“Linux is free, so you have nothing to lose by trying it.
Better yet, it runs like a champion: You can modify the code to
make it do almost anything you want, it doesn’t require beefy
hardware because its code is so small, and, best of all, the thing
is rock solid. At Computer Currents, Gillespie’s Linux servers
have run smoothly for months at a time.”
“Another advantage to Linux is that it doesn’t require a
supernova of a server, because its code is slimmer and more
efficient than NT’s or that of the Mac OS. According to Gillespie,
you can get away with a 486 box with 16MB of RAM as your Linux
server. Try the “baseline” method: Plug in one of your old PCs as
the server and see what happens. If it works, great–you just saved
some cash. But if network traffic moves like a donkey stuck in a
mud bog, at least you can justify spending money on a new
server.”
“Finally, developers love Linux because it’s flexible, which
makes it easily scalable. NT may provide a friendlier environment
for adding users and devices, but Linux isn’t as picky about things
such as configuration and drivers. Nor will Linux give up when it
encounters roadblocks while trying to serve certain users, as NT
has been known to do. Because it doesn’t have a graphical
interface, you don’t have to fiddle with video cards if you switch
to a new server. “The code is just better written and more
streamlined than NT’s,” says Gillespie.”