On Tue, 26 Feb 2002 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Could anybody help with some constructive comments on which OS would be > the better for running ISP related services ( web, dns radius etc ) ? > Which one is better for stability, available software, scalability ?
That's a pretty loaded question. > Currently we use RH 7.2 for some tasks within our network, but those > within the company with decision making ability are investigating the > possibility of replacing it with Solaris 8. The general consensus is that > with Open Source everybody has access to the source, so no guarantee can > be made for the security of the software, and back doors into the system > may be possible. I'm under the understanding that the kernel is basically > secure, and it is the software packages that are installed that can > introduce security concerns on a machine. Just the opposite. The Open Source model means the software is _more_ secure, not less. Why? Because software is scutinised by literally thousands of people, and any holes are found, exploited and patched a _hell_ of a lot faster than in a closed source environment. Microsoft is a perfect example of the "security by obscurity" concept. They try and hide their holes - refusing to admit they exist even AFTER someone finds them - in the hope that people will leave them alone. The software packages you're going to install on Solaris are the same ones you're doing to install on Linux - BinD, Apache, etc - so there's no difference in the security levels here. > Current machines are all Intel boxes, but management is looking at sparc > as well _This_ is where Solaris comes out on top. Sun hardware is so much more scalable and reliable than Intel boxen - regardless of running Linux on it or Solaris - that most serious ISP type operations prefer to use it. YMMV - it all comes down to how much money you want to throw at your servers etc to pay for reliability and scalability. DaZZa -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
