforstandardandSELinux
environments

PositionIndependentExecutablesandExecShield
featuresthatprovideprotectionfromBufferOverflowsecurity
exploits

CompilerandLibrarybuffermanagementenhancements
featuresthatperformruntimecheckingofbuffersforerrors
suchasdoubledeallocationandbuffersizevalidation

RedHatprovidesseveralwhitepapersthatdiscussthese
securityfeaturesindetail.Pleaserefertowww.redhat.com.

Enterpriseoperatingenvironment
ThosewhowereinvolvedintheITindustryasSunandMicrosoft
becamethedominantplayersintheirrespectivemarketswill
recallwhatadifficulttransitionitwastointegrateandsupport
thosenewplatforms.Recognizingthatthebarriertoentryfor
Linuxmigrationscanbehigh,RedHathasworkedtomakethe
processaspainlessaspossible.Belowyouwillfindinformation
onthecommontasksthatRedHatEnterpriseLinuxisbeing
usedforandonhowenterpriseclientsareabletointegrate
Linuxintotheirenvironmentswithouthavingtodiscardtheir
existinginfrastructureandknowledge.
TypicalLinuxusages
AlthoughLinuxisaveryflexibleoperatingsystemthatisbeing
usedeverywherefromembeddeddevicestomainframes,the
majorityofenterpriseusersaredeployingRedHatEnterprise
Linuxoncommodity32bitand64bitIntelandAMDmachinesin
oneofthreeprimaryconfigurations:ITinfrastructureand
interdepartmentalservers,applicationserversforcorebusiness
components,orasadesktop/workstationsolution.RedHathas
alsoestablisheditselfasamajorplayerinthedatacenterfor
databaseconnectivityandinnumerousotherareas,suchas
CADdevelopmentandgraphicsdesign,butthesecanbefairly
specializedsolutions.Wewillfocusonthemoregeneral
deploymentscenarioshere.

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

10

ITinfrastructure
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhaslargelymadeitsnameinsuch
applicationsascustomerfacingebusinessoperations,internal
routing,firewalls,fileserving,printserving,interdepartmental
databases,anddozensofotherstandardITinfrastructure
functions.Here's
aquicklookatthespecificsolutionsthatare
commonlyseen;additionalinformationcanbefoundattheend
ofthedocument:
Table1:ITinfrastructure

Software
Components

Details

Webserver

Apache,TUX

Apacheistheworld'snumberoneWeb
server.LinuxoffersafullsuiteofWeb
hosting,applicationhosting,andproxy
capabilities.TUXisathreadedLinux
WebserverforhighperformanceWeb
serving.

Routing/DNS

BIND8/9

Fullroutingcapabilitiesaresupported.

Fileserver

NFSv4inRHEL4,
openAFS,GFS,
NDS,openLDAP,
Samba

Firewall

Iptables

NISserver

NIS

Database
server

Postgres,MySQL

Mailserver

SendmailisthemostwidelyusedMTA
ontheInternet.Postfixisafast,secure
Sendmail,Postfix
opensourceMTAalternativeto
Sendmail.

Function

AnothercoreareaforRedHat
EnterpriseLinux;consistent
communicationwithallplatformtypesis
oneofRedHat'sprimarygoals.
Iptablesisincludedfree.
Simplenetworklookupservicethat
providesinformationtoallmachinesona
network.
PostgresandMySQLareveryrobust
opensourcedatabases.

Source
repository

CVS

CVSoffersafreeandwidelyused
repository.

Webcaching

Squid

SquidisaWebproxyserverthatships
withRedHatEnterpriseLinux.

ForbusinessapplicationsdesignedtorunonUNIX,theportto
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxisrelativelysimple.Thisincludes
C/C++applications,Javaapplications,scripts,andseveralother
legacyornewerlanguages.Linuxwasoriginallyconceivedofas
aserveroperatingsystem,andithasbeenconfiguredtowork
optimallyinthatenvironment.Performancehasprovedtobe
comparabletoorbetterthanthatofUNIX,andscalabilityand
reliabilityaremorethanacceptable.Sosavingmoneyby
switchingtoIntelorAMDhardwareisaneasychoice.Additional
informationonportingapplicationstoLinuxisgiveninSection4
ofthisdocument.

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

11

Desktop
TraditionallyUNIXhasnotplayedamajorroleintheenduser
desktopspace.Ithasbeenlimitedtospecializedusagewithinan
enterprisefortherunningofspecificbusinessapplications,
applicationdevelopment,orasapowerfulworkstation
environment.RedHatDesktopandRedHatEnterpriseLinux
WScanactveryeffectivelyintheseenvironments,andinmany
companiesarebeingusedasareplacementforexisting
Windowsdesktopclients.LinuxusestheX.orgXWindow
Systemasitsgraphicalinterface,withvariousdesktop
environmentsavailabletoprovideaconsistentuserinterface
andallofthebaselinetoolsadesktopOSuserexpects.
Additionally,thereareanumberofofficeproductivitysuites,
Webbrowsers,graphicalmanipulationtools,andpersonal
productivityapplicationsavailable.Therearealsoanumberof
ISVmanagementtools,suchasOracleEnterpriseManagerthat
cannowberunfromLinux.Table2illustratessomeofthe
applicationavailability.NotethatinformationonLinuxasa
developmentenvironmentisgivenindetailinSection4rather
thanhere:
Table2:DesktopAvailability

Function

Desktop
environment

Software
Components

Details

GNOMEisthedefaultdesktopinRedHat
EnterpriseLinux.Itprovidesallofthe
basicfunctionsWindowsuserswould
expectfromabasedesktopinstallation,
GNOME,KDE
includingfilebrowsing,desktop
configurationtools,basictexteditors,
calculator,etc.SunhaschosenGNOME
astheirnextgenerationdesktop.

Webbrowser

FirefoxisthedefaultbrowserinRedHat
Firefox,Mozilla,
EnterpriseLinux4.Allarefreeandopen
Konqueror
source.

Officesuite

OpenOffice.orgisaleadingcommercial
officesuiteforLinux.Itincludesword
OpenOffice.org,
processing,spreadsheet,graphical
Koffice,
development,slidepresentation,and
StarOffice
webpagedevelopmenttools.Allthree
supportMicrosoftfiletypes.

Messaging
client

Evolution,
Mozilla,
TraditionalUNIXmailreadersare
Thunderbird,text available.
readers

RedHatEnterpriseLinuxdesktopfeaturesinclude:

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

X.orgwindowingsystem

Bluecurvegraphicaluserinterface(UnifiedGNOME/KDE
lookandfeel)
12

OpenOffice.orgofficeproductivitysuite

Evolutionmail&groupwareclient

Firefox&MozillaWebbrowsers

Numerousmultimediaapplications(HelixPlayer,RealPlayer,
etc.)

Microsoftinteroperabilityfeatures(ActiveDirectory
authentication,ExchangeServerconnectivity,NTLM
authentication)

MicrosoftFileandPrintsharing

ISVapplicationsupport
OneofthebiggestchallengesLinuxhasfacedmovingintothe
enterprisehasbeenthesupportofIndependentSoftware
Vendors.Byearly2005theoverwhelmingmajorityofleading
ISVshadproducedversionsoftheirproductscertifiedforuseon
RedHatEnterpriseLinux.CompanieslikeOracle,BEA,
VERITAS,IBM,andSAPviewLinuxasstrategicallyimportantto
theirfuturesuccess.RedHatworkscloselywiththesevendors
toensurethattheirproductsarefullyintegratedwithRedHat
EnterpriseLinux,andtohelpthemgettomarketfaster.Fora
comprehensivecatalogofcertifiedapplicationsforRedHat
EnterpriseLinux,visit:http://www.redhat.com/apps/isvcatalog.
Ifyourequireanapplicationnotlisted,contactthevendororRed
Hattocheckonitsavailability.Oneofthemajoradvantagesof
selectingRedHatoverotherLinuxvendorsisthatwewillwork
withavendortogettheirapplicationstomarketifthereisa
customerneed.
LargescaleLinuxdeployment
LargeenterprisesworkingwithUNIXhaveofteninvesteda
tremendousamountintodevelopingaglobaldeployment
strategy.Thismayincludeanautomatedbuildandinstall
solution,asetofISVmanagementsoftwarecomponents,
systemadministratortrainingandskillsdevelopment,and
documentationoftheentireprocess.Althoughtherewillcertainly
becostsassociatedwithaddingLinuxtosuchanenvironment,
RedHathasdevelopedtheknowledgeandtoolstomakeitas
painlessandquickaspossible.Theprimarygoalinsucha
scenarioistoprovideaLinuxdeploymentmethodologythat
allowsenterprisestoleverageexistinginfrastructureinvestments
andinhouseadministrationanddevelopmentskills.Thisbegins
withthedeploymenttechnologies;UNIXsystemsareoften
deployedusingthebootpprotocol.IntelandAMDfullysupport
remotebootandinstallfunctionalitywithbootpandPXE.Allthat
isrequiredistomakesuretheEthernetcardshavethePXE
capableonboardeprom.RedHatprovidesatftpbootserverthat
canbeusedtoperformtheinstallations.Iforganizationshavea
webpageorcustominterfacetoconfiguretheinstallprocesson
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

13

apersystemorsubnetbasis,therearetoolsavailableonLinux
forthataswell.Forthoseusingsystemimagingtoolsratherthan
relyingontheactualnativeinstallationtools,itmaybepossible
tousethesametoolsforRedHatEnterpriseLinux,orthereare
alternativesavailable.Regardlessofthespecifictechnology,the
goalistobeabletoinvestinsomedevelopmentworkupfrontto
constructasystemthatworksjustliketheexistingUNIXbuild
systemtothoseinstallingthenodes.ThisallowstheLinux
migrationtooccurwithminimalnewinvestmentinskills
development.BeyondthebaseOSthereisgenerallyasetof
ISVapplicationsusedtomanagetheinstalledsystems,aswell
asasetofcoreapplicationsneededtoaddfunctionalitytothe
environment.Asmentionedearlier,RedHathasbeenworkingto
ensuresuchasoftwarestackisfullyavailableonLinux.Tothe
extentthatitiscurrentlyavailable,youareabletosimplydrop
Linuxsystemsintoyourexistinginfrastructurewithoutchanging
anyofthemanagementcomponents.Hereisaquicklookat
someofthemanagementtoolsandoperationalapplicationsthat
areavailable:
Table3:Deployment

Function

SoftwareComponent

Assettracking

TangramAssetInsight,RedHatNetwork,Tivoli,
ComputerAssociatesUniCenter

Systemmonitoring

RHNMonitoringModule,BMCPatrol,Tivoli,CA
UniCenter,HPOpenview

Eventmonitoring

RHNMonitoringModule,TrendSNMP

Backup

Amanda,Legato,VERITASNetBackup,BRU,CA
UniCenter

Jobscheduling
Storageconnectivity

CAUnicenterAutoSysJobManagement,ControlM
VERITASFoundationSuite

FilesystemsandLogical
VERITASFS(VxFS),VERITASVM(VxVM),GFS
VolumeManager
Softwarepackaging
Clustering

RPM
RedHatClusterSuite,RedHatGlobalFileSystem,
Oracle9iRAC,VERITASClusterServer,Legato,
PowerPathv3.0.2b069,GFS

Remotemanagementcapabilities
OnceLinuxisdeployed,itistypicaltosupportitfroma
centralizedmanagementlocation.Thesoftwarecomponentsjust
outlinedareapartofthatsupport.Inaddition,thestandard
rangeofUNIXremoteadministrationtoolsareavailableunder
LinuxsuchasTelnet,FTP,SSH,scp,andrsh.Althoughthese
serviceswillneedtobeselectedwithintheboundsofyour
securitypolicy,theyareinvaluabletoolsinmanagingdeployed
Linuxsystemsandwilllikelycontinuetobeintegraltothe
supportprocedureinmanyenterprisesituations.
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

14

Skillstransferandtraining
AsaresultoftheclosekinshipUNIXandRedHatEnterprise
Linuxenjoyintermsofcommandlineinstructions,administration
tools,developmenttools,andtheoveralloperatingenvironment,
theinvestmentrequiredtotrainexistingdevelopmentand
administrationstaffisusuallyfairlylow.Theskillsmigrationfor
UNIXadministratorsanddeveloperstoRedHatEnterpriseLinux
ismuchsimplerthanasimilarmigrationtoWindows.RedHat's
comprehensiveskillsdevelopmentandcertificationcurriculum
(suchastheRHCT,RHCE,andRHCAprograms)providesIT
managementwithacompleteprogramforskillstransferwhen
migratingfromUNIXtoRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Additional
informationonRedHat's
trainingandcertificationprogramscan
befoundinthesectionofthispaperentitledSupportSolutions
forLinuxintheEnterpriseandatwww.redhat.com/training.
Directoryandauthenticationservices
Linuxhasbeenrunninginsecurityandfileservingcapacitiesfor
quitesometimeandisverycapableofintegratingintothetypes
ofinfrastructurescurrentlyinuseinUNIXproduction
environments.Kerberos,NIS/NIS+,PAM,NFS,openAFS,
LDAP,OracleInternetDirectory,OpenLDAP,SAMBA,and
manyotherauthenticationordirectoryrelatedservicesarefully
supported.

Proprietaryapplicationportinganddevelopment
TherearethreeprimarytypesofapplicationsRedHatistypically
engagedtohelpenterprisecustomersmigratetoLinux:native
C/C++code,Javacode,andscripts.Thelevelofcomplexityof
doingsuchamigrationfromUNIXtoLinuxisnotveryhigh
relativetoaUNIXtoWindowsport.Thissectionprovidesmore
detailonthespecificsofmigratingapplicationstoLinux.
AwordabouttheGPL
Oneofthethingsthatconfusesenterpriseclientsmostabout
movingtoLinuxistheGNUGeneralPublicLicense,whichhas
beencharacterizedbymanyasavirallicense.Thissinister
monikersimplymeansthattherearecertainconditionsthat
requirethatthelicensebeextendedtorestrictthebehaviorof
thosedevelopingcodethatutilizesthecomponentsofthe
licensedsoftware.Nearlyallstrictsoftwarelicensingschemes
areviral,includingthoseusedbySolarisandWindows.Inthe
caseoftheGNUGeneralPublicLicense,thatconditionexists
onlywhenyoulinkyourcodeagainstcodedevelopedunderthe
GPL.However,theC/C++librariesandmostoftheother
librariesandtoolkitsavailableonLinuxaredevelopedunderthe
LGPL,orLesserGPL.Thislicenseallowsdynamiclinkingof
thesecomponents,meaningproprietarydevelopmentisperfectly
feasibleonLinux.Agoodexampleofanapplicationthathas

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

15

beenbuilttorunonLinuxwithoutneedingtobecomeopen
sourceundertheGPLisOracle.NearlyallISVapplicationsare
proofthattheGPLandLGPL,thoughrestrictiveinrarecases,
donotrealisticallypreventorganizationsfromportingtheir
applicationstoLinuxandcontinuingtobethesolecopyrightand
licenseholderofthoseapplications.RedHathashelped
hundredsofcompaniesportclosedsourceapplicationstoRed
HatEnterpriseLinuxthroughourservicesandisabletofully
informcustomersofanyGPLrelatedissuesastheyarise.
TheLinuxdevelopmentenvironment:CandC++
ThedevelopmentenvironmentmostUNIXdevelopershave
cometoexpectislargelyavailableunderLinuxaswell.Let'
s
lookattheC/C++environmentfirst,asthatiswherethemajority
ofportingworkoccurs.Thefundamentalframeworkforthis
environmentarethetoolsusedtobuildC/C++code:theC
libraries,compilers,buildutilities,anddebuggers.Thisisaquick
listofthosetoolsastheyexistforLinux:
Table4:Development

Functions

Softwarecomponents

Details

FullyANSIcompliant
librariesandcompilers.
C/C++libraries
glibc2.2,glibc2.3.2,glibc2.3.3, RedHatEnterpriseLinux4
C/C++compiler
gcc2.96,gcc3.2,gcc3.4.2
shipswithglibc2.3.3and
GCJ
gcc3.4.2GCJisajava
compiler.
Buildutilities

Debuggers

Linker,make,Eclipse

Linkerisacategory
indexingprogram.Makeis
acompilationtool.Eclipse
isanIDEtoolplatform

gdb,ddd

Gdbisthedefault
debugger;severalgraphical
orotherwiseenhanced
versionsofgdbhavebeen
developedsuchasddd.

Thereareacoupleofdetailedpointsthatshouldbemadeabout
developmentforLinux.First,ingeneral,RedHatstrivesto
achievebackwardcompatibilityforallcompiledprograms.Thisis
ABIcompatibility.Unfortunately,thisisnotalwaysmaintainedas
thecompilersandClibrariesprogress,soitisimportantto
understandwhichversionsofthecompilerandClibrariesare
acceptabletouseforspecifictargets.ForeachreleaseofRed
HatEnterpriseLinux,theABIwillbestableasupdatesare
releasedforthelifespanoftheproduct.
Beyondsupportforthestandarddevelopmenttoolchain,Red
HatcanprovideEnterpriseToolsSupportfortheGNUPro
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

16

compilerandtoolchain.GNUProisRedHat'
scommercial
versionofthegcccompilerandtoolchainthatcanbecustomized
andmaintainedforyourenvironment.
TechnicalfeaturesintheRedHatEnterpriseLinuxdevelopment
environmentinclude:

gcc3.4toolchain

gcc"ssa"(4.0)toolchainincludedasatechnologypreview

gcj/libgcj(Javagcccompilerfrontend)

gdb5.3.90includingmultithreadedcoredumpandgcore

glibc2.3.3withRHEL4

Thirdpartylibraries
ThereareanumberofopensourcethirdpartyC/C++libraries
availableforLinuxforperformingarangeofoperationsfrom
securitytomathematicalfunctions.Commerciallibraries,suchas
manyofRogueWave'
slibraries,areavailableaswell.Thiscan
befairlydetailedinformation;pleasecheckwithRedHatfor
moreinformationonspecificneeds.Thelibrariesforgraphical
developmentforGNOMEandKDEarebothincludedwithRed
HatEnterpriseLinux.AlthoughveryfewstandardUNIX
applicationshavemanygraphicalcomponents,thiscanbe
appealingifyouaremigratingapplicationsfromWindows
(althoughmovingfromtheMSFCcanbeabittimeconsuming).
RedHatDeveloperSuite
RedHatDeveloperSuiteisamemberoftheRedHat
Applicationsproductfamily.RedHatcreatedtheDeveloper
Suitetosimplifythemigrationofdeveloperskillsand
applicationstoRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Itprovidesafully
featuredIntegratedDevelopmentEnvironment(IDE)basedon
theopensourceEclipseprojectforapplicationdevelopers.
EclipseisanopenextensibleIDEthatprovidesrealvalue
becauseofthetoolplugins.Thetoolpluginsgivetheplatform
theabilitytoworkwithmanyformatsincludingJavafiles,Web
content,graphics,video,etc.Eclipseadditionallygivesthe
developertheabilitytoindependentlydeveloptoolsthatcanbe
easilyintegratedwithothertoolsorapplications.Formore
informationontheRedHatDeveloperSuite,pleasevisit:
http://www.redhat.com/software/rha/developer/.
Specializedportingtools
Insomecasescustomershavewantedtodevelopspecialized
portinglibrarysetsfortheirenvironmentstofacilitaterapid
migration.RedHathastremendouscompilerandlibrary
experienceandisabletohelpfacilitatethedevelopmentofsuch
tools.Formoreinformation,visit:
www.redhat.com/support/offerings/developer.html.

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

17

Javaandscriptinglanguages
AfterCandC++applications,themostcommonportstoRed
HatEnterpriseLinuxareJavaapplications.Thisisaverysimple
port,asRedHatEnterpriseLinuxcurrentlysupportsversionsof
Javathrough1.4.Also,middlewareserverssuchasOracle
ApplicationServer,BEAWebLogic,anddevelopmenttoolssuch
asOracleDeveloperSuiteandJDeveloperarefullysupported
onLinux,meaningitisveryeasytobringJavaapplications
developedforuseonthoseplatformsoverjustasquickly.
Scriptinglanguages,suchasPerl,Bash,awk,sed,etal.are
alsoafairlyeasyport;therealchallengeisthatthescripts
themselvesareusuallyreferringtoobjects,files,ordevicesthat
arenamedsomethingslightlydifferentinLinux.Globalsearch
andreplaceiscapableofresolvingsomeofthese,butoften
thesetypesofapplicationsneedalotmoreattentionfora
thoroughport.Insomecases,simplystartingoveristhebest
idea.
Softwarepackaging
LikesomeUNIXplatforms,Linuxsupportstheconceptof
softwarepackages.InthecaseofRedHatEnterpriseLinux,the
facilitythatsupportsthisiscalledtheRedHatPackage
Manager,orRPM.MuchlikeSolarispackages,thesearesimply
CPIOarchiveswrappedupwithsomeassociatedinstallation
anddeinstallationscripts.ThedevelopmentofRPMpackages
canrangefromfairlysimpletofairlycomplexdependingonthe
natureoftheapplicationbeinginstalled.TheinfrastructureRed
HatEnterpriseLinuxusesasanoperatingsystemisheavilybuilt
onRPMs,andmuchofourfuturesupportinfrastructurewillrely
onRPMasadeliveryandmanagementcomponent.Assuch,
westronglyencourageclientstouseRPMastheinstallmethod
fortheirapplications.AswithSolarispackages,therearedefinite
ongoingsupportandmanageabilitybenefitstodoingso.

SupportingLinuxintheenterprise
OneofthebiggestconcernsforITmanagersconsideringRed
HatEnterpriseLinuxfortheirenterpriseisensuring
comprehensivevendorsupportforgloballydeployedsystems.In
thiscontext,vendorsupportencompassestheresponsibilityfor
thefunctionalityoftheoperatingsystemaswellasformigration,
deployment,andongoingusage.RedHat's
businessmodelis
builtaroundthedeliveryofendtoendservicesforallstagesof
thesolutionlifecycle,fromconsulting(assessment,
benchmarking,planning)throughdevelopmentandonto
systemsandmanagement.
RedHatGlobalSupportServices
RedHatGlobalSupportServices(GSS)providestelephoneand
WebbasedtechnicalsupportforRedHatEnterpriseLinux

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

18

customers.AllGSSservicesareavailableasannual
subscriptionsonly.TherearethreelevelsofProductionGSS
servicesavailablefortheRedHatEnterpriseLinuxproductline.
Basicsubscriptionsmostlyaddressinstallationandhardware
configurationissuesduringstandardbusinesshours.Standard
subscriptionsaddresseverythingassociatedwiththebasic
subscriptioninadditiontotypicalserviceconfigurationissues
frequentlyusedinproductionenvironmentsduringstandard
businesshours.Premiumsubscriptionsarethehighestlevelof
GSSservicesavailableandinclude24x7support.
SupportforRedHatEnterpriseLinuxisavailableforthebase
operatingsystemandtheservicesandpackagesoutlinedinthe
correspondingServiceLevelAgreementforthesubscriptionthe
customerpurchases.EachannualsubscriptionforRedHat
EnterpriseLinuxproductshasaspecificSLA.Formore
informationonRedHatGSSServiceLevelAgreementsplease
see:http://www.redhat.com/support/service/sla.
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxAnnualSupportsubscriptionsare
intendedtosupportindividualsystemsandsystem
administratorswhoaremanagingproductionsystems.RedHat
hasworldwidecallcentersopen24x7,staffedinsevennative
languagestoensureLinuxusersarefullysupported.Thislevel
ofsupportrangesfrombasicinstallationandusagequestionsto
complexLevel2configurationandusageissues.Level3
support,includingbugfixes,workarounds,andsecurityfixes,are
includedundertheseannualServiceLevelAgreementsaswell.
GlobalSupportServicesTechnicalAccountManager
RedHatGSSTechnicalAccountManagers(TAMs)providea
consistentsupportinterfacebetweenorganizationswhile
buildingaproductive,proactiveservicepartnership.TheTAMis
ahighlyskilledengineerassignedtoprovidetechnicalaccount
managementandtoassureyourtechnicalissuesaredealtwith
quicklyandeffectively,ensuringthehighestlevelsof
performanceonyourServiceLevelAgreement.TheTAMalso
actsasyourchampionwithinRedHatEngineering,providing
visibilitytothetechnicalroadmapandensuringthatyour
prioritiesandrequirementsforRedHatEnterpriseLinuxare
consideredduringthereleasecycle.Formoreinformation,visit:
http://www.redhat.com/support/offerings/technical.html.
RedHatGlobalProfessionalServices
RedHatConsultingServicesprovideconsultingresourcesand
expertisetoassistinLinuxplanning,development,or
deploymentonsite.Servicesareintendedforcustomers
requiringtechnicalassistancebeyondtheServiceLevel
AgreementsassociatedwithGSSservices.Servicesrangefrom
readinessassessment,infrastructureplanning,and
benchmarkingtosystemadministration,developmentwork,and
installationanddeploymentassistance,allthewaythroughstaff
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

19

augmentation.Ourconsultantsoffermultiplatformskillsand
expertise,acknowledgingthatmostenterpriseITenvironments
areheterogeneous.
GNUProenterprisetoolsupport
BundledwithRedHat's
GNUProToolkitisRedHat's
annual
compilerandtoolchainsupportforengineeringdevelopment
teams.Thissupportensuresanongoinglinktothemaintainers
anddriversoftheGNUsoftwareviaupdatesonthelatest
versionsofGNUProToolkit,accesstotheRedHatWebbased
supportportal,andpatchlevelbugfixes.
RedHatGlobalLearningServices
RedHatofferstrainingandskillsdevelopmentrangingfrom
introductorycoursestoadvancedsystemadministrationand
development.TheRedHatCertifiedEngineer(RHCE)program
isthemostwidelyacceptedLinuxtrainingstandardandis
availableintrainingfacilitiesworldwide.TheRedHatCertified
TechnicalEngineer(RHCT)isanidealtechnicianlevel
credentialforpersonssupportingLinuxsystemsthroughoutan
organization.Meanwhile,RedHatCertifiedArchitect(RHCA)
offersthehighestlevelofcertificationintheindustrytoday,
providingproofofextensive,indepthsystemdesignand
implementationskills.
RHCTisagoodchoiceforthosetransitioningtoLinuxfromnon
UNIXoperatingsystemsorwhowanttoprovetheir
competenciesatamidwaypointonthewaytoRHCE,oneofthe
tenhottestcertificationsintheITindustry.Trainingcanbe
deliveredinRedHattrainingcenters,onsitethroughourmobile
classroom,orforcertaincurriculum,throughdistancelearning
online.Customizedtrainingcoursescanbedevelopedaround
specificrequirementsanddeliveredthroughanyofthese
methods.Formoreinformationvisit:
http://www.redhat.com/training.
RedHatNetwork
RedHatiscommittedtoreducingtheoverallcosttoadminister
Linuxsystemsintheenterprise.TodothisRedHathas
developedseveralsolutionsthatenabledeliveryand
managementofRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsystemsaspartofan
overallservicesubscription.Ratherthanhavingtomanageeach
instanceandapplicationonyourLinuxsystem,youcanusea
singleintegratedWebinterfacetomanagethecomplexityof
installationonhundredsorthousandsofmachines.Theback
endforthisworkcanbehostedandmanagedentirelybyRed
Hat,furtherreducingoverhead.
Customersthatwishtomanageandmaintaintheirowncustom
packageshavetheoptionofelectingtheonsiteProxyor
SatelliteRedHatNetworkarchitectures.WiththeProxysolution,

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

20

thecustomer'
sindividualsystemsconnecttoalocalRHNProxy
thatsitsbehindthecustomerfirewall.TheProxyaggregatesall
necessarydataincacheandcommunicatesviaadedicatedSSL
connectionwiththeRHNserversatRedHat.Allinformation
storedintheRHNdatabaseiskeptontheRHNservers.ISVand
internalcustomerapplicationscanbepackagedasRPMsand
administeredtoclientsystemsviacustomchannels.
TheSatellitearchitecturediffersfromtheProxyinthatallRHN
functionalityisonthecustomerpremise,allowingthecustomer
greaterfunctionalityandcustomization.TheSatelliteserverdoes
notrequireadedicatedSSLconnectiontotheRHNserversat
RedHat.ErrataandupdatesarestoredinanembeddedOracle
databasethatispartoftheSatellitemodel.TheSatellitesolution
allowscustomerstotaketheirRHNsolutioncompletelyofflineif
desired.TheSatellitealsoofferscustomersmoresophisticated
managementtools,channelpermissions,erratacloning,the
abilitytodoPXEbootprovisioning,andconfigurationfile
customizationforspecificsystemssets.
InadditiontothearchitecturalvariationsofRHN,RedHatoffers
customersamodulechoice.TheUpdatemoduleisincludedwith
allRedHatEnterpriseLinuxsubscriptionsandincludesupdates
viaRHNforindividualclients.TheManagementmoduleallows
thecustomertogroupandmanagemanysystemsviaacentral
Webinterface.WiththeRHNProvisioningmodule,thesystemis
abletoreplacekickstartimageinstallation,rollbackRPMsto
returnsystemstotheirpreviousstate,distributeconfiguration
filestogroupsofsystems,etc.Inthefuture,RHNwill
incorporatemuchofthefunctionalityofassettrackingsoftware,
eventandmonitoringsoftware,andotherremoteadministration
tools.ThisisanareaofstrategicinvestmentforRedHat,and
theservices,withover1.2millionregisteredclientnodes,are
alreadyprovinginvaluabletomanyofourlargestcustomers.
ForcompleteinformationonRedHatNetworkofferingsplease
seehttp://www.redhat.com/software/rhn/.

Migrationstrategies
Suggestedmigrationplansandtimelines
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhasproventobeaneffective
replacementforlowtomidrangeUNIX/RISCsystems.Clients
maychoosetodevelopahorizontalLinuxsupportstrategy
beforedeployingLinuxormaytakeaverticalsnapshottoprove
thatLinuxcanworkinselectedenvironmentsandgraduallylet
theinfrastructureevolve.Somethinginthemiddleistypical,as
organizationsneedtoprovethatLinuxisaneffectivesolutionfor
theirenvironmentbeforetheycandeveloptheentire
infrastructuretosupportit.
ThefollowingisahighleveloutlineofamigrationplanRedHat
deployedforFortune100customers,whichwebelieveisafairly
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

21

realisticpath.Thisisintendedtoprovideacursoryoverviewand
somegeneralguidanceforconsideration.Theseprojectthreads
maybecompletedconcurrently,reducingtheoveralltimeto
market.Additionally,selectedapplicationsmayberolledout
almostimmediatelywhileworkonthelargerinitiativecontinues.
Thisallowsthecostbenefitstoberealizednowandnotjustat
thefinaldeployment.
Phase1:PilotProject(3Months)
KeyGoals:

Determinestatusofrequired,thirdpartyISVapplications

PerformbaselineOSbenchmarkcomparisonsfor
performanceandfunctionality

Developinitialpassofacustomizedinstallation

BegindocumentationonanoverallLinuxdeployment
methodology

Begindevelopmentoftechnologiescentraltothewidespread
deploymentofLinux

Portandtestaninitialinternalapplication

Begindeterminingwhichinfrastructurecomponentscan
quicklybeswitchedovertoLinux

Begindeterminingwhichproprietaryapplicationscan
effectivelybemigratedtoLinux

TestLinuxasacomponentoftheexistingUNIXinfrastructure

GaingeneralworkingskillswithLinux

DevelopoverallcostmodelforthemovetoLinux

Phase2:RolloutPreparation(3MonthsKey)
Goals:

Finishconstructionofdeploymenttechnology

BuildoutinfrastructureneededtodeployLinuxworldwide

FinalizethecustomizedinstallofLinux,includingISV
components

Produceenduserdocumentation

PerformfinaldeploysystemQA

Beginwidespreadapplicationporting

Beginrolloutofinfrastructurereplacementcomponents

Begintrainingofsystemadministratorsordevelopers

Phase3Production(3Monthrampup,thenongoing)
Beginworldwiderollout

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

22

Producesecondcutofcustomizedinstallwithbugfixes

ContinuetoportanddevelopnewapplicationsforLinux

ISVapplicationsupport
Bylate2004therewereover1000ISVapplicationsavailablefor
RedHatEnterpriseLinux.TheRedHatSolutionsCatalogisa
listofRedHatCertifiedandRedHatReadyapplicationsthatare
supportedonRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Customersdeploying
theseapplicationshavetheassurancethatthesoftwarehas
beentestedonRedHatEnterpriseLinuxandiscompliantwith
RedHat's
guidelinesforinteroperability.RedHatCertified
meansthatRedHatandtheapplicationvendorhavea
partnershipinplacebywhichjointcustomerscanbesupported.
RedHatCertifiedApplicationsarereservedforRedHat's
PremierSoftwarePartners.RedHatReadyapplicationshave
beentestedbytheapplicationvendoronRedHatEnterprise
Linux,andthevendorhasagreedtocomplywiththeRedHat
ReadyGuidelines.RedHatwillusebesteffortstosupport
customersusingtheseproducts.Thistablegivesaquickview
intowhatISVapplicationsarecertifiedonRedHatEnterprise
Linux:
Table5:ISVpreview

UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

23

ISV

SupportedApplications

BEA

BEAWebLogic7.0SP1andSP2,BEAWebLogic6.1
SP4andSP5,BEAWebLogicPlatform7.0,SP1,
SP2,BEAWebLogicJRockit7.0J2SE1.4.1,BEA
Tuxedo8.1,VariousBEAWebLogicAdaptersfor
WebLogicIntegration

BMC

PatrolforMSPerceiveWebServer7.1.01,Patrol
forMSPerform7.1.01,PatrolforMSPredlct
7.1.01,PatrolforUnix9.0.00,PatrolforUNIX
PerceiveManagedNodes7.1.01,PatrolforUnix
PerceiveWebServer7.1.01,PatrolforUnixPerform
7.1.01,PatrolforUnixPredict7.1.01

IBM

Oracle

DB2UniversalDatabaseEnterpriseServerEdition
8.1,InformixDynamicServerEnterpriseEdition9.4,
RationalClearCase5.0,TivoliEnterpriseConsole
3.8,TivoliStorageManager5.2,WebSphere
ApplicationServer5.0,WebSphereApplication
ServerEnterprise5.0,NumerousotherIBM
Applications
Oracle10gServerEnterpriseEdition,Oracle9iRAC,
OracleBiServer,OracleExpressServerwith8.1.7,
Oracle9iApplicationServerEnterpriseEditionwith
Bior9iServer,Oracle11ieBusinessSuite,Oracle
CollaborationSuitewithOracleServerEnterprise
Edition9i

RogueWaveApplicationTuningSystem,Rogue
WaveLightweightEnterpriseIntegrationFramework,
RogueWave RogueWaveXMLObjectLink,SourceProC++
Core,SourceProC++Net,SourceProC++
Analysis,SourceProC++DB

Sybase

Synopsis

AdaptiveServerEnterprise(ASE)12.5.0.3,
ReplicationServer(RS)12.5,Planned:Adaptive
ServerEnterprise(ASE)12.5.1(32,64),Planned:
ReplicationServer12.6,Planned:OpenClient/Server
12.5
UFoundation2003.03,2003.06,2003.09

Note:Theinformationintheabovetableissubjecttofrequent
change.ForcompleteandcurrentofISVapplicationsupportfor
RedHatEnterpriseLinux,visit:

https://www.redhat.com/apps/isv_catalog/
.

Conclusion
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxhasmadesubstantialleapsin
scalability,functionality,andenterprisesupportabilityinthelast
severalyears.WiththereleaseofRedHatEnterpriseLinuxv.4
andtheexpansionofRedHat'
sglobaltechnicalservices
capabilitiestohelpenterprisesnavigatethechallengesof
migration,Linuxiswellpositionedasacompellingalternativeto
expensive,proprietaryRISC/UNIXsolutions.Throughongoing
customerfeedbackandincreasedenterprisedeployment,Linux
continuestoimproverapidlyinprocessorscalability,
UnixtoLinuxMigration:AnIntroduction

24

performance,andfunctionalitythroughtheavailabilityof
missioncriticalenterpriseapplications.ManyRedHatclients
simplywantanalternativetoproprietaryUNIX,whilesome
activelyfearthatspecificflavorsofUNIXarebecoming
marginalizedintheconsolidationofUNIXsoarelookingfora
futuremigrationpath.Whateverthereasonsforconsideringa
migration,onceRedHat's
havebeguntouseLinux,theyhave
notlookedback.
IfyouwouldlikemoreinformationaboutRedHat,besureto
visit:http://www.redhat.com,orcallusat1888REDHAT1.

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25