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IBM's Linux Upgrade Roadmap
petrus4 writes "IBM have put together a nine-part series on upgrading from various incarnations of Windows (NT in particular) to Linux. Although it's mainly aimed at corporate customers, it's a good read, and could help the Linux advocacy effort in general."
It's good to see that large companies who understand Linux are willing to publicly fly in the face of SCO.
Am I the only one who gets a tingly feeling deep inside when I read about IBM and linux? It just feels so nice to be backed by a mountain of hard cold cash ^_^
Of course, of course. Whenever you change from Microsoft to anything else it is an "upgrade". Not that I don't agree :)
Do they answer how to buy IBM computers without being forced to also buy a preinstalled Windows? Do they answer why they still "recommend Windows XP Professional" for their laptops? Do they answer where to get Linux support for their hardware - including wlan, power management etc.?
What they are discussing is migration from NTx to *nix
While I look forward to the day a Linux distro can upgrade an NT system, carrying forward system settings, user passwords, domain logons and applications carried across into WINE, this isn't happening anytime soon.
I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen eventually, though.
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
That article is about how to learn Linux, not how to convert your shop to Linux. A conversion guide would have more info about how to convert data, which is the real problem.
"Roadmaps" are for sheep anyway, they are for Windows users, NOT GNU Linux users
ummm... this is for windows users... sure they may want to use Linux, but hey, not everyone can be an expert right off the bat
So if IBM is now going to be using Suse, does this mean that the Blue Linux rumor is bogus?
While some may consider it an upgrade (and pretty much everyone here at least would call it an upgrade), most average joe PC users might not. Afterall, he loses MS Office (and yes, I'm aware of the alternatives, but again, Joe Average might not), a lot of his games (WINE/etc might not be the best option), and everything he is familiar with.
We're assuming you already have Linux installed.
While the article does point you to linux.org for choosing a distro and whatnot, any good guide to switching to linux should at least cover the basic installation methods and what you'll need to think about before installing. Since distros have different installers, you don't want to get too indepth or focus on any one installer, but it should at least cover ideas that would be universal or at least common to getting ready to install linux.
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
Information like this has been needed for a long time, there are plenty of HowTo's and Man pages around, but not much information to help with the actual transfer from Windows to Linux. Good job IBM.
Very elegantly put ;)
["If you have been using Windows for a long time, you are accustomed to rebooting the system for many reasons, from software installation to correcting problems with a service. This is a habit you will need to change to start thinking in Linux. Linux tends to be rather Newtonian in nature. Once set in motion, it will tend to stay in motion until it is acted upon by an outside force, such as a hardware failure."]
Dr Superlove 300ml. I use my powers for awesome
1. Buy any machine equipped with an IBM Travelstar or Deskstar Hard drive.
2. Install Windows OS and any related applications
3. After the IBM drive crashes and destroys your data (6 to 8 mos), you can install Linux without worrying about prior data.
I get that same warm, tingly feeling inside as did the members of Team OS/2 in the old days.
The list IBM covers is quite handy for training others who think Windows is the beggining and end of what computers can do.
(That said, I would be careful using Webmin -- Step 3 -- as it can cause problems, though as an introduction when a more experienced admin is around it is OK.)
Is this useful for you and me directly? No. Can these texts help us by making conversations with the Windows-obsessed but willing less frustrating? Yes.
Here's the list from the link;
The first step to success in Linux is learning to think in Linux. Take what you already know and redirect it to doing things the Linux way.
Step 2. Console crash course Linux provides great power and flexibility through the console. If it has been a while since you've spent much time at the command prompt, take a little time to reacquaint yourself with this environment by reviewing common commands you'll use all the time.
Step 3. Introduction to Webmin
While it is important to know the nuts and bolts of administration, it is often more convenient to have a tool. Also, a higher-level application makes complex configurations easier to handle. Webmin provides point-and-click configuration for beginning and experienced administrators.
Step 4. User administration If a system has no users, is it really a system? Learn about the Linux approach to users.
Step 5. Linux logging Linux makes extensive use of logging. Nothing is hidden from you. Becoming comfortable and familiar with logs will allow you to monitor the health of your system and track activities.
Step 6. Working with file systems File systems are at the heart of every server. Linux provides a lot of flexibility in its file systems.
Step 7. Networking
Working unconnected is unthinkable in today's world. Linux on the network unleashes its full potential. However, Linux networking looks very different on its face. You'll need to learn some new terminologies and new tools.
Step 8. Backup and recovery
The first line of defense against disaster is a backup of the data. Linux provides different options, some of which are very simple to work with.
Step 9. Installing software
Linux can use prepackaged binary files, or you can compile programs directly from source code. The tools for installing Linux programs are very useful and provide functionality you might not expect.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Step 2. Console crash course I think this is is the fundamental obstacle to the success of linux in the desktop. It is completely unrealistic to expect your avg user ( the type who never even consider changing their homepage because they dont know how ) to work with a console. And lets face it, linux today still requires you to work with a console for alot of things, esp software/hardware installation and system configuration.
In fact, I just finished installing a wireless card in my linux box. Comprared, to windows, where I pop in a cd and hit install, under linux I had to:
1: make & make install the software
2: install some necessary wireless libraries
3: manually configure the wireless card's config file
4: set the kernel to intialize ath0 at startup
now to a techie following a recipie, this is a piece of cake. However, it is quite beyond the capabilities of your avg windows user.
Q: is the quoted idea historically accurate, given the development of unix, which begat linux?
In the first link "Thinking Linux" the "Users and groups" paragraph states the following:
Both Linux and Windows are multi-user operating systems. Both can be used by many different users, and give each user a separate environment and resources. Security is controlled based on the user's identity. Resource access can also be controlled by group membership, making it easier to work with rights for large numbers of users without having to touch each individual account.
Other than file/printer sharing I have never seen a Windows system used by more than one person, unless they are talking about Terminal Serving. The majority of Windows installations are just a one user at a time system. That is certainly not multi-user. I was hoping for better from IBM but I guess the person writing the article does not know what a multi-user system actually is. Windows is NOT a multi-user system. I really wish IBM could have written a better article. Oh well more bad research. Next!
More of a linux primer than an upgrade guide. An upgrade guide would tell you how to dual boot to see if things work, move all your applications over to the Linux equivilant, and than, if you like it, show you how to remove the Windows portion.
When(If) they come out with a roadmap from AIX to Linux, THAT will really mean something, and will be a victorious day for both IBM and Linux I will look forward to.
It is not easy and takes a lot of will power to shed old baggages.
Hey, that's my password you are typing
almost every time someone mentions nt to linux data migration, i mention that if someone pays me money, i'll do the work.
r yone-we-send-documents-to-can't-read-them fees could instead pay me to do the development work on exchange and nt domains compatibility - and then NEVER HAVE TO PAY THEM AGAIN.
the migration tools for nt 4 style domains would take about 2 to 3 weeks to do: most of the work has already been done, it's a matter of documenting it, checking it and making it easier to use.
the open source migration tools for nt 5 (aka w2k) style domains would take a bit longer: a few months, at most, though, as various efforts (e.g. heimdal) are already underway.
the open source migration tools for exchange, now _that's_ a challenge, requiring about twelve to eighteen man-months of work to get somewhere.
i know someone who has done most of the work already, in his spare time: it's proprietary but if an open source exchange project was to seriously take off, i know he'd consider releasing some of his code to 1) help out 2) make sure _his_ copyright notices are at the top of the files, because in open source just as in the proprietary world, the _first_ person to release is the one that tends to take off, not the best.
ironically, just ONE company with more than one hundred employees that will be looking to pay microsoft's next set of exorbitant upgrade-because-everyone-else-has-and-oh-look-eve
It's not only a good read, but most importantly, it allways helps to point people to a resource provided by a big company to convince them, that linux is something worth considering and not just a geek toy.
Even if they don't listen to me, they might just listen to IBM.
Upgrading from WinNT to WinXPPro:
1. Insert disk. Answer questions.
2. The usual ???
3. Profit.
Upgrading from WinNT to Linux:
1. Delegate to line manager to hire transition team.
2. Study IBM's 9-part series on upgrading systems.
3. Days into weeks into months of unusual ???
4. Hold post mortem on cost overruns and continuing bugs.
5. Fire transition team and manager.
6. Hire consulting firm to manage systems.
7. Look for ways to cut costs elsewhere to cover P&L ass.
8. Hope nobody asks ???
9. Loss.
1. This is an upgrade roadmap, yet they assume you have Linux installed. Hmmmm. 2. This is a developer upgrade roadmap, yet they say nothing of development tools or compilers available. Hmmm 3. They pimp Webmin like its the 2nd coming of jebus, and Caldera(SCO) is one of the largest supporters and the first company to use Webmin. Hmmm
1. Windows computers can have multiple user accounts, each of which having a seperate profile.
2. Windows servers can have multiple users logged in simultaneously, each with their own user interface. This capability is included in all Windows Server operating systems.
So how is Windows not a multi-user operating system? Just because you haven't seen Windows servers with concurrent logins doesn't mean that it isn't common, it just means that you are very ignorant.
If someone feels like spending a lot of time in court, start writing an app for the following specs:
0) Install spare HD and set BIOS to boot from CD, restart.
1) Knoppix-based CD boots the server
2) VMWare installation on CD boots the Windows OS from the HD on top of Linux.
3) Various scripts portscan the VMWare-running server and scans the filesystem for info, creates a Linux installation on the empty disk and copies all services and shared files to this new installation. Creates Samba server to host login/password info if needed (PDC). Copies Exchange server, IIS, DNS etc. etc. Shutdown when finished.
4) Swap the old intact primary HD with the brand new disk and restart, booting the new Linux clone. Test and apply any manual changes if needed.
5) Sell these scripts as Linux Migration Kit.
6) Get sued.
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
cat
Yeah unfortunately this requires something Americans and most modern business-types don't have...
It's called long term planning. Sure right this instant it may cost more to move to Linux from WinNT. However, what about when license renewal day comes around? What happens when WinNT is no longer supported [e.g. no patches for the day-to-day exploits?] etc, etc, etc...
In the long run the average linux distro [say Gentoo] will cost a hell of a lot less.
And hey, if it requires the users to learn a bit about computers is that really such a bad thing? I mean for the most part people can just use KDE and be happy for it. For other things they can learn the fun way, google for it.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
I have been using linux and BSD at home for many of my own projects for years. I always kept a windows partition for school-related things. Finally, one day, I realized how completely sick of windows I was and wanted to drop it altogether. Mind you, I had all my school work and research under windows because that's what my advisors, professors and collaborators used too. I didn't really have a problem dropping Windows. Later versions of Open Office treated my old Word files rather kindly, even Impress has been wonderful, and all my data was just fine being opened and saved in Calc. I installed Matlab for Linux instead of for Windows, and my projects of course had no problem being moved over. I try to send most of my files to people at .pdf, but even in the instances I've saved files for Windows or Mac (I interact with people who use both), it hasn't been a problem at all. In fact, the formatting problems I've seen sending them files is no different than I've seen with Windows users swapping files. So, now I'm as productive as ever at work, and not feeling like a whore every time I turn on my laptop! (And if anything, everyone is rather amazed when I go to a group meeting and I have no problem connecting my laptop to the projector, while for everyone else, doing so is a 15 minute showstopper requiring about 10 reboots of windows). I don't know what your particular needs are, but as for myself and some of my friends who switched, it wasn't as painful as anticipated.
I see they mentioned Webmin. Goodies.
I downloaded it with Mandrake's urpmi tool. It IS pretty nice.
It lets you do everything from set up cron jobs easily, from looking at and closing running processes, to setting up apache and other servers. All through http or it seems with older versions some https thing, so you don't even need an SSH client, just a web browser. (Webmin also includes an SSH java client)
---
Never criticize religion on Slashdot. You will be modded down for "Troll" no matter how factual it is.
The title of this post is a bit misleading--the series doesn't really tell you how to upgrade your system landscape from NT to Linux at all, it's merely a Linux tutorial for Windows users. I can see no corporate aspects discussed.
I have used things like this in the past from companies like RedHat abd Mandrake to convince people that Linux is not "only for nerds" and "too hard". Now that IBM has this, it is perceived as having come from a third party, as IBM still is not thought of as a "Linux Company". This will likely help in my fight to get Linux on my corporate desktops. Go IBM!
bash: rtfm: command not found
To start with, because the interface is so similar, plus "Hey it's just Windows!" comments from superiors means that few are taking the time to learn the intricate differences. (such as permissions and account handling)
Then you get the broken programs.
Then you get the boss who has [what he calls] critical data in an older version of Access that you must now move to [new] Access, which seems to be impossible in certain (read many) cases.
Or, I can implement an IBM-driven Linux-based solution that would force superiors to treat it differently, plus I would have more control over whether or not to continue on the upgrade path to future versions. Microsoft doesn't give me that. To stay secure, even using their loose definition, means continually upgrading, breaking software, data, and perceptions all the while sending them more money.
Oh, how I wanted to get out of that cycle at my last job. Now, I might be stuck implementing it, but at least I'm not responsible for the mess my superiors make trying to fall in line behind Microsoft.
Kudos to IBM for making it reasonably easy to know what's in store for those trying to get away from Microsoft.
"Are you on some kind of medication?"
"No"
"Well, you should be."
--Bean
Windows is NOT a multi-user system.
So then my machine at home, at which both myself and my girlfriend are logged in, both with completely different environments, both running programs at the same time, is NOT multi-user? Pray tell, what defines a multi-user system then, oh guru of all things computer?
Yeah! Roadmaps are for sheep! Real Men pretend to know where they're going!
Hell is not other people; it is yourself. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
The current business model using Windows is:
1. Do stuff
2. Report plenty of bugs, RFEs to MS for free
3. Pay annual licensing fees to MS
3a. Hope that Microsoft won't screw you by making changes to their s/w that help their bottom line but hurt you
4. Hope enough money is left over from your core business
With OSS s/w, this becomes
1. Do stuff
2. Report plenty of bugs, RFEs to OSS project (occasionally fix/implement one) for free
3. Make profit from your core business
In both cases, you do free work for other people, but with OSS, all the free work is aggregated and you don't pay for it over and over again. With MS, you end up paying for the same piece of software and for the volunteer work of others and yourself not just once, but over and over again. Furthermore, with MS and other commercial s/w vendors, you constantly run the risk that they will screw you by discontinuing or changing products you depend on, and you have no recourse.
The business case for OSS is easy to make: OSS greatly reduces risks and cost of ownership. OSS isn't without any costs, but it is cheaper on balance.
Note that OSS is a business model and money saver for the actual end users, comapnies whose business is not the creation of the OSS itself, but something else. Founding a s/w company that creates OSS and makes money from it is, as you yourself observe, a long shot and only works rarely. And that's OK.
I can still clearly remember the days when IBM was the enemy, up in their ivory white towers. ( 20 + years ago )
All the 'little' people wanted them to be taken down to size, releasing the hardware to the people.. 'freedom'...
Now we root for them as they may just save the OSS movement from the giant beast...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
But before you get too enthusiastic, remember that they're treating Linux strictly as a server OS. Go to their web site and try to find a single desktop, workstation, or laptop that does not come bundled with Windows. You don't even have the option of buying the system witout an OS!
It says nothing about getting customers to actually come to that conclusion.
Not an easy thing to do, and I want to sell Linux solutions to small business.
Dawn of the Dead
Another reason OS/2 was doomed from the start: people don't like to buy technology from their competitors. That's why AT&T finally had to spin off its manufacturing arm, so it could sell stuff to competing phone companies. I don't know how hard IBM tried to get Compaq or Dell to bundle OS/2, but it would have been a hard sell.
As for Linux, IBM hasn't yet manned all the guns there either. They're selling it strictly as a server OS. You hear noises about them moving to Linux as a standard desktop, but so far these are just noises -- every IBM laptop, desktop, and workstation still comes with Windows pre-loaded!
Nice of you to put it so politely, but the permissions did change, subtly. Enough so that permission handling scripts are now broken for XP in my department. And my current level of permission is insufficient to fix it. And my superiors (?) can't figure out how because of this mistaken notion that XP has the exact same permissions that NT does.
Anyway, nice of you to let me know that these dificulties are my imagination. This job is only a temporary one that I will be leaving soon.
Oh, and by the way, it is my superiors that seem to confuse upgrading MS Office with that of the OS. "It's easier that way." they claim. Well, whatever.
Thus, I conclude that you're making your story up.
If only that were so . . .
"Are you on some kind of medication?"
"No"
"Well, you should be."
--Bean
It's important to know where the hell all those trivial configeration files are. Rather then waiting for "find" to find that damn file, you can use webmin's edit manualy feature, or hit module config. Very useful when you ask your self "where the hell did apache get moved to in redhat x.xx". Better yet, you can print off where the hell everything is at so you are not scratching your head if webmin failes and you don't remember the specific name of some specific file which might vary from distro to distro.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
I guess Sun is a bad competitor, so I understand why StarOffice is not in IBM plans. But what's happened to Lotus? When my company can buy IBM laptops, IBM workstations and IBM servers ALL runing Lotus clientor server applications?
P.S. I heard about OOo. In fact I am using it on a daily basis. But the other fact that my boss hates the fact tha I am using it as he doesn't and we both hate to see our document screwed up after sharing with each other. Besides, you still have to substitute Outlook+Exchange with something that works THE SAME convinient way when it comes to calendaring and tasks.
Less is more !
Your mistake:
Relying on the intricate parts of an operating system in the first place.
Section 7, Networking, includes the statement, "In fact, networking is one of the things that Linux does best." I expected Tigger to leap out of the page at me!
Craig Milo Rogers
The short answer is "No - I can't comment". Especially about that latter part - I like my job, thanks for asking. :-)
I strongly doubt that the RPM packages I use will be made available to the public - but then again, the market can change and you never know what effect that will have. However, that doesn't mean that I can't tell you how to get Notes to run on a WINE install.
First, get a nice recent version of WINE, at least as recent as December 2003. Before that, you need a small mountain of tweaks and patches to WINE to make Notes behave.
Now you need to find a friend with a version of Notes installed on Windows. And you'd better have a license for the Notes Client (and fonts) as well or the boys in blue will be on their way. You want the entire Lotus directory which contains all the Notes.ini all the way down to the Data directory and it's contents. Grabbing the fonts off that machine and installing them in your distro for general availability is also a good start. Also grab all the Microsoft web fonts that were available on the MS website under a nice permissive license at one point (and which are now missing from their website - thanks Microsoft).
Notes 5.x runs pretty much flawlessly. Notes 6.0 is a non-starter (don't ask me why, I've beaten the front of my monitor in trying it). Notes 6.51 runs pretty much perfectly - only save all attachments silently fails for some bizarre reason. Go figure. It's pretty stable - I run it for days on end without it dying on me.
The magic part of any wine install is the config file. Or more specifically, knowing which DLLs to use from a standard Windows machine and which libraries (*.so) to use from the WINE RPMS. This is from a former Notes 5 install.
I don't have my Notes6 setup on this system. I'll try and check out the differences tomorrow.
If you are absolutely desperate to get this to run, you can email me. Now the question is: how many jokers are going to email me if I just type it in here? Probably hundreds. But my email address is public knowledge (dammit!). There is an IBM employee directory. I'm the only employee with this name. If you need help, drop me an email. I make no guarantees on any responses (I'm not in tech support...). And I work on the DB2 internals. I just use Lotus Notes. So I can't work miracles (and I don't have access to the Notes source code, so don't ask).
Cheers,
Toby Haynes
Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.