Thursday, March 2, 2000

Universities Turn to Linux for an Inexpensive Operating System By KELLY McCOLLUM Providing dependable software for the hundreds or thousands of computers connected to a typical campus network can be a daunting and expensive task. Some institutions are finding relief by customizing their own versions of Linux, the free computer operating system. Linux has long been used on college campuses by researchers and computer scientists. But computer departments have usually not provided technical support for it, and campus servers and computer labs are most-often stocked with Unix, Windows NT, or Macintosh machines. When Warren Jasper, a professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State University, needed new computer systems for his research, he says, "what I found is that I just wasn't getting the kind of computer support I was needing, but I couldn't afford to replace the servers." So Mr. Jasper and a team of students modified a version of Linux so that it would work with the university's Unix-based computer system, called Eos. An operating system controls the basic functions of a computer and is required for the use of other programs such as word processors and Web browsers. Linux is free because it was developed by volunteers rather than by a company. Linux also is "open source" software, meaning that -- unlike the case with most other operating systems -- its users have access to its computer code and are permitted to make changes and improvements in it. Mr. Jasper's new version, Eos Linux, can be installed on inexpensive PC's but provides the same capabilities as the expensive Unix computers that run the Eos system. After Eos Linux was finished, Mr. Jasper began distributing the software on his campus for other users. The university's engineering school donated $8,000 to put the package on CD-ROM's and print up some instruction manuals. The university bookstore began selling the CD's, and within a few months, says Mr. Jasper, EOS Linux was the second most popular operating system in the dormitories, behind Windows. In the past year, more and more popular computer programs, and even video games, have become available for Linux. In turn, since a computer can only run software designed for its operating system, those new programs have made Linux itself more popular. But, says Mr. Jasper, "the technology is really not the story. The story is the money." He says the university tried adapting Windows NT to work with the Eos system, at a cost of more than $500,000. He says with commercial licensing fees, that software would have cost several hundred dollars per computer, while the Eos Linux CD's sold for less than $6. The University of Michigan's College of Engineering has undertaken a similar project for its students. The college's computer department decided to consider Linux as an operating system for computer labs and student computers. But, says Chris Wing, a programmer in the department, Linux was limited in the number of users a system could support. Mr. Wing modified the operating system to overcome that limitation, then began making other changes to make Linux more secure and more like the college's other computer systems. Aside from cost, he says, Linux offers a number of advantages over other operating systems. "It's a Unix system, and Unix is fairly well-suited for the scientific and technical community," he says. "There are a lot of features in Unix that make it very useful for those doing research." And while Linux is similar to Unix, there are also differences. "There's a lot of software that's becoming available on Linux first," Mr. Wing says, making the operating system more useful than Unix systems. He adds, "Linux runs on just about anything, so it's well-suited for people that aren't going to buy new equipment but want to make more use of old equipment." Mr. Wing says security was a chief concern in designing Michigan's version of Linux, since the operating system's increasing popularity has made it a more appealing target for attack. He says few inexperienced Linux users know how to configure it properly. He says his version is by default set to be as secure as possible. Mr. Wing says the new version of Linux is a logical step for Michigan, where it has been widely used for several years and is even used to teach some programming courses. "We use Unix," he says, "and this is to a big degree an evolution of our use of Unix and a way to make it more accessible to the students and faculty." Background article from The Chronicle: The 'Open-Source Movement' Turns Its Eye to Science (11/5/1999) Opinion: Information Technology at a Crossroads: Open-Source Computer Programming 10/29/1999 Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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