[WEB4LIB] RE: Advice on Linux

[Thomas Bennett]

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of os/platform/webserver and of
6371 servers how many libraries are these divided between.

Realize also, as already mentioned, sometimes others make decisions you have
to enforce.  For instance our library decided to purchased ILLiad (Inter
Library Loan Server) so now I have to support NT/IIS/MSQL7 because this is a
proprietary package(and with the problems I've had with it I refer to it as
the IDIot server).  On the other hand I run the library web server on a
Digital Alpha NT with Apache formerly Netscape Enterprise, but am most
pleased with my Linux/Apache and Linux/Zope.  I am looking forward to
putting Linux on the Alpha even if RH version 5.2 is the last supported
Redhat release for the Alpha 2100A.


Thomas
-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Thomas Dowling
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 10:38 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: Advice on Linux


At 10:13 AM 6/4/2002, Cantona, Eric wrote:
> >Let's make it a list discussion - Linux can be very >useful to
web-slinging
>librarians :)
>
>Agreed.  Apache+Linux is an unstoppable web server.  More features and
>better performance than IIS+2000 but without the tragic security and
>reliability flaws.
>
>And of course, total cost = $0.00


And yet, mind-bogglingly*, the percentage of libraries running their web
sites on Win32/IIS continues to climb.  From the most recent Libweb crawl:

   6371 total servers:
     2555 Apache Servers (40.1%)
     2563 Microsoft Servers (40.22%)
     497 Netscape/IPlanet Servers (7.8%)
     799 Other Servers (12.54%)

IMO, that's 2563 libraries that either make bad decisions or allow bad
decisions to be made for them.  (Then there's the 68 libraries still
running CERN or NCSA servers, who don't make decisions at all.)


Thomas (*Low Boggle Threshold) Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu