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Gartner: Linux Servers Booming
Tarantolato writes "According to a recent Gartner report, low-end Linux server shipments grew significantly in the first quarter of 2004. Part of this may be due to the comeback of the relational database market in 2003, where Linux growth was especially strong, while Windows growth was weaker. There is mixed news for Sun, who saw growing shipments but declining revenues in Q1 of 2004."
Just for a point of comparison, I'd like to know. Linux grew 57 percent, Unix was down 2 percent, what about MS? (I'd just like concrete confirmation of Linux kicking Microsoft's fanny, OK?)
I am not trying to undermine Gartner, but this poll seems to be inconsistant with the recent netDeck poll which stated linux hardware rose 31% as opposed to the stated 57% here.
Natural Selection: self-destruction of the poor and lazy
I have definately seen this in the job market
1 year ago I was looking for DBA jobs, and hardly anyone requested linux knowledge/experience.
Now I'm looking again and I would say for 70-80% of the jobs I look at (DBA stuff) linux is either recommended or required. Linux really is making alot of inroads into the DB server market from what I see.
Skipping the Linux v. Windows v. Sun debates. The main gist of the article is that there are more servers being thrown up at a significantly less cost.
To a very large extent, this is just the gradual realization of productivity increases. The scary side of the equation is the extent to which companies are pushing people out of the equations. The ever dropping margins means a tougher job market for slashdotters. Or, how should I say it. More work for lower pay.
The expectation of lower costs leads to scenarios like the one described where the company is trying to get by on one subpar admin, or they push their support staff to the brink with more servers than the staff can handle...without a good plan for installing or using the servers.
When I worked there, there were posters saying that if each MS employee converted 5 linux servers to 5 windows servers that MS could finally outsell linux in the server market. I SO wanted to take a picture of it but I didn't want to get caught.
The bottom line is this. The number of servers sold with Linux preinstalled is increasing. The sales of Linux built for multiprocessing is increasing. But, is it increasing enough to become a true competitor in the market. To say that sales are up 57% by revenue is mileading. Especially if revenue previously was crap. I could say my income increased 600% if I got a raise to about 12,000 a month. But there are tons of people who make 12,000 a month. Linux sales don't even scratch the big guys (or guy). If the revenue (and/or # of servers shipped with Linux) continues to increase at a 57% clip, then we will soon be seeing some drama in the market. May the penguins day come, and it's sun shine bright enough to blind the other guy.
I know Red Hat is not linux, but it is to be noted that after the MSCI rebalance they included Red Hat in Prime Market 750
Except that, since about half of the poorly designed websites on the planet stupidly check for IE or Netscape for windows, there could be many people who use other systems but are forced to masquerade as something else. When they get complaints about how their site works fine with x (for all x=opera, omniweb, safari, konqueror, etc) pretending it's IE, they just try and make the ID process more stringent.
In a word, I don't trust zeigeist's numbers.
Oracle has little interst in the TCO of its customers, except insofar as it can promote it to its customers.
Oracle is interested in Oracle. It is not in Oracle's interests to have its fortunes tied entirely to single propriatary OS whose owners can dictate Oracle's business to Oracle.
There is, of course, a cautionary tale to be found here by Oracle's customers as well, and TCO is not the be all and end all of the matter. It is often worth paying more to achieve some desirable end, say, independence from a single monolithic supplier.
And if Microsoft's products were truely and clearly superior you can be sure that instead of touting a lower TCO they'd be perfectly happy to tout the fact that they're a bit more expensive, but worth it.
In fact, when the whole fallacy of their TCO argument blows up in their face this rather the tack I expect they will shift to.
They may find, however, that the time has finally come when they must come about and run before the wind rather than beating into it.
Which brings us right back to my original premise.
KFG
Numbers of units really are better than dollar sales. You really can outfit 4 or 5 Linux servers for the cost of outfitting 1 Microsoft server. Every thousand dollars RedHat makes means a loss to Microsoft of about one million, so dollars to dollars comparisons mean little. A few years ago, Linux servers had about 12% of the market. If they are up 57%, they should now have about 19% (or if you do the math, 18.84%). Most pundits will say 'see, Microsoft is still winning, nothing has changed'. But, if the 57% increase happens next year too, and the year after that, then Linux will have 46.43% of the server market. One year after that, 72.9. Just more numbers to throw about.
There, now I told you what you wanted to hear, so mod me up!
*No, this is not realiable. It is extremely unlikely that this quater's growth will continue for 2 years
..so.. How many of the servers bought without OS or with a "free" OS gets a pirated operating system installed, then?
:-)
Oooouch, karma-killer question..
quote: Have you ever searched a webhoster in Germany that even offers Windows? Mine stopped to offer it last year. ;-)
I live in Germany. In my favourite computer magazine C't there are frequently ads of webhosters who offer servers with both kinds of OS for rent.
Usually, the Linux root server is slightly cheaper than the equivalent Windows server. A typical price would be 49 euros/month for a small linux server with limited transfer volume, and 59 euros/month for the windows version. Now what does this tell you about the TCO?
C - the footgun of programming languages
Interesting links. What I think is fascinating is the percentages for IIS seem to be highest in .gov (37.86%) and .mil (66.13% !!). At least from march to april, the IIS percentages for those domains *grew*.