The Unix to Red Hat Cheat Sheet

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The Unix to Red Hat Cheat Sheet

September 15, 2016Blog, Insights, ISVs, News, Partner Enablement

Market Data and Trends

While popular and entrenched in some data centers, proprietary UNIX implementations (AIX, HP-UX, Oracle Solaris) continue to lose market share.
IDC predicts that Linux will be one of only two operating systems left standing. (The other is Microsoft Windows.)
Red Hat commands a 62 percent and growing share of the paid Linux server market.

Proprietary UNIX Strengths

Robust. Seen as an enterprise-class operating system. Tends to have a rock-solid reputation for robustness, scalability and security, and a loyal customer base.
Popular for core mission- and business-critical applications.
Innovative. New virtualization, resource management, reliability, and cloud-focused features and advancements continue to be developed.
Complete. Offers a rich set of tools for troubleshooting and management. Supports large files and file systems.
Service. All major vendors (HP, IBM, Oracle) have a large and professional sales force.

Proprietary UNIX Weaknesses

Proprietary UNIX platforms are expensive to acquire and maintain (SPARC, PARISC).
Running applications on proprietary UNIX platforms leads to vendor lock-in. For example, AIX, HP-UX, and Oracle Solaris are all closed operating systems.
Many UNIX vendors try to control customer technology purchases wherever they can do so. This can make customers uncomfortable.
Only one major UNIX implementation is available for x86 systems (Oracle Solaris), but it has limited support. ISVs are more likely to port to Red Hat Enterprise Linux before porting to Oracle Solaris on x86

Where Red Hat Wins

Broad industry support. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Tier 1 development platform for ISVs. New application features tend to be available on Red Hat Enterprise Linux first.
Open platform. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has emerged as the operating system of choice to leverage the benefits of open, industry-standard architectures. Red Hat works with all of the major hardware and software vendors to foster optimal performance. Red Hat is vendor and platform agnostic, does not compete with x86 hardware vendors, and supports customers regardless of the systems or storage they purchase.
Single platform: For physical, virtual, and cloud with seamless support for applications.
Efficiency: Migrating to Red Hat Enterprise Linux results in high ratios of servers and users per administrator, minimized downtime, faster deployment of new server and applications, and efficient resource utilization. http://www.redhat.com/f/pdf/235434_bank.pdf
Subscription model. Subscriptions give customers immediate access to the latest software innovations and help keep systems up to date. Access to extensively tested security patches and rapid response to potential security issues reduces the risk of security breaches and lost business due to downtime.
Integrated management. Red Hat Network Satellite and Smart Management enable systems to be provisioned, updated, configured, and monitored from one console with a single, cost-effective subscription.
Reduced TCO and rapid ROI: The expense associated with UNIX systems (licensing and support costs, legacy maintenance) cause organizations to seek alternatives.
Red Hat software, x86 servers, integrated management, and a pay-as-you-go subscription model reduce acquisition, upgrade, and maintenance costs.
Performance: Red Hat Enterprise Linux performs extremely well on x86 hardware, and continues to set industry benchmarks.
Familiarity: Similar features to UNIX make it easy to move.