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Ask Slashdot: Linux-Friendly Motherboard Manufacturers?

Posted by Soulskill on from the soldering-iron-and-a-chunk-of-silicon dept.

dotancohen writes "I am tasked with building a few Linux machines for a small office. However, many the currently available motherboards seem to be Linux-hostile. For instance, in addition to the whole UEFI issue, my last install was a three-day affair due to the motherboard reporting a Linux-supported ethernet device (the common RTL8168) while it was actually using a GbE Ethernet device that does not work with the legacy drivers and didn't even work with a test Windows 7 install until the driver disk was installed. There are no current hardware compatibility lists for Debian or Ubuntu and I've received from Asus and Gigabyte the expected reply: No official Linux support, install Windows for best experience. I even turned to the two large local computer vendors, asking if they could provide Linux-compatible machines ready to go, but neither of them would be of any help. What globally-available motherboards or motherboard manufacturers can you recommend today?"

1 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Raspberry Pi by Draknor · · Score: 1, Redundant

    If I were a weaker man, and there are plenty of weaker men, installing Windows would be the 'solution'.

    So just to clarify, you are not a "weaker man" because you are choosing a tool that is more difficult to acquire & has no official support... for what purpose again?

    Without knowing more about what the ultimate goal is, it seems like you are just being pig-headed & stubborn, pushing your own personal agenda / Windows vendetta over the priorities of The Company.

    Is the goal of The Company to be a linux shop?
    Or is it merely to have a working desktop environment to do their traditional office tasks (email, calendar, word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations)? If the latter, and you are advocating for linux workstations -- what's your justification? Lower cost of acquisition or lower total-cost-of-ownership (TCO)?
    If you have calculated a lower TCO, are you including a fair & reasonable support cost for each option (esp if these are not tech-savvy office people)? If you are just doing this as a favor -- what happens to that TCO if you get hit by a bus and they have to hire/contract a 3rd party linux admin?

    Not trying to say going linux on the desktop is wrong, by any stretch -- just that you should clarify the ultimate goals & priorities, and pick the right tool based on that. I would posit THAT is the sign of a stronger man - the right tool for the job.