8 Crazy Things You’ve Heard Before If You Work with Linux

Discover some of the misconceptions surrounding Linux and what you can actually achieve with them

There used to be common misunderstandings around Linux but not so much anymore. Nevertheless, if you’ve ever worked with Linux you’ll probably still recognise some of these strange misconceptions. Are you able to add any more to the list?

“Linux is totally secure and fail safe”

Discover some of the misconceptions surrounding Linux and what you can actually achieve with them

There used to be common misunderstandings around Linux but not so much anymore. Nevertheless, if you’ve ever worked with Linux you’ll probably still recognise some of these strange misconceptions. Are you able to add any more to the list?

“Linux is totally secure and fail safe”

Not true, but let’s be realistic… nothing in life is fail-safe. That said, Linux has had less focus from hackers than Windows

The solution is to audit your Linux infrastructure. Done regularly this provides invaluable feedback and peace of mind for CIOs and IT managers.

“Linux always crashes.”

Again.. not true!

In fact, Linux has proven to be one of the most robust and reliable systems out there – particularly when implemented against best practice strategy, architectures, service and systems management; and optimised for the business application of choice. Of course we are biased – but major organisations such as the National Security Agency, Google, Virgin and Amazon have all built their huge and reliable infrastructures using Open Source Software.

“I can’t run enterprise-class software on a Linux server.”

Take Red Hat, for example, which has an ecosystem of over 1,000 ISVs. Many Tier 1 applications, including SAP, also have Linux as their platform of choice. If an application has not been ported to Linux, which is unlikely, you can still benefit from Linux by running your app in an Open Source virtual machine hosted on Linux.

“It’s great now, but what about the future?”

What about it?

Linux is independent of hardware. It can run on anything that is around now and in the future. One of the outstanding features of Linux is how easy it is to update. Any bug or security flaw is found straight away and fixed. Open Standards, Open Source!

“It’s so easy to hack a Linux box with a root account.”

I don’t think so.

Tools for running regular security scans of your own network are already built into the Linux operating system. Linux is so secure that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 features Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), a joint project developed with the National Security Agency (NSA).

“Linux isn’t configurable or adaptable.”

Are you sure about that?

Linux distributions give the user full access to configure just about any aspect of their system. Linux also allows the user to automate just about any task. Advanced scripting and high-level programming are standard features. Most operations are accessible via these scripting options. Linux also offers the ultimate in configurability: the source code, to be modified as you see fit.

“Linux isn’t international.”

Who told you that?

Linux is part of the greater Open Source Software community and is available in 1000s of languages. This consists of thousands of developers worldwide, private individuals and organisations from IBM to Red Hat, Canonical to SuSe. It is the world’s fastest growing operating system and it’s here to stay.

“There’s no commercial support for Linux servers and related software.”

Oh really?

This was the first misconception and despite the enterprise assurances available for Linux today, it is the most persistent. LinuxIT was established to deliver Best Practice Linux processes including service and systems management. That’s a fully integrated service offering designed specifically for the manifestation of Linux environments that applies the highest quality industry standards of ITIL, FCAPS and/or more progressive methodologies like DevOps ensuring you have absolute peace of mind and get the most from your Linux investment.

Another area that is surrounded by misconceptions is the Cloud. Discover how Cloud services can benefit your by downloading: The Ultimate Guide to Managed Services in the Cloud

This post first appeared on the LinuxIT blog