Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Using Linux To Optimize Skype Traffic
An anonymous reader writes "A security researcher believes that Microsoft has overhauled Skype, with thousands of Linux boxes serving as the 'supernodes' that route calls between users of the voice-over-IP service. Kostya Kortchinsky of Immunity Security 'discovered the Linux supernodes using a Skype probing technique he and colleague Fabrice Desclaux first demonstrated in 2006,' according to Ars Technica. The drastic infrastructure change doesn't affect the peer-to-peer nature of the calls between Skype users."
Skype creators are same that designed Kazaa. This is how the P2P structure of Skype works and is widely known. What is the point of this story?
These intermediary nodes are only needed because we've broken the end-to-end principle - the idea that any Internet endpoint can talk to any other. We need to wean ourselves off NAT and start to demand native IPv6.
I've never understood why people get all shocked when someone uses a competitor's product when theirs can do the job too. Well, Linux is a better platform for embedded applications, single-purpose servers, etc. It is much more efficient because there's no GUI to drive and only the bare minimum needs to be loaded in memory. Even the kernel can be stripped down to only essential modules, and it can be tweaked for realtime applications.
Windows servers aren't designed for that. They're designed to be low maintenance multi-purpose servers which are easily configurable. Most businesses who setup windows servers aren't using them in areas where high performance is needed. They are for satellite offices, small workgroups, etc., where the server has a variety of roles. The only high performance servers I routinely see windows deployed on routinely are domain controllers and mail servers (specifically Exchange servers).
It's a sound business move.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Microsoft is one of the biggest Linux contributors http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/microsoft-counted-key-linux-contributor-now-anyway-190104. In my view they have absolutely all the right to use it, if it fits their solution.
They likely couldn't afford the cost of the server licenses.
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
What are you talking about? Microsoft has contributed tons of patches and other stuff to, for example, Linux. They have actively worked to make it more compatible with Windows.
Hell, they have an open source project hosting at CodePlex.
At least try to get your facts straight instead of the pure hate. But I saw what happened when Microsoft guys reached out and asked for comments about their open source offering on Slashdot. You can still read it too, Microsoft Wants Your Feedback On Its New Python IDE.
Good to hear that Skype will be a bit less fly-by-night and will have better call performance. But for two years now, the interface has been getting progressively worse and Skype credits have been exchanging for fewer and fewer minutes. The current version has no compact buddy list, requires a subscription for multiparty video, has giant ads on a useless "home" screen, and wants me to issue facebook updates of some shit. I have never uninstalled anything so fast in my life.
Balance the traffic all you want, Microsoft. Skype is a sinking ship if you don't make it lighter, prettier, and cheaper.
... to anyone who doesn't remember Microsoft's acquisition of BSD-based Hotmail.
They're not going to migrate to completely in-house systems overnight.
It just shows that Microsoft doesn't take the hard approach of FOSS fanatics but uses what suits the purpose best.
Well that is not really asking much out of them:
You see the difference here? The GPL imposes no restrictions on how software can be used, and few restrictions on how it can be copied and shared; proprietary licenses contain nothing but restrictions on use and copying. It is easy for Microsoft to use GPL software internally; it may not be easy for me to use software under a proprietary license, unless I fit the model of computer users as envisioned by the companies that made that software (which I almost never do).
Palm trees and 8
Why is this interesting / amusing ? .NET, Office Open document format, Sync framework for examples)
Technically using Linux or some other unix as a supernode is fine, probably a better solution than Windows server - but this is Microsoft, the dominant operating system provider; very much the competitor to Linux. they *could* use a competitor's solution but traditionally Microsoft reinvents the wheel rather than do this (see Silverlight, XPS,
Choosing Linux rather than their own OS product for this task seems like bad PR especailly after publicly criticising Linux as an insecure, slow, potentially IP-violating OS platform.
You may recall they were "caught" using FreeBSD for hotmail after acquiring that service - and eventually migrated it to Windows.
I'm guessing there will soon be a "WinMin" or Windows server core based platform that hosts this instead of Linux.
It just shows that Microsoft doesn't take the hard approach of FOSS fanatics but uses what suits the purpose best.
Most open source projects run on windows. Linux usually comes first, but 90% of the time there is a windows port. What % of Microsoft apps run on something other then windows? It looks to me that the "FOSS fanatics" are very good about allowing people to pick what suits them the best while Microsoft isn't.
So what? Why should the average person care?
Oddly enough, they shouldn't care because hell has frozen over and Microsoft is using Linux.
They should care because Microsoft is taking steps to centralise what was a peer-to-peer telephony system. By adding supernodes that they control, they are positioning Skype to transition to a system where everybody's data goes through Microsoft servers rather than direct person to person.
They're happy to have us discussing Linux because the privacy implications are what they don't want us talking about.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Uhhh...where have YOU been? didn't you get the memo? hell the only reason SUSE has a pulse is because MSFT has spent hundreds of millions buying SUSE Linux licenses to bundle with WinServer packages so MSFT has been making money off of Linux for years now. That of course isn't counting the tons of money they make by trolling Android OEMs for the LULZ so the only real shock is that so many of those that go nuts over FOSS hasn't figured out that MSFT is making money hand over fist off all their free work.
As far as privacy? I guess you missed the memo from the head of Google saying privacy was dead too huh? Hell the users hand all their data over to FB and Twitter and Google now anyway, so why should they give a shit about phone calls? I mean have you seen the kind of dumbshit people tweet or post to FB? You got morons bragging about crimes, smoking dope or piss faced drunk, nobody has any shame or common sense anymore, I'm starting to think the conspiracy nuts are right and there is something in the water because i don't remember people being this ignorant nor as exhibitionist when I was a kid. Frankly privacy went the way of the 8-track when all the smart phones came with cameras and upload to social media features. Unless you want to pull a Michael Jackson and run around in a mask everything you do will end up on somebody's FB page anyway, just give it up.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
And it's therefore ironic that the development of Skype on Linux has been abandoned, it's been stuck at version 2.2 Beta for over a year now.
Microsoft was in the top 10 corporate contributors to the kernel in 2011. And I am not a shill, check my posts dawg.
For me at least, the problem isn't that so much is becoming public but that so many little things that shouldn't matter can get you in trouble when they're made public. Smoking some weed, getting drunk, whatever goofy shit you get up to, it shouldn't matter if it's made public, because it shouldn't be anyone's concern but your own what you do with your own body in your own time.
Obviously, if you're getting twisted at work or whatever that's an issue, but victimless fun shouldn't have legal or professional consequences...
Dear Recently Acquired Skype Division:
Please abandon your entire Linux infrastructure, like, right after you read this. I know the market is hypercompetitive, but we really need you to spend 2 years rebuilding everything from scratch on Windows Server, because if word got out that one of our divisions is using Linux, the slashdot community will go ape shit. In the meanwhile, you'll still be accountable to shareholders for revenue, so figure out how to make money after your service goes down for 2 years. Maybe you can sell chocolate bars or have a bake sale or something.
Yours,
Steve Ballmer
They only even acknowledge the existence of linux when they are still at the "embrace" stage, in markets where ms is already dominant they never even acknowledge that linux exists at all...
ODBC driver for mssql - ms do not dominate the database market, oracle are still huge, mysql and db2 are well known too
hyper-v drivers - ms are nothing in the virtualization market, having been very late to the party and already released and subsequently dropped a previous virtualization product (ms virtual server)
frontpage extensions - again, apache is still the biggest player in webhosting
They don't even attempt to make linux ports of any of their desktop apps, nor do they make it easy for linux users to connect to their more widespread server products like exchange
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Difference being...?