OStatic

I'm sure there's got to be something to the observation that many ideas that are conceived in purity -- capitalism, socialism, open source, closed source, democracy, and even the massive, single platform server farm that sits in a building with specialized cooling and dedicated power and telecommunications lines -- only start to take a general, strong, enduring grip, one with impact, when there's a certain element of an opposing (or at least fundamentally different) approach introduced somewhere in the mix. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's more often a positive step, where the original good idea strikes out into the world and makes its stand.

Maybe these hybridizations are intentional, or maybe they just sort of happen over time -- in the case of network configurations and licensing of software running thereon, it's just as likely to be one or the other (or both) that leads to a mixed network. Taking an unscientific (and quick) look back at Canonical's recent survey on the Ubuntu Server market, the questions posed on platforms used in businesses invariably returned a sum greater than 100%, because so many organizations use multiple server (never mind desktop) environments. In this Ubuntu-specific and somewhat informal survey, it was also apparent that even if Active Directory use wasn't the leading directory service among the respondents, it was one of the more popular services.

This is in no small part why Likewise's software, geared to simplify managing and securing mixed networks using Active Directory services, is now being offered to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 users. The Enterprise version of Likewise's software will be integrated with the SUSE Desktop and available through SUSE 11 repositories.

Sometimes all-in-one gets a bad wrap. Think about it. They've seen some major improvements over the years but there are still many all-in-one printing/scanning/copying peripherals on the market that don't do any of those tasks particularly well. Outside of technology, think of department stores. Driving out small businesses is a downside, and yet, they're still so annoyingly convenient.

There are times when a streamlined, all-in-one approach to a job is a huge advantage, making simple tasks easier to complete, reducing the chances of error, and taking the stress out of day to day processes, whether they're routine or brand new. Take server management, for instance. Systems administrators have the somewhat unenviable task of shepherding servers (both physical and virtual), watching over the daemons and services they run, with their flock located down the hall, across town, across the country, or any combination thereof.

One of the ideas driving Canonical's Landscape software is to ease, and minimize the risks involved in routine tasks that systems administrators face when managing multiple Ubuntu-powered servers. Landscape not only allows administrators to monitor all in-house server instances through its interface, but also enables them to keep tabs and manage Ubuntu servers deployed on Amazon's EC2 cloud environment.