Posted by
Hemos
on from the selling-it-to-the-world dept.
jogega writes "There is an article at OnLamp that gives some advice on how to sell BSD solutions commercially. It talks about the best way to present your solution, get the job done, and most important show that BSD is a very strong alternative in the market."
Another example of walk the talk
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Informative
I'm not your normal OpenBSD geek, wear a tie most days, and operate the Checkpoint firewall for a few thousand node network. When it came time to upgrade our DNS server, the consultant that helped with the firewall installation had pointed me towards OpenBSD. I had been installing it on old hardware, and after getting comfortable with it, set up a DNS server that showed them it could be done. Result: went from an aging DEC Ultrix to two Dell 2400s running OpenBSD.
Next the Windows Server group was trying to get the entire campus on DHCP, and were failing miserably using the Microsoft solution. I thought, why not see if I could do that, and in the process, discovered that OpenBSD already had the DHCP server software in its base install. In two days I had a running DHCP server on a Compaq 350mhz Server I borrowed from the server group, and was able to serve DHCP addresses to any of our 15 campus network segenmts. Result: in a meeting the Big Boss said, well I guess we'll go with his (mine) solution. They were prepared to spend $70,000 to get it going.
Next came windows 2000 and active directory, and the MS server boys tried to set up a DHCP/dynamic dns server, and well, as you can see, we got the DHCP part right away.
The cool thing that happened, while at SANS in New Orleans this January, the Sendmail vulnerability was announced. I needed to upgrade my sendmail and was a 3 hour flight at best away from the office. As luck would have it the Hotel I stayed at in New Orleans had Ethernet connections in the room for $10 per day, so I VPNd back to the office, remotely upgraded the OpenBSD system software on three servers, downloaded and installed the port of the latest Sendmail and restarted them all. Viola! no more vulnerability and I enjoyed sending an email saying that we were protected. Logs showed Sendmail probes within the day.
Comparing that with the Microsoft group that is good at upgrading their server, because that is what they do.....again and again. I just checked and of the now 20 OpenBSD machines I administer, for IDS, f/w logging, DNS, DHCP, performance graphing with MRTG (my boss's boss checks the MRTG graphs constantly on our 10 Meg Internet link and the 160 remote dial in lines, "hey! what's that spike?"...) many have uptimes over 200 days.
So use which ever one you like, Free/Net/Open, you won't be sorry. btw, if Checkpoint FW-1 was offered on OpenBSD, we would use it too. I'm too busy to build a firewall using pf to take it's place right now.
And in case you were wondering, code talks, personalities make for good/. posts, but don't matter in the day to day world of getting my job done.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not your normal OpenBSD geek, wear a tie most days, and operate the Checkpoint firewall for a few thousand node network. When it came time to upgrade our DNS server, the consultant that helped with the firewall installation had pointed me towards OpenBSD. I had been installing it on old hardware, and after getting comfortable with it, set up a DNS server that showed them it could be done. Result: went from an aging DEC Ultrix to two Dell 2400s running OpenBSD.
...) many have uptimes over 200 days.
/. posts, but don't matter in the day to day world of getting my job done.
Next the Windows Server group was trying to get the entire campus on DHCP, and were failing miserably using the Microsoft solution. I thought, why not see if I could do that, and in the process, discovered that OpenBSD already had the DHCP server software in its base install. In two days I had a running DHCP server on a Compaq 350mhz Server I borrowed from the server group, and was able to serve DHCP addresses to any of our 15 campus network segenmts. Result: in a meeting the Big Boss said, well I guess we'll go with his (mine) solution. They were prepared to spend $70,000 to get it going.
Next came windows 2000 and active directory, and the MS server boys tried to set up a DHCP/dynamic dns server, and well, as you can see, we got the DHCP part right away.
The cool thing that happened, while at SANS in New Orleans this January, the Sendmail vulnerability was announced. I needed to upgrade my sendmail and was a 3 hour flight at best away from the office. As luck would have it the Hotel I stayed at in New Orleans had Ethernet connections in the room for $10 per day, so I VPNd back to the office, remotely upgraded the OpenBSD system software on three servers, downloaded and installed the port of the latest Sendmail and restarted them all. Viola! no more vulnerability and I enjoyed sending an email saying that we were protected. Logs showed Sendmail probes within the day.
Comparing that with the Microsoft group that is good at upgrading their server, because that is what they do.....again and again. I just checked and of the now 20 OpenBSD machines I administer, for IDS, f/w logging, DNS, DHCP, performance graphing with MRTG (my boss's boss checks the MRTG graphs constantly on our 10 Meg Internet link and the 160 remote dial in lines, "hey! what's that spike?"
So use which ever one you like, Free/Net/Open, you won't be sorry. btw, if Checkpoint FW-1 was offered on OpenBSD, we would use it too. I'm too busy to build a firewall using pf to take it's place right now.
And in case you were wondering, code talks, personalities make for good