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Ubuntu's Balancing Act
October 10, 2008
A strong endorsement from Wikipedia's CTO
Posted by: Glyn Moody
One thing that has always struck me in the free software world is the power of example. Once it emerged that Google ran on GNU/Linux, there could be no more argument about the latter's suitability for the enterprise. Similarly, MySQL's adoption by just about every Web 2.0 company meant that it, too, could no longer be dismissed as underpowered.
I think that the following could mark a similar milestone for the business use of Ubuntu:
In a few months, Wikipedia will finish a major transformation by moving from a combination of versions of Red Hat products to Ubuntu Linux on all 400 of its servers that support the website.
The changeover began in 2006 as the growth of the site took off, said Brion Vibber, CTO of Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit group that supports the online Wikipedia encyclopedia and other projects.
"We had a mix of things, some Red Hat 9, some Fedora, several different versions," Vibber said. The group used a custom-scripted installation procedure, but found that having a multitude of versions was more difficult to maintain for its small five-person IT staff around the world.
The move to all-Ubuntu was primarily done with the goal of "making our own administration and maintenance simpler," he said. "We decided that we want to standardise on something."
...
"It definitely has gotten a lot simpler," Vibber said. Mass upgrades can be done more easily and the datacentre can be managed as a unit, he said. "We can run the same combination everywhere and it does the same thing" and runs the same software. "Everything is a million times easier."
This is an incredibly strong endorsement. Not just in terms of what is being said - “everything is a million times easier” - but also who is saying it, Wikimedia's CTO. It will be interesting to see how Canonical/Ubuntu manages the balancing act of meeting the particular needs of business – ease of administration and maintenance - while maintaining its reputation as an innovator on the desktop.
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About the author
Glyn Moody Glyn Moody's look at all levels of the enterprise open source stack. The blog will look at the organisations that are embracing open source, old and new alike (start-ups welcome), and the communities of users and developers that have formed around them (or not, as the case may be).
Comments received
devnet said on Saturday, 11 October 2008
If that is all it takes, the Mandriva made it a long time ago by winning governments and large rollouts in Europe.
Ubuntu is late to the party with this logic.
Glyn Moody said on Saturday, 11 October 2008
I think this is different. It's not a matter of getting some big contracts, it's about getting instantly-recognisable househould names - Google, Amazon, Wikipedia. I don't think that Mandriva has ever had any of those, which is why Ubuntu's announcement is significant.
autocrosser said on Monday, 13 October 2008
I'm sure that Wikipedia will be using 8.04 (Hardy Heron) as it is the most current LTS release & will most likely upgrade every 2 to 3 years with the next LTS rollout.
As a alpha/beta tester for Ubuntu, I don't see a problem--we release every 6 months so the desktop user is always up with the latest/greatest & provide backports/security fixes for 3 years for the LTS releases so enterprise users have a stable, yet current base.
The next LTS is due 10.04, so there is a year period to move from one LTS to the next. During that period, there have been 3 "normal" desktop releases to polish the next major release.
I welcome the thought that Wikipedia has joined with Ubuntu & look forward to continuing to help creating world-class software!!!!
William Gates said on Monday, 13 October 2008
This article turned out to be very interesting. By the time I finished it i was soak and wet in sweat with my pants around my ankles.
Now I'm unmotivated and hungry.