The trouble with Ubuntu Server for beginners

At one point or another, any web publisher who is hosting web sites elsewhere will be tempted to bring a few of them closer to home, say, on a web server located downstairs, in a work-at-home office.

And when that happens, operating system-related choices need to be made.

Sure, there’s Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 or Apple’s MacOS X Leopard Server which come with their fair share of goodies but both are somewhat mediocre —and prohibitively expensive— compared to UNIX and Linux-based alternative, which are the crowned server room favorites.

So after dabbling around in either Windows or Mac server offerings for a while, initially weary of the “nix” alternatives, web publishers will likely cozy up to the idea of firing up such a box, namely to have access to the vast universe of options related to Apache, PHP and MySQL, running a rock solid, non-bloatware OS.

By the way, Apple came real close to building a winner with it’s MacOS X Leopard Server but it falls short on just about every count, the moment you try to go further than what Apple expected you to do with your server.

For instance, GD and ImageMagick aren’t available and installing them is the proverbial equivalent of landing men on the moon.

Furthermore, FTP management is a complete and utter drag since they have to be linked to “users” and only 10 seats come with the US$500 version. Yes, it’s lame. Ditto for email. And just trying to make domain name aliases redirect correctly is a complete waste of time. In other words, Leopard tried but it failed.

And that’s, in part, why UNIX or Linux alternatives seem so enticing. Most people end up in the Linux camp and the Ubuntu Server build feel like a natural winner. After all, Ubuntu desktop is quite impressive so the server edition should deliver the same kind of experience, right? Wrong! Ubuntu’s Server Edition, like many other Linux Server-oriented releases come without a GUI.

No graphic user interface makes the download shorter and the OS lighter but it condemns the web publisher, the one firing up Linux on a black PC box, in his basement office, to typing long, hardly understandable commands even geeks find tedious for jobs that could be much more easily handled… through a GUI.

This is going to drive 5% of the “nix” gurus crazy but 95% of the would-be “nixers” are completely stunned, at that point when the Ubuntu Server installation states that it has finished and all that’s offered to the user is a black screen and a prompt line. Users are going “What is that?” and they basically scrap the whole thing, install Windows and use WAMP or XAMPP, half-way solutions which lack raw power but come with an comprehensive interface where some productivity can actually occur.

And then, UNIX and Linux gurus continue to question themselves why the “nix” adoption rate is stalling, even as their archenemy, Microsoft’s Vista is the epitome for bloatware and costly licensing fees.

The problem, with UNIX and Linux servers has everything to do with no GUIs or very darn poor GUIs with very little comprehensive server controls, if any. Sure, a user could type “apt-get install kde” into the command line and install a GUI but it wouldn’t sport anything to control the server stuff so it’s basically pointless.

So the message to the “nix” crowd is: throw in a GUI —with server-specific controls— that the GUI-addicted web publishers will digg or risk losing countless would-be converts who hit a wall when they see how utterly unwelcoming these GUIless servers are, for them.

Let’s assume the message will be heard and something will be done about the regularly decried GUI issue, on OSs like Ubuntu Server Edition. The guys developing Ubuntu releases are some of brightest people around and perhaps that’s a problem (if such a thing is even possible) because they seem to underplay the fact that web publishers aren’t all guru-level “nixers” and that’s seriously holding back their adoption rate.

But there’s a ray of hope.

Yes, a bright light is shining on some Linux distributions, like CentOS, through the use of VirtualMin which is a free and paid mixed offering that delivers the kind of Linux-server handling which should come STANDARD with all distributions, such as Ubuntu’s Server Edition.

Users can also opt for Webmin but it’s not going to win any beauty contests soon, as far as its interface is concerned. The engine underlying the Webmin script, however, is as reliable as the Linux OS itself. A good interface designer would do that project a lot of good.

UNIX and Linux are wonderful operating systems and once they’re setup and somewhat manageable through a web interface like VirtualMin, they offer the utmost in power, stability and versatility… but one has to get to that point and it’s not easy, right now.

Once the “nixers” figure out a way to make their server-oriented OS release interesting for human beings, their success, for that important niche, will grow exponentially.

Tags: unix, linux, open source, free, server os, servers, operating systems, nix, nixers, linux gurus, linux experts, linux server, unix server, ubuntu server, centos, virtualmin, webmin, windows server, leopard server, mac server, macos x, manageability, stability, gui, graphic user interface, guis, user interfaces

Business IT and cloud computing

IT executives, in organizations of all sizes, are growing more familiar with “cloud computing”, the made-up expression which illustrates a particular phenomenon where companies can run almost every information system they rely on without owning any tech equipment.

Businesses can therefore rent access to applications and IT infrastructure that reside on the internet, paying for them on either a subscription -or- a per-use basis while providing employees with access to information from anywhere, at any time, with nothing more than a connected device.

Wether IT folks are for the cloud or not, the very idea sounds great. No more headaches for software updates, no more server farms to monitor, no more growing storage requirements or any such “technical” worries. The cloud is sold as infinitely expandable so a typical “cloud-enabled” company can focus on what it does best while leaving the data management to the cloud-centric professionals.

In itself, this is a significant shift in the way the internet is used but the cloud story gets even more interesting when you consider it may hold the promise for transforming the role of IT within the business. Letting an external service provider sweat issues like server capacity, networked storage and bandwidth means the internal IT staff (on the company payroll) may shed some “hands-on” weight while filling new positions with IT strategists who worry more about data accessibility than adding more hard drives to the company data center.

This colossal shift isn’t going to happen overnight and chances are IT’s more technical bunch will likely leave companies to go work for the service providers, catering to the growing crowd of cloud-minded companies.

While we usually think of business computing as a desktop computer thing, cloud computing may also prove to be an ideal strategy for reaping the full benefits that mobile devices, when properly used, can deliver, namely by allowing companies to essentially push their IT environment out to employees rather than employees having to get access to the IT environment.

The cloud computing future may hold many promises but theory can sometimes hit a brick wall named “reality”. When it comes to cloud computing, just because it holds promises doesn’t mean it’s going to translate in practical solutions for real business tech challenges — at least, not anytime soon.

If anything, cloud computing serves as a reminder that computing models constantly evolve. As companies face increasing pressure to be more agile than the competition, they’ll be forced to adapt to changing computing models to stay competitive… and profitable.

For those who feel like cloud computing is their thing, there are security risks which can’t be swept under the proverbial rug. For instance, how would you feel if your companies’ data was dumped alongside other companies’ data? What happens if a technical glitch grants another company full access to your data? Will you even be warned it happened? Relying on strangers to handle your data is a typical C-level decision and it’s not just about the money savings, either.

Nevertheless, some companies are happy to deal with the glitches in exchange for the potential benefits of cloud computing. Big players like Salesforce (think: SaaS) and NetSuite (ERP, CRM, e-commerce), Amazon with its S3 and Elastic Compute Cloud offerings as well as IBM and Google (Google Apps, anyone?) are paving the way for a more dynamic cloud computing future.

The final on cloud computing might be that in the event this cloud thing sticks, it’ll help IT transform from a perceived technology cost center into a strategic business asset as companies likely apply hybrid models that lie between the proprietary data centers (for highly critical data) and the cloud (for everything else).

If anything, we’re seeing the cloud computing phenomenon unfold before our very eyes and for many venturing entrepreneurs, this, among other things, could come to be known as yet another web-related, big and fluffly cumulus-sized, opportunity.

Tags: cloud computing, outsourced hosting, servers, storage, saas, erp, crm, e-commerce, infrastructure

Cooling down your data center

If your servers are running in a hotter environment, you’re bound to suffer from performance drops which are plain bad for your business.

Cooling down your data center in order for your servers to run without heating too much makes so much sense that, right now, Liebert and HP (namely via the Cool Team) are preparing direct chip-cooling technologies destined for the commercial market.

Just over a year ago, Liebert acquired Cooligy which developed a server cooling approach that sprays chemically treated water onto a plate placed on top of a processor. In turn, over a hundred microchannels in the plate direct coolant onto a server’s processor hotspots. Cooligy says this technology is already in use in tens of thousands of workstations and it’s allegedly working pretty well.

To help you get the most from your cooling down efforts, here’s a quick list of things you should keep in mind:

• Go Dual – Make the switch from faster (and hotter) processors to cooler dual and multicore processors to instantly reduce heat generation.
• Alternate – Think up your data center floorplan so you alternate between hot and cool aisles to improve (and cool) the airflow.
• Get Closer – Move your cooling systems closer to your servers to ensure the cool air is concentrated in the right place.
• Look Underfoot – Be sure that perforated floor tiles are properly installed so they don’t impede the all important flow of cool air coming from under the floor.
• Plug Holes – Seal the holes and any other openings to prevent cool air from escaping and hot air from circulating properly.
• Aqua Savvy – Make greater (and smarter) use of water to cool the air in your data center or, even better, to directly cool down the servers.
• Small Works – Consider cooling your servers at the processor level.

Cooling down processors and electronic components with water (or other liquids) may scare some IT managers. The main reason being that liquids can damage computer components and cause fatal short circuits. Fortunately, spraying your server’s processors with liquid coolant (consider the SprayCool M-Series) can yield significant power advantages like doubling the amount of electricity available to power computers while significantly increasing the processing capability.

You could install your data center in the Canadian Arctic Circle and draft a policy of “letting the doors open all the time” but using water coolant on processors, at your current data center location, might be more practical.

Tags: data center cooling, chip cooling, coolant, liquid cooling, water cooling, web servers

Data centers’ costs and complications

Companies that have embraced the web revolutation usually own and operate their own data center.

At first, it makes perfect sense to keep all that critical data within the realm of the company.

We’re talking about customer data, accounting, sales and project management, research & development data, collaboration tools and of course, web-enabled resources destined to either prospective or exisiting customers, partners or employees.

After all, this data is so critical to the future of most companies, it would make little sense to outsource it to a rather remote and unknown “partner”. With this in mind, modern companies must realize that a well oiled data center is hard work and that the costs and complications must be factored in to stay on top of things.

For instance, here are a few rules of thumb when looking to establish a new data center, nowadays:

• Fewer & bigger – Choose larger systems which are considerably more efficient than multiple smaller systems.
• Power matters – Get the facts early on about how much power is available in your area and while you’re at it, obtain detailed records of usage by your current data center (if any).
• Location is still king – Picking the right site means looking for favorable power pricing and availability (frequent blackouts are bad for e-businesses).
• Keep your cool – If you pile up a lot of iron, consider directly attached and liquid cooling modules for specific server clusters.
• Virtualize intelligently – While it’s not widely advertised (for obvious reasons), some apps don’t virtualize at all while some of those that can come with license agreements that hinder any cost savings.

The electrical bill issue is currently costing way more than initially accounted for. Consider that between 38% and 63% of the power budget typically goes to servers while air conditioners eat up 23% to 54%.

Over time, data centers have become some of the most expensive real estate owned by companies. If you’re interested in opening up your own data center, you should know the upfront price tag for a 50k square foot facility with 40 watts of power per square foot runs anywhere between 20M$ and 25M$.

In the coming years, thoses prices should keep on rising so if you wish to build your data center now, it makes economic sense!

Intel and AMD need to bring down the power consumption of their chips. Intel is offering dual-core processors and they usually consume between 68 and 95 watts of power, which is a great improvement over the “regular” server processors burning between 130 and 150 watts. The lower the watts, the lower the cooling costs!

As you can see, outsourced hosting packages, for non-mission critical applications in your company, should be considered an awesome bargain because building up (and operating) your very own data center doesn’t come cheap!

Tags: data centers, web servers, web hosting, rack space, server cooling, computers, intel, amd