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Open Source-The Reality

The term ‘Open Source’ is used to describe software that is developed through public collaboration by peers. It refers to computer software whose source code is publicly available for others to access, share, and to modify as they see fit. For software to fit the standard definition of Open Source, it has to be freely redistributable, must include its source code and must allow modifications and derived works. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) which owns the Open Source certification mark also requires open source software licenses to be technology neutral, and not tied to any specific software product. The open source software movement was driven, at least in the early days, by companies and users looking to get away from the steep license fees and the vendor lock-in associated with proprietary software products licensed from major software vendors. Over the years, open source software products have become widely accepted and are today part of the software portfolio at many companies.

Open Source Myths

Though open source software has been around for some time now, several myths still surround its use, especially within commercial business environments. One of the most common myths associated with open source software is that it is too unreliable and unsupported. Neither is true. Open source code is often created by software professionals, academics and researchers. Programs are constantly tweaked, refined and supported over several years and are at least as reliable as commercial software. In many cases, commercial vendors use open source code to build their own software, which they then support like any other product of theirs. Another common myth surrounding open source software is that large enterprises do not use the software. This again is untrue because over the past few years, many enterprises have become extensive users of open source products that are often sold and supported by their major technology vendors. The fact that open source is free, has also led to the myth that the software therefore, must be inferior to commercial products. As with the other myths, this one is off target as well, because numerous research studies have shown open source products to match commercial products feature-for-feature. Some other common misconceptions about open source software relate to legal concerns and the ability of the software to support mission-critical applications.

The Benefits of Open Source

Those who get past such myths quickly discover that using open source software can have many benefits. One of the biggest of course, is cost. Open source products, even those that are distributed by commercial vendors, are significantly cheaper than proprietary software packages. Using open source products also eliminates the risk of being indefinitely tied to one vendor’s technology platform and product roadmap. Since open source products are the result of public collaboration, the products also undergo a lot more scrutiny and continuous enhancements compared to commercial products. As a result, they are also considered by many to be more secure, more auditable and more stable.

Limitations of Open Source

At the same time, open source has its limitations as well. The biggest has to do with the fact that open source software may not always be compatible with existing software products. As a result, introducing open source into a legacy environment could prove challenging. Another drawback with open source products is that they are not plug-and-play in the manner that shrink-wrapped commercial products are. In many instances, open source products have to be customised before it can work in a specific environment. Companies going the open source route for the first time could find the relative lack of support surrounding many open source programs, to be an issue.

A look at the future

Going forward, it appears almost certain that open source technologies are here to stay. Once dismissed as a passing trend by many, the open source movement has become a legitimate part of the software industry. Despite continuing misconceptions about the software, a growing number of companies are climbing on the open source bandwagon driven by cost, security and technology flexibility issues. As long as that happens, open source software will continue to thrive.

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Open Source Software – The Reality (553)

Below you will find my presentation at the “Server Virtualisation” conference held over at BrightTalk.

Network Optimisation is a critical component in the effective management of  information systems. Information technology is growing at an exponential rate – with more and more applications consuming greater amount of network bandwidth as well as business users producing larger volumes of data from these applications (which in a majority of cases has to flow through the corporate network). This continued growth adds to the strain of an already over-stressed network architecture within an organisation.

This situation is unlikely to improve as fast as the technology and computer usage rates increase. The only viable solution from the corporate management point of view is to improve the IT infrastructure and data flow management within the company.

The phenomenon is especially noticeable in the UK, which does not have the same high percentage of fibre optics per user as in North America and portions of Asia. While this problem is being actively addressed by British Telecom, there is a noticeable lag between the installation and implementation of an integrated solution using the high-capacity broadband communications.

This leaves the IT manager in a quandary: with the continued and projected growth of the IT network within the business community, competition for finite resources – e.g., the hardware network – becomes more than prudent; it is now imperative. Not helping the situation is the current economic climate. With the average business spending 10% of its budget to support IT operations, shaving percentage points off that amount can have a significant impact on corporate profits. While initial capital outlay may seem to be disproportionate – optimisation isn’t something readily apparent as a budget line item. However, when data flow management and systems engineering is laid out in spreadsheets and graphs, the exotic technical jargon and cryptic content is suddenly presented in a form that business managers, senior executives and upper-level corporate managers can readily understand, plan and promote to the wider organisation.

Network Optimisation starts at the individual workstation and winds its way to the server farm until it is shipped out onto the Internet or disseminated through the local area network (LAN). Tools in the form of software and hardware can go a long way to increase efficiency without compromising either security or data integrity. However, these tools on their own are of little value without organisations taking a real hard and serious look at their application estates and determining which applications could be consolidated, re-engineered (to reduce their data and network bandwidth footprints), replaced or even retired. Additionally, organisations need to scrutinise internal processes and, where necessary, update, re-design or even create new ones so that the people managing and using the network resources within the organisation are doing so more efficiently.

In the case of large corporate infrastructures, the use of a dedicated team of knowledgeable and qualified network analysts, architects and business specialists (who understand applications, infrastructure and data and can interface between the technical and the business communities) will ensure greater success in implementing network optimisation across the organisation. In any case, the end result should incorporate a usable and easy to understand graphic interface – and the appropriate throttles and regulators – to ensure load-balancing and employing the best value for the available resources. The days of simply adding more bandwidth without regard to the optimisation of data packeting and streaming are essentially gone.

The sooner the corporation takes a proactive approach to data flow management and improving the network hierarchy, the less work will be required to optimise in the future. Network Optimisation is not one of the steps that can be ignored. It is the 500-pound gorilla in the room and it isn’t going to go away by itself. An unfortunate axiom of IT is: “there is never time to do it right, but always time to do it over”.

Take the time. Analyse the problem, then implement the solutions. It is not too late – the last thing an organisation wants is the sudden realisation that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t daylight; it’s an on-coming train.

You can download this article in PDF format by clicking on the link below:

What is Network Optimisation? (675)