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AT&T Chooses Ubuntu Linux Instead of Microsoft Windows (betanews.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the choosing-a-partner dept.

An anonymous reader writes: one of the largest cellular providers is the venerable AT&T. While it sells many Linux-powered Android devices, it is now embracing the open source kernel in a new way. You see, the company has partnered with Canonical to utilize Ubuntu for cloud, network, and enterprise applications. That's right, AT&T did not choose Microsoft's Windows when exploring options. Canonical will provide continued engineering support too.

22 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Ok? by gcnaddict · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's for hosting services, not for client use. In the cloud, the competition is pretty even between everything that isn't based on Mac OS. Why does this decision surprise anyone?

    Heck, it's one of the reasons Azure supports *nix etc. in the first place.

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    1. Re:Ok? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      And 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.

    2. Re:Ok? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      "In the cloud, the competition is pretty even between everything that isn't based on Mac OS"

      Please show me an example of competition in the cloud with a Windows OS? Even MS Azure is heavily Linux. Other than crufty aging enterprise running AD and Exchange, there is zero presence for Windows based servers. In the "cloud", AWS and the like provide their own directory services not to mention Oauth has become significantly more important than traditional LDAP.

      Been that way for a decade now. What century are you in?

    3. Re:Ok? by gcnaddict · · Score: 4, Informative

      Please show me an example of competition in the cloud with a Windows OS?

      Sure. Here's a good reference from the Linux Foundation showing the continuing improvement of Linux's foothold in the context of cloud applications. 75% Linux (all flavors), 23% Windows (all flavors), etc.

      but considering that the 75% figure is made of all Linux distributions, the breakdown is likely split between CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, et cetera. Everyone's in the double-digits. I'd call that comparable, potentially "even," and I'd certainly call that greater than your "zero presence" figure.

      I'd attack your character much the way you attacked mine with "What century are you in?", but it's easier to just use facts.

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    4. Re:Ok? by MrKrillls · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seen as "Linux runs a few more servers", not news at all. Seen as "Canonical gets a high profile contract", it is a decent piece of business news.

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    5. Re:Ok? by Gr8Apes · · Score: 3, Informative

      99% of the internet is run on Linux and BSD.

      If you don't count 90% of the devices connected to the Internet.

      They are clients or a shrinking set of servers, but not internet infrastructure. There's a solid reason for this, and that is security. Windows doesn't have it.

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  2. AT&T probably wants to avoid the GWX nagging by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful
    With what Microsoft has been doing in the consumer world with the Windows 10 installation nagging (~how many times do I have to tell Microsoft that I do not want to install Windows 10~) and the unwanted Windows 10 downloading, it is no surprise that AT&T is looking elsewhere for solutions.

    .
    To me it appears that Microsoft is no longer a trustworthy partner, in business or in the home.

  3. Going back to its roots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Going back to its roots in Unix,

  4. Re:AT&T probably wants to avoid the GWX naggin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    With what Microsoft has been doing in the consumer world with the Windows 10 installation nagging (~how many times do I have to tell Microsoft that I do not want to install Windows 10~) and the unwanted Windows 10 downloading, it is no surprise that AT&T is looking elsewhere for solutions.

    .

    To me it appears that Microsoft is no longer a trustworthy partner, in business or in the home.

    Umm, where have you been the past 30ish years?

    Microsoft has NEVER been a "trusted partner" - "DOS isn't done until Lotus won't run!" and all that.

  5. AT&T invented Unix by Dynamoo · · Score: 5, Informative

    AT&T Bell Labs invented Unix. Yeah, I know that's not quite the same AT&T as we see today (Bell Labs is part of Alcatel-Lucent-Nokia) but nonetheless today's AT&T is a direct descendant of the AT&T of the 1970s the developed Unix for it's own use. Heck, so they should be using Unix rather than Linux.. but they don't actually own it any more.

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    1. Re:AT&T invented Unix by gtall · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes and no. AT&T was split up and Southwestern Bell was one of the baby bells. Then SW Bell bought the shell that AT&T had become. After so much time and so many business school weenies running the companies, AT&T is only the bastard son of MBAs.

  6. Re: AT&T will soon switch back to Windows by Bathroom+Humor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Enterprise Linux is a different beast altogether from desktop Linux. When someone can pay for professional support, that's typically what they get. If you think Linux is inherently inconsistent and unstable, it shows your own lack of knowledge of the platform.

  7. AT&T can have its own Linux distro ... by perpenso · · Score: 4, Funny

    If and when open Linux development becomes chaotic AT&T can fork and maintain its own distro. Imagine, AT&T maintaining its own version of *nix? ;-)

  8. Re:AT&T probably wants to avoid the GWX naggin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    To me it appears that Microsoft is no longer a trustworthy partner, in business or in the home.

    birds of a feather flock together.. at&t and microsoft should be best buddies. both shit on their customers and customer data.

  9. Year of Linux by Zalbik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow! 2016 really is the year of Linux on the server stack!

    Oh wait.....

  10. Re:I thought it was the desktop... by louden+obscure · · Score: 3, Informative

    How major is google? and some others...

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  11. BIG deal for Canonical, AT&T is 20x the size o by raymorris · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A better headline might have been:
    Canonical lands huge contract with AT&T

    AT&T is a $200 billion organization, Canonical is about $10 billion. This deal might boost Canonical's revenue by 50%.

    Also, it's a major credibility boost on Canonical's corporate resume. AT&T is a major, major company full of network experts, so it's a very significant endorsement of Canonical supporting large-scale applications. Consider Canonical trying to sell a new a customer, maybe Fisher Price or Nabisco:
    Fisher Price: How do we have confidence that your team can support services at the scale Fisher Price needs?
    Canonical rep: We run AT&T's systems, at the much larger scale they require.

  12. Red Hat #2 by Kardos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > Canonical will provide continued engineering support too.

    Looks like Canonical found its business model.

  13. How was Windows, rather than Unix, the alternative by unixisc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's what surprised me as well. Doesn't AT&T have any ownership of Unix anymore, or is it all gone to Lucent/USL/Bell Labs/SCO/Open Group/whatever? Also, GP mentioned that it's for hosting services, but for that, isn't it more of the establishment guys who are the real deal here - be it Red Hat, Suse, Debian, as opposed to Ubuntu? Looking at it any which way, AT&T made a strange decision, and the alternative was not Windows (Server), but something like either one of the old Unixes, like Solaris, or one of the established Linux distros, like Red Hat or Debian.

  14. Re:Yes, and? by unixisc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the bigger news is AT&T or anybody picking Canonical for their servers, instead of Red Hat or Debian

  15. not a real choice by jjeffries · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In telcos, Linux is the successor to Sun/Solaris. It's been happening for a while now, and it really sped up a lot when Oracle bought Sun. Windows was never a real option here.

  16. Re:How was Windows, rather than Unix, the alternat by swalve · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't think the current AT&T is the same as the former AT&T. The current one is a merger between Cingular and SBC I'm pretty sure.