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Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction

Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction. Educause Southeast Regional Conference June 29, 2001 Jim Bostick Virginia Commonwealth University. Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction. Examples of hype, hope, and strategic direction Description of Gartner Group’s Hype Cycle

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Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction

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  1. Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction Educause Southeast Regional Conference June 29, 2001 Jim Bostick Virginia Commonwealth University

  2. Linux: Hype, Hope, or Strategic Direction • Examples of hype, hope, and strategic direction • Description of Gartner Group’s Hype Cycle • Case study – VCU 1998 - present • Problem at VCU in 1998 • How Linux became a solution • Outcomes of Linux selection • Prospects for the future • Relevance of the case study to other situations

  3. Hype – No doubt!

  4. Hope – For some… • “Linux is real and Linux is ready for real business.” • Sam Palmisano, IBM President and COO, Linux World, January, 2001 • “Linux is many, many years away from being an enterprise-ready operating system that can compete with, and challenge, the Windows platform” • Doug Miller, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Windows Server Group, interview with eWEEK before heading to Linux World, January, 2001

  5. Strategic Direction – For others… • Google • Burlington Coat Factory, Auto Zone • Lawson, Inc – Japanese convenience stores • Hess Oil, Conoco Oil, Royal Dutch Shell • Boeing

  6. Which describes Linux? • Hype? • Hope? • Strategic Direction?

  7. Gartner’s Hype Cycle

  8. What to do? • How do you minimize the risk of adoptinga highly hyped but unproven technology without ignoring it completely?

  9. The Problem at VCU in 1998 • Demands for computing resources were outstripping capacity • Web-based course materials • Computationally-intensive research • Growing web demands • Limited equipment funds severely challenged the ability to meet each of these needs

  10. First Step • Dramatic and rapid growth in Web Course in a Box overloaded aging SGI IRIX server • Options: • Replace with another SGI or comparable Unix server at cost of ~$20,000 • Replace with Linux server at cost of ~$5,000 • No choice but Linux

  11. Early Success • Dramatic performance improvement • Zero problems over next 6 months

  12. Next Move • Planned replacement of 1 major web server, another SGI Irix server • Success with Web Course in a Box server gave us confidence to select Linux • Dramatic performance success • Dramatic cost success

  13. Major Changes • Web rapidly growing • Plan to merge separate campus web servers while replacing 2nd major web server, an IBM RS6000 AIX server • Budget did not limit options • Committed to all Linux for web servers

  14. Decision Time • Demand for computationally intensive research overwhelmed SGI Origin 2000 server • Plan to merge separate campus research servers • Options: • Add 8 processors to SGI at cost of ~$110,000 • Purchase 32 processor Linux Beowulf cluster at cost of ~$70,000

  15. Decision Time • Cost advantage clear, but • Who was using Beowulfs and how successfully? • NIH, NSF in numerous locations • U. of New Mexico, Ohio Supercomputing Center, NYU Medical School, Princeton, U.S. Air Force Academy • What applications run well? • Coarsely parallel applications using MPI and PVM • Any comparison data versus more traditional platforms? • Amerada Hess Oil • U.S. Air Force Academy • Does VCU have applications that will run well on Beowulf? • 4 of 5 most CPU intensive applications should run well

  16. Hard Sell • Accused of having been sold on the hype • Facts persuaded • Low risk, high value now • Proven success on VCU applications • Dramatic cost benefit • Potential major long term benefits

  17. Outcomes • Linux Web successes • superior performance and cost savings met needs and left room for growth • Linux Beowulf successes • Comparable, sometimes superior performance • Met current needs with room for growth • Linux Beowulf problems • Implementation slow • Adoption slow

  18. Prospects for Future • In position to adopt Linux for additional needs if applications continue to develop • Web • Implementing Blackboard v5 w/ Oracle • Implementing Java Application Server • Research Computing • Bioinformatics • Visualization? Statistical analysis? Database apps? • LAN servers -- ? • Desktop -- ? • Cost savings will continue to be dramatic

  19. Relevance Beyond Linux? • New technologies can provide great benefits… • …but with great risks • Always will be pushed to implement the newest hyped technology • Generalizing this case study gives a framework for • deciding which new hyped technologies to buy into • minimizing your risk • positioning yourself to take advantage of the technology should the hype prove real

  20. The Framework • Decide which new technologies to implement • Carefully evaluate the immediate usefulness or benefit of the technology in the organization before adoption • Minimize your risk • Implement the technology where there is a need or benefit now • If there are no further benefits, eliminate or don’t grow the technology • Position yourself to take advantage of the technology should the hype prove real • Experience and expertise gained allows you to extend use of the technology rapidly

  21. Questions or Comments? Jim Bostick Virginia Commonwealth University Jim.Bostick@VCU.EDU

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