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Unix servers up 2.7%, Linux servers up 35.6%

cfelde writes "Linux servers up 35.6% and other Unix servers are up 2.7%. Also worldwide server revenue increased 6.2 percent to US$49 billion in 2004. The blade server market nearly doubled in size to over $1.1 billion in 2004 and 7 percent of x86 shipments in the U.S. were blade servers."

69 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. Who is still selling UNIX? by jimbro2k · · Score: 5, Funny

    We know it's not SCO

    --
    There is not nearly enough love in the world, but there is far too much trust.
    1. Re:Who is still selling UNIX? by owlstead · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, for starters:

      IBM has AIX
      Sun has Solaris
      HP has HPUX (waiting to be retired in all probability)
      SCO - oh forget SCO, they are pretty much a non-player

      You'd be amazed how many proprietary Unix systems are still out there. Don't forget that a lot of servers are running a specific software suite or on specific hardware. But the server itself needs to be updated once in a while.

      And a lot of businesses like an OS that is very stable, if not that cool or up to date. The one time that I saw Solaris crash was due to hardware errors (and there were quite some Solaris workstations situated at university). Yes, I've seen Linux crashes, before you ask.

    2. Re:Who is still selling UNIX? by delirium+of+disorder · · Score: 3, Informative

      Add to that list:
      On the desktop there is MacOS.

      On the super high end there is Cray with UNICOS and Sgi with IRIX. Sgi probably sells more Linux systems then IRIX ones now days.

      I think HP still sells True64 systems but they were putting lots of True64 code into HP-UX.

      I'm sure people still resell used Ultrix, NEXTStep, etc systems too.

      --
      ------ Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.
    3. Re:Who is still selling UNIX? by johnnnyboy · · Score: 2, Informative

      And a lot of businesses like an OS that is very stable, if not that cool or up to date. The one time that I saw Solaris crash was due to hardware errors (and there were quite some Solaris workstations situated at university). Yes, I've seen Linux crashes, before you ask.

      It's true those sun sparc boxes are very stable.

      --
      "If a show of teeth is not enough, bite ... but bite hard!"
    4. Re:Who is still selling UNIX? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      (UNIX as in not Linux)

      Huh? Most things that aren't Linux are also not UNIX. BSD certainly isn't UNIX*

      * UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

  2. wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Didn't MS claim their server was up in the market as well?
    Are these numbers the same (due to more servers being shipped) or are they actually due to increased market share?

    1. Re:wait by RealAlaskan · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Didn't MS claim their server was up in the market as well?

      If the whole market is growing, then Linux could be gaining market share and MS could be losing market share, but MS could still be shipping more than ever.

      That (i.e., the whole market is growing) is what we see happening, though that doesn't mean that MS is actually losing market share: thay may simply be gaining more slowly than before.

    2. Re:wait by dtfinch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You can say anything with numbers, especially by omitting some of them. Those numbers are probably adjusted for inflation, but we don't really know because it doesn't say.

    3. Re:wait by YankeeInExile · · Score: 5, Funny

      At whose expense? If Linux and Unix are both up, and MS is also up, who's down? IBM mainframes?
      At the expense of shops who were using no computer at all. Or abacuses.
      --
      How does the Slashdot Effect happen given that no slashdotters ever RTFA?
    4. Re:wait by cold+fjord · · Score: 2, Funny

      At the expense of shops who were using no computer at all. Or abacuses.

      I would laugh if the situation weren't so serious for my company. We are on the verge of a disaster.

      Chisembop manual sales have been flat for 5 years.

      Adding machine sales are down 38%.

      Calculator sales are down 52%, including the newest hand held models.

      Slide rule sales are down 79%.

      Analytical engine sales are down 93%.

      Tabulator sales are down 98%.

      Our abacus miniaturization project is running into problems with prior art by a "major" competitor.

      To top it off, our hope for a Multitronic breakthrough appears to have dangerous side effects after four models that were outright failures.

      Unless we can pump up our mentat outsourcing service, or complete development of our Make me a Rainman! kit, we're doomed! Doomed I tell you! :(

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  3. Idiotic windows users... by eggoeater · · Score: 5, Funny

    up 500%.

    1. Re:Idiotic windows users... by gripped · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Any accent is a sign of stupidity. Educated individuals train accents from their voice.
      That statement must be as one of the surest signs of stupidity I've ever seen.

      There is no such thing as no accent.
  4. It's Linux *revenue* that's up 35%, not count by 14erCleaner · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the article:

    When it comes to operating systems, Unix and Windows servers continued to grow. Unix server revenue was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 while the corresponding figure for Windows was $4.6 billion.

    Linux servers represented 9 percent of worldwide server revenue in 2004, which is 35.6 percent growth compared to the year before.

    --
    Have you read my blog lately?
    1. Re:It's Linux *revenue* that's up 35%, not count by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's even better news from a proliferation standpoint, though, because it will lend Linux additional credibility in the eyes of the PHB. "Hey look, other people are buying this Linux thing"...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:It's Linux *revenue* that's up 35%, not count by Frankie70 · · Score: 5, Funny

      OK - so a free product's revenue is up 35%. That's good news.

    3. Re:It's Linux *revenue* that's up 35%, not count by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Repeat the words: "I can get a sense of humor"...the same amount of times. Maybe it will come true!

  5. The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by ThomasFlip · · Score: 4, Interesting

    none other than IBM I would presume. Sun and SGI are dead so I don't see unix jumping ahead in the near future. Apple doesn't come off as a server company. BSD isn't as widely supported (I don't think) as Linux, and certainly doesn't have the momentum. Continue to see Linux Rise !

    --
    If the dollar is an "I owe you nothing", then the Euro is a "Who owes you nothing." - Doug Casey
    1. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by LWATCDR · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Xserver from apple is doing pretty well, from what I hear it is very good product. I would also say that SUN is not dead yet. SGI... Well they do seem to have some cool stuff still. I wish them well.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by javaxman · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Apple doesn't come off as a server company.

      That opinion is so last century.

      The XServe is so insanely great that people are really starting to take notice, even with Apple's historically bad server-side track record. A 36% revenue increase? That's nothing compared to the XServe over 119% unit sales increase. We're installing ours now, and I can see why people like them. They just work, they're damn fast, and they're really pretty cheaply priced when you compare them to similarly-capable systems, and it's honestly really, really hard to think of something they can't do.

      Apple may not come off as a server company to you, but if you were to fairly evaluate the XServe? That thing sells itself... complete with BSD unixy goodness.

    3. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by fr2asbury · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sun and SGI are dead. BSD is dead. Linux will be dead by adding a Windows driver infastructure to it. Old people in Korea aren't dead though, they still send email. SCO is undead. When will this culture of death end?

    4. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to none other than IBM I would presume.

      Hardly "none other."
      IBM is second in Linux server revenue with 23.5% of the market, HP is first at 26%.
      source

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    5. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by jdwest · · Score: 4, Informative

      Just installed and set up a new XServe last week. It is a very nice server, indeed. Although not quite perfect for the point-and-click admins (not that Slashdot readers are, anyway), the hardware is nothing short of incredible, IMO. The only hiccup I've encountered with XServe (10.3.8) is its mod_perl implementation, so I will have to roll my own.

      I have a "nice" Dell PowerEdge 4600 Xeon single running Mandrake that has been rock-solid in the 2.5 years it has been up, but it sounds like a vacuum cleaner on steroids 24x7. It puts off a goodly amount of heat, too -- thank goodness for server rooms. I love it, and am a little nervous about giving it up. It was my first real test with Linux, and I've come away with nothing but good experiences with it. I've come to appreciate the Linux experience from a reliability standpoint.

      Time will tell if the XServe box is as good, but based on my 18+ years experience with Apple's Mac hardware, it stands more than a reasonable chance.

      --

      Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ...
    6. Re:The Linux Increase Can Be Attributed to by penguinoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      When will this culture of death end?

      When will this culture of death die off?

      --
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  6. No mention of BSD! by Mars+Ultor · · Score: 5, Funny

    What about *BSD? I think the absence of any mention here is a clear indicator that it's dying. Anyone have some Netcraft stats?

    --
    "Nokia is not a country, it's the capital of Finland!" -Moderated "Informative". Yeesh.
    1. Re:No mention of BSD! by FLAGGR · · Score: 3, Interesting

      BSD seems to always get clumped in with unix. Don't see why, unless its the commercial BSD's but meh I'm assuming it is included in the unix category (with OSX too I bet)

    2. Re:No mention of BSD! by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 2, Informative

      FOr a good chunk of time, Unix could be broken up into two flavors, more or less: SCO Unix and BSD Unix. This is why BSD gets grouped in with unix... because that is what it is.

      We've all got our copy of the Devil Book right(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201061961/ 104-3689157-9232706?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=507846&s=bo oks&v=glance). Notice the name "The Design and Implementation of the 4.3 BSD UNIX Operating System

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    3. Re:No mention of BSD! by SenFo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "What about *BSD?"

      I still don't understand why Linux isn't categorized as Unix. Is it a license issue?

      In the beginning, I can remember all the Unix guys degrading Linux. At the time Linux was probably missing a lot of what the large products had to offer. Now days, Linux feels pretty much like my old Unix boxes; but with BASH as my primary shell.

      "I think the absence of any mention here is a clear indicator that it's dying."

      FreeBSD has recently grown in popularity. They just released their new kernel and things are still looking good for them. I've finally become accustomed to Gentoo's portage enough that I prefer it over FreeBSD's ports; but ports still has some very powerful features that make it the choice of many.

    4. Re:No mention of BSD! by thisissilly · · Score: 2, Informative

      two flavors, more or less: SCO Unix and BSD Unix. I think you mean "AT&T Unix (System III,V, etc)" and "BSD".

    5. Re:No mention of BSD! by 1lus10n · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Because its not unix. Its a fundamental design difference. Linux was specifically desiegned to be a unix-like system that could run on cheap (x86) hardware, so a lot of things are similar (commands and what not) but are not always the same in function or syntax. Especially if you are comparing a GNU utility to an old corporate Unix utility. However thats where some of the similarities come in, the corporate Unix's are increasingly using the GNU tools.

      You build a kit car to look like a '67 shelby mustang, that doesnt make it a '67 shelby mustang.

      Most people consider Linux to be part of the family, like an inlaw. Its not a blood relationship, they are sort of related. The BSD's on the other hand are Unix, they started as unix and still maintain a good portion of unix code. Some of their unix-ness has been bred out of the family though.

      --
      "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." --Albert Einstein
  7. Is that all? by Vainglorious+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    35.6% seems a pretty poor record for uptime to me.

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  8. Computerworld.com.au confirms it... by Joey+Patterson · · Score: 2, Funny

    Linux is NOT dying!

  9. Up compared to what? by bwcarty · · Score: 5, Funny

    Linux servers up 35.6% and other Unix servers are up 2.7%.

    Need a new sysadmin? My Linux and Unix servers are up over 99%.

  10. It's ALL servers up, better news than I thought by RealAlaskan · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It looks as if all server sales are up, not just Linux and Unix. From TFA:
    When it comes to operating systems, Unix and Windows servers continued to grow. Unix server revenue was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 while the corresponding figure for Windows was $4.6 billion. Linux servers represented 9 percent of worldwide server revenue in 2004, which is 35.6 percent growth compared to the year before.
    It sounds as if we're seeing some growth in IT spending, rather than just growth in Linux. Notice that Unix servers are still a bit ahead of Windows, in terms of dollar volume.

    Growth in Linux is good, but overall growth in IT means more jobs, and that's even better.

    1. Re:It's ALL servers up, better news than I thought by LinuxHam · · Score: 2, Informative

      I've never heard of anyone running Windows on blades. Does anyone do this?

      Yes, I just finished a 3-year server consolidation deal collapsing over 700 servers to ESX on "big boxes" and Windows primarily on IBM blade. Now I'm wrapping up an 8 week SCON design project collapsing over 100 aging Windows servers to a mix of VMware and Windows on HP blades. Here's a small book on deploying Exchange on IBM's blade offering. FWIW, I'm an IBM SCON Architect. Blade is a nice alternative to ESX when customers either

      a) want a good consolidation ratio but using physical servers instead of VMware (14 servers in 7U), or
      b) want to go nuts consolidating over 100 servers to 7U with VMware but splitting all the "eggs" across 14 different "baskets", or
      c) somewhere in between

      BTW, HP offers 8 blades in 6U, and you can't mix RISC and Intel blades in the same chassis; advantage IBM

      --
      Intelligent Life on Earth
  11. Some of the UNIX's that are still n the market by speighd · · Score: 4, Informative

    HP (HP-UX) Sun (Solaris) IBM (AIX) One could also claim that the BSD versions (like Apple OS/X) fall in the category.

  12. What about numbers? by xRelisH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    These figures are based on revenue, what's the market share in terms of numbers?

    That is, in terms of the number of Unix servers vs. Linux servers vs. Windows servers?

    I don't think revenue gives one an accurate picture of the market share of these servers, especially for Linux since I'd expect the software for Linux machines ( and probably hardware too, since it's off the shelf stuff versus a lot of the stuff from Sun/IBM ) to be a lot cheaper.

    1. Re:What about numbers? by hackstraw · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That is, in terms of the number of Unix servers vs. Linux servers vs. Windows servers?

      If it takes 15 Linux servers to do the work of 1 Windows server, what does the number of servers tell you?

  13. MiniMac servers up by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Funny

    but they're too small to be counted.

    i know i had a MiniMac server somewhere on my desk ... oh, wait, it's under my coffee cup!

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  14. Linux server revenue almost equals M$-Windows by Husgaard · · Score: 3, Informative
    TFA states that total server revenue in 2004 was US$49 billion, and that 9% of this was Linux servers. This amounts to US$4.41 billion. M$-Windows server revenue was US$4.6 billion in 2004.

    Looks like Linux is catching up on M$-Windows.

    1. Re:Linux server revenue almost equals M$-Windows by troop23 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Your misquoting the article. The figures for Unix and Windows was $5.2 billion and $4.6 billion for the forth quarter only. That anualizes to $20.8 billion and $18.4 billion for the year. The Linux number is for the whole year.

      When it comes to operating systems, Unix and Windows servers continued to grow. Unix server revenue was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 while the corresponding figure for Windows was $4.6 billion.

      Linux servers represented 9 percent of worldwide server revenue in 2004, which is 35.6 percent growth compared to the year before.

    2. Re:Linux server revenue almost equals M$-Windows by Paul+Jakma · · Score: 4, Informative

      M$-Windows server revenue was US$4.6 billion in 2004.

      No, the windows/unix figures were for the last quarter of 2004, quoting the article:

      Unix server revenue was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 while the corresponding figure for Windows was $4.6 billion.

      Multiply by 4 to get ~$25G for Unix, $18G for Windows. So that puts Linux at somewhere around 1/4 of MS Windows. It also explains the "missing $34G" the other poster referred to. It isnt missing, 25+18+4.4 = 47.4G, so non-Windows/Unix/Linux revenue is somewhere between $1G to $2G.

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  15. Missing from the summary by bonch · · Score: 4, Informative

    Missing from the summary was mention of Windows growth--"When it comes to operating systems, Unix and Windows servers continued to grow. Unix server revenue was $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 while the corresponding figure for Windows was $4.6 billion."

    That's really good for a non-UNIX server.

  16. 97.3% of all statistics are made up by xtermin8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and 99% of the time I don't care.

  17. Feel good to be a UNIX admin right at this moment by nomad63 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well kinda-sorta. I have devoted last 13 years of my 40+ years life to be a full time computer systems admin, after getting my bachelors and masters degrees in EE and working 7 years in the electronics assembly and manufacturing trenches. I knew that there was an ulterior motive to go in the UNIX direction rather than windoze path subconciously but did not know exactly why and how I ended up being a UNIX guy.
    During the last few years, certificate mills creating an army of windows admin drones, who can only click a predefined sequence of location on the screen with their mouse and passing as "system administrators", I tend to think that, certificate watching management types are going to hire more and more of these admin lookalikes and increase the share of windows in the server room which would make a demise of my careerpath. When I see articles like UNIX/Linux gaining ground on the server room, it makes me breathe a little easier. I do not want another career change, even though, after a week of skiing in Colorado, doing something like that for living is tempting :)

    --

    __________
    The more I know people, the more I love animals
  18. Everybody wins! by cmburns69 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is not an increase in market share! This is an increase in revanue. Microsoft was reporting similar gains for their server division as well.

    When you're not talking about market share, everybody can be a winner!

    --
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  19. Activant Solutions use UNIX -- many new installs by The-Perl-CD-Bookshel · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The business that I'm currently developing a web site for just got a snazzy new POS/Inventory Management/Client Accessible DB/Payroll/Kitchen Sink solution from Activant. They are running UNIX on the back end with familiar Windows machines for the POS machines. Do you need someone on-site that knows UNIX? Not at all, they can diagnose and fix most problems from their headquarters in California. I could see these highly polished, well integrated systems becoming a must-have for small business. Way to go UNIX, way to go Activant for making a strong OS decision.

    P.S. I don't own any Activant stock (if they are even public). Also, I do have a gripe with their lack easy to find web integration information for their seemingly home-rolled database, "Eagle."

    --
    I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
  20. Up 35.6%!! Even for Slashdot, this is meaningless. by kokoloko · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At first I assumed it was market share. Then I stopped and thought it must be something much less dramatic. Then I RTFA. Jeez..... Basically, in a growing server market, Linux is producing more money than it did before.

  21. Re:So what's.... by ajnsue · · Score: 2, Funny

    can you imagine how embarrasing that was for me... My stupidity documented. Guess I will go back to managing my win2k boxes and shut up.

  22. Blade server definition by ZeeExSixAre · · Score: 5, Informative
    From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server

    A blade server is essentially a computer on a motherboard, including: one or more processors, memory, storage, and network connections. The idea behind blade servers is that many such blades can be added in space-saving racks, thus providing compact and powerful computing solutions that are less expensive than traditional solutions (such as mainframes). Blade servers are ideal for specific purposes such as web hosting and cluster computing. Individual blades are typically hot-swappable. Although blade server technology allows for open, cross-vendor solutions, for the time being, users experience fewer problems when keeping with blades, racks and blade management tools from the same vendor. Eventual standardisation of the technology will hopefully result in more choices for consumers; increasing numbers of third-party software vendors are now entering this growing field.

    1. Re:Blade server definition by DragonWyatt · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I'm not downing your comment, overall very informative. However I thought I'd hang my own off of it since it's topical...

      From an engineering standpoint, the concept sucks. Here are a few of my gripes about blades:
      1. Convergent infrastructure causes issues. Blades combine power, management, network, cooling, a single CDROM, single floppy, and servers all into one box. Management module crashed? There went all your servers in that chassis! Want to physically split networks for security purposes? Sorry! Want to burn a bunch of CDs or floppies to flash many boxes in parallel? Too bad!
      2. Not as expandable. What happens when you need multiple NICs, a SCSI controller, a modem, etc, each allocated to a different server? The answer: you don't.
      3. Less serviceable. For example, IBM's lightpath is supposed to be designed to indicate where the problem is on the server so you can make a service call to get the parts in while coordinating downtime. With their blades you have to PULL OUT THE BLADE to see what the problem is! Mostly because there is no front panel to show faults at the blade level.
      4. Density is a myth for real servers. Every SCSI option out there only allows for 7 servers in 7U. With only two disks. Pop Quiz: How many 1U servers can you get into 7Us?
      5. Hot-Swappable is not a new feature. How hot swappable are individual 1U servers?
      6. "Integrated mass deployment tools" are again not specific to blades. There's nothing magical about fancy network-enabled ghost-like tools that operate across a LAN.
      7. "Cheaper" is a myth. $20G for the blade chassis, and $2000 per blade? That's $34k for 7 servers. How much for a 1U server? Times 7?
      How can these be fixed? Here are some thoughts.
      1. Drop a PCI slot into each blade with back-end access.
      2. Put a freaking jumper or internal dip switch on each blade to allocate it to different physical networks/ports on the back. Better yet just put separate ports for each blade on the back of the unit- along with a switch- and use something physical to connect the blade to the switch or to the external port.
      3. Put a CDROM and floppy drive on the front of each blade.
      4. Put more LEDs on the front of the blade
      5. Make them WAY more dense- say 24 SCSI servers per 7U.
      Of course you're basically approaching "vertical 1U servers". Notice how there's already a nicely engineered solution to all the "problems" that blades pretend to solve?

      Thanks for listening to my rant. I have 8 bladecenters in my care and feeding - none of which I had input on for procurement - And I've give anything to swap them out for 1U boxes.
      --
      Don't sweat the petty things. But do pet the sweaty things.
    2. Re:Blade server definition by LinuxHam · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude. You are bad for business. Especially if people were to start listening to you.

      1. You can reboot IBM's management module without crashing your blades. Also, my current customer is running a drop to each of 3 NICs on each HP blade for security reasons. They *want* 21 runs to each blade chassis for some reason.

      2. Not what you use blade for. Best tool for the job.

      3. It sounds like you must be using IBM equipment but no one has deployed IBM Director. Someone in charge really needs to schedule a visit to get you out of hell. IBM Director can order replacements for failed components automatically and let you schedule your downtime.

      4. IBM and HP both do SCSI in single-width blades now. HP does hot plug.

      5. None.

      6. Can't help you there, except that IBM's RDM can do scripted installs as well as image-based deployment. I can even assign an image to a blade slot so that if you swap out a blade with a blank, Director will automatically push the desired image to the new blank. Great for database and web application servers that join a live cluster.

      7. If you're still thinking 1U, then I'm guessing you're not in an enterprise setting. Or a necessarily modern one.

      Sorry to disrespect your low UID, but a lot of stuff has changed recently, and some newbies here might actually believe you.

      --
      Intelligent Life on Earth
  23. Stats Based on Revenues by geoffrobinson · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So somebody who takes a disk, knows what they are doing, and makes three servers is not represented in the stats.

    A Linux box which does two tasks and a Windows box which is devoted to only one will also skew the stats.

    While this stat is helpful on a year-to-year basis to see how the industry is trending, it does not give a complete picture.

    --
    Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
  24. RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Way to FUD yourself!

    First off, Linux isn't Unix, and the article clearly distinguishes between the two.

    It does not say that Linux servers are 9% of Unix servers. It says that Linux servers are 9% of the worldwide server revenue.

    Secondly, the article clearly states that the total worldwide server revenue is $49 billion.

  25. for comparison by Jrod5000+at+RPI · · Score: 4, Interesting

    internet pr0n is a 5-7 billion dollar industry

    1. Re:for comparison by youngerpants · · Score: 2, Funny

      Informafunny

      Funnymative

      Damn, and I've got mod points... I just dont know how to use them on your post.

      And now I cant use them at all

  26. You're not kidding by delcielo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're not kidding. I didn't get any real respect around here until I started spending money on server class hardware, "enterprise" distributions, etc.

    Funny how that works. You would think that I'd get more respect for NOT spending money.

    --
    Hot Damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
    1. Re:You're not kidding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      You are judged by the size of your budget. The bigger your budget, the more important you look to others in management. I say, tell the higher ups that you need a LOT of money, buy the more cost effective solution, and have a Kick A** party at the end of the year (But don't invite the higher ups, or they might catch on).

  27. Re:this means.. by Leo+McGarry · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Linux is the future. And it always will be.

    Understand these misleading stats: Linux server sales revenues grew 36% over the previous year. But the grand total is still only 9% of the total server market.

  28. teasing out info from the stats by chunderfest · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The most interesting thing I see is that in the x86 segment, only $4.6b of the total $6.3b in the fourth quarter went to winboxen. Also, Linux' 35% growth is a relative increase, i.e. from ~6.6% to 9% -- really it's a ~2.4% increase in revenue share, which is still pretty good given that corps can install it themselves for free if they like.

    Otherwise there's not much there for my pattern-seeking synapses to grab ahold of. Am I missing where in TFA the "Unix servers up 2.7%" stat is? I even fired up a graphical browser to see if it was in a sidebar! I suspect the 2.7% for Unix may be directly comparable to Linux's 2.4%, and not to the percent-of-percent 35%.

    --
    Ah, bitter dregs.
  29. Re:Activant Solutions use UNIX -- many new install by Lehk228 · · Score: 2, Funny

    They are running UNIX on the back end with familiar Windows machines for the POS machines.
    I always choose windows when i need a POS machine.

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  30. XServe sales make that look like nothing. by javaxman · · Score: 3, Informative
    I know it's easy to double your sales when they start small, but an increase of over 119% is always impressive. Especially after you've been seeing triple-digit or near triple-digit sales increases for seven quarters in a row.

    Too bad the story submitter and the slashdot editors have worked together to give us a dollar amount an label it a server unit number, but still.... when looking at server deployments, I'm going to guess that if you're just looking for percent increases in units shipped, nobody this past year is going to beat XServe numbers.

    These statistics are always hard to digest, though... what segment of the server market are we talking about, what constitutes a server, is that UnixTM or does BSD/Darwin count, etc... I always have more questions than such articles are prepared to answer.

    Still, any increase in Linux sales is good news.

  31. Sun by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sun is notorious for producing some of the most stable software in the world. It's not fast, or pretty; it just never, ever fails. You can see this in the SUN JVM; it's about as stable as you could ever hope for. It's ugly and sluggish, but it's abhorrently resilient.

  32. Re:In other words by njcoder · · Score: 2, Informative

    That's not necessarily true in all cases. In that (or a similar report based on the idc study), it mentioned that Sun's shippments where up higher than their revenues. Not sure about the other unix vendors but Sun has been dropping it's prices.

  33. Re:In other words by njcoder · · Score: 2, Informative
    " Actually, their unix servers are increasing in prices, but they are now selling a lot of AMD servers"

    No and yes. From http://www.itjungle.com/breaking/bn022405-story01. html

    Sun Microsystems just barely held onto its number three position, with $1.365 billion in sales after a 5.1 percent decline in revenue compared to the fourth quarter of 2003. Part of Sun's revenue decline is due to the shift toward X86 server, but most of it is due to Sparc customers buying less iron or paying a lot less for what they do buy.

    Also interesting...

    Sun's X86 server revenue grew by 360 percent, hitting $152.5 million for 2004.
    " What I would like to know, is are they counted as Unix or Linux servers?"

    My guess would be Linux as reports claim that the majority of Sun's x86 servers are ordered with linux preloaded. Compared to 4.something billion in linux server sales overall, it wouldn't make that much difference in the numbers. Sun's still a small player in x86 but they're growing fast. They're more in the 64 bit x86 space. I read somewhere that they're the largest buyer of AMD Opteron chips.

  34. From the horses mouth... by Phil+John · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...The correct attribution is:

    "UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group"

    (http://www.unix.org/trademark.html)

    --
    I am NaN
  35. Somewhat less disorganized version of this article by alw53 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here's the original IDC report which has a somewhat more organized picture as well as more data.

  36. Unix/Linux market share is increasing by Ulric · · Score: 2, Informative
    Since the numbers are not there in TFA to actually do the math, I did a little research on my own and found the original IDC article. It seems the numbers are not there either, but these snippets should allow us to calculate market share in 4Q03 and 4Q04:

    "Unix server revenues were $5.2 billion in the quarter, increasing 2.7% year over year against a difficult compare for 4Q03."

    "Additionally, on a sequential basis, Unix servers grew dramatically in 4Q04, add ing more than $1 billion in quarterly revenue."

    "Linux servers generated $1.3 billion in quarterly revenue, representing 9.0% of worldwide server revenue."

    "Overall, Linux server revenue grew 35.6% year over year"

    "factory revenue in the worldwide server market grew 5.1% to $14.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004"

    "For the full year 2004, worldwide server revenue grew 6.2% to $49.0 billion"

    So...

    Unix in 4Q03 was 5059.6 million.
    Linux in 4Q03 was 837.2 million.
    Total market in 4Q03 was 13717 million.
    Unix/Linux marketshare was 42%

    Unix in 4Q04 was 5200 million.
    Linux in 4Q04 was 1300 million.
    Total market in 4Q04 was 14420 million.
    Unix/Linux marketshare was 45%

  37. That's just EMEA numbers by Ulric · · Score: 2, Informative
    The worldwide report is here.

    An interesting fact, as I noted in another thread, is that combined Unix+Linux marketshare seems to be increasing.

  38. We run SCO by mnmn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Unixware on an old old 486 machine. It has a very proprietary software, that takes in autodesk DWG files, and through the serial port controls a large plotter with plasma, cutting inches of steel. The manufacturers, and resellers who provided support are both out of business. We do not have the root password.

    Before embarking on a cracking project, I tried installing the unixware on a different machine, it failed because the machine was too advanced I suppose. Gotta find a 486. Its also risky since the machine should not go down for a day... but looking away is risky too, we should take a partition image while the system is running good... its binaries could prob run on linux or bsd's sco unix binary compatibility... and we could provide a nice KDE interface remotely via terminal services, and have the files loaded via network shares... while removing SCO.

    Do remember they were once admirable. Imagine this happening to Linux in 2020.

    --
    "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky