Only a decade ago, Linux was still a question in the minds of CIOs, but over that relatively short period of time the open source operating system has earned its place in the data center, said Jean Staten Healy, head of cross-IBM Linux strategy, during a presentation at LinuxCon 2010 in Boston last week. While 10 years ago, the role of Linux in the enterprise data center was still unclear, today Linux in the marketplace is a force that continues to gain in strength, supporting the diverse requirements of data-intensive workloads, virtual desktop solutions, prebuilt appliances, and cloud deployments models.
And the role of Linux is still evolving, said Healy. Linux continues to offer tremendous value, providing low acquisition costs and overall lower TCO, as well as flexibility through extensive hardware platform choice and strong ISV support, and enterprise-class security. In fact, she said, many customers are now choosing Linux for strategic reasons first, rather than cost savings.
Healy pointed to several examples of the inspiring progress that Linux has enabled. Linux supports smarter cities, like Dubuque which is benefiting from a Linux-based cloud and analytics from IBM, smarter medicine such as Astellas Pharma’s improving drug discovery with Linux clusters from system x, smarter oil and gas exploration with Shell, simulating more and speculating less, and smarter traffic, enabling the police of St. Petersburg to process more data with Linux and System z.
IBM offers clients complete Linux solutions, top to bottom, end to end — and Linux continues to help IBM innovate, Healy concluded, emphasizing that Linux provides tremendous value, has become strategic, and will continue to evolve to meet future needs and opportunities.
Canonical Brings IBM DB2 Software to Ubuntu on the Cloud
Canonical Ltd., the company behind Ubuntu, has launched a virtual appliance of IBM's DB2 Express-C software running on the Ubuntu cloud computing platform in private and public cloud configurations. Canonical also announced that IBM has completed validation of the full version of DB2 software on Ubuntu 10.04 Long Term Support Server Edition.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular guest infrastructure layers on cloud services like Rackspace and Amazon EC2. Increasingly, it is also being deployed as the host cloud infrastructure layer (as Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud) by private organizations and ISPs. IBM DB2 Express-C software will be available however Ubuntu is deployed on a cloud.
“A virtual cloud appliance consisting of Ubuntu and DB2 Express-C will enable customers to quickly and easily set up DB2 in both public and private cloud situations,” explains Neil Levine, vice president of Commercial Services at Canonical. “The full commercial support of DB2 running on Ubuntu and physical servers is also attractive to customers as a protection to their investment.”
IBM DB2 Express-C is a no-charge community edition of DB2 software. It is ideal for small businesses and multi-branch companies, as well as developers and business partners who serve these clients. DB2 Express-C can be setup quickly, is easy-to-use, and includes self-managing capabilities. It also embodies all of the core features of more scalable DB2 editions, including pureXML technology for powering Web 2.0 and SOA-based solutions.
"Customers are quickly adopting DB2 software on Linux for both on-premise and cloud computing deployments," points out Dr. Robert S. Sutor, vice president, Open Source and Linux, IBM Software Group. "The combination of Ubuntu and DB2 provides users with a highly integrated and tested virtual cloud appliance.”
To download Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, go here.
For more about IBM DB2 Express-C, go here.
The Linux Foundation Launches Open Compliance Program
The Linux Foundation, the non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, has launched the Open Compliance Program, a comprehensive initiative that includes tools, training, a standard format to report software licensing information, consulting and a self-assessment checklist that will help companies comply with open source licenses, increasing adoption of open source and decreasing legal FUD present in the marketplace.
The new program is intended to address a need that has arisen as the use of Linux and other open source software has exploded in recent years, especially in mobile and consumer electronics products. “As Linux has proliferated up and down the product supply chain, so has the complexity of managing compliance,” explains Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. “Our mission is to enable the expansion of free and open source software, so we created this program to give companies the information, tools and processes they need to get the most out of their investment, while maintaining compliance with the licenses governing the software.”
To address that complexity, the Linux Foundation has developed a set of tools, training curricula and a new self-administered assessment checklist that will allow companies to meet open source license obligations in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Open Compliance Program also includes a new data exchange standard so companies and their suppliers can easily report software information in a standard way, a crucial missing link in the compliance landscape. Founding participants of the program include enterprise computing and consumer electronics giants IBM, Adobe, AMD, ARM Limited, Cisco Systems, Google, Intel, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Novell, Samsung, Software Freedom Law Center, Sony Electronics and more than 20 other companies and organizations.
“By creating the Open Compliance Program, the Linux Foundation once again has stepped up to the challenge of providing the unifying force in an arena experiencing explosive growth, while decreasing the FUD around Linux and open source. IBM proudly supports the Open Compliance Program, which is an invaluable step in furthering the standards, tools, training and certification so needed by the industry,” notes Dan Frye, vice president, Open Systems Development, at IBM.
You can find out more about the program at the Open Compliance website.
Virtual Bridges Announces New VERDE Release
Virtual Bridges, and IBM partner and developer of the VERDE suite for desktop virtualization, has announced the availability of VERDE 4.2. Introduced in less than 3 months since the release of VERDE 4, the company says that the new version’s capabilities underscore the company’s commitment to meet market needs through rapid innovation.
New VERDE 4.2 functionality includes capabilities provided by iVERDE. Built on the open source iDesktop client, iVERDE allows iPad and iPhone users to access VERDE Windows 7, Windows XP and Linux desktops. iVERDE is fully integrated with the VERDE distributed connection broker and user console, providing a user experience identical to any other VERDE client. iVERDE has been contributed to the open source community under the GPL license, and is available through Apple’s AppsStore.
Enhanced security in VERDE 4.2 offers customers the ability to use industry-standard, two-factor authentication technologies, including RSA SecureID, Safeword and other RADIUS-based solutions to secure virtual desktop sessions.
And, with this new release, customers can personalize the VERDE Off-line VDI Type 1 client side hypervisor, LEAF (Live Environment Access Format), with specific branding and custom login scripts. This allows customers to personalize the login experience for end users using the VERDE client-side hypervisor. Virtual Bridges provides an integrated VDI and offline VDI (client side hypervisor) experience that works from the same gold image. VERDE LEAF also features bi-directional data synchronization that allows users to have a consistent environment whether accessing from VDI or offline VDI.
For more details, go here.
Open Source Community Paves Way for Developers to Improve Internet Access for the Aging, Disabled
Aiming to ease the barriers that the aging or people with disabilities experience in participating in internet activities, the OpenAjax Alliance (OAA) has announced it has created new open source tooling technology to help software developers make it easier these users to access and use Web 2.0-enabled business, government and consumer websites. The new tooling technology simplifies the way web applications are tested for compliance with current accessibility standards and guidelines, helping to speed up delivery of new accessible internet applications. Previously, developers had to complete their code and run various reports to determine if their application was compliant with accessibility standards. Using the new tooling technology, applications are tested dynamically, as developers build the code, providing real-time feedback on compliance.
A recent survey suggests that a full 69% of companies have realized measurable business benefits from Web 2.0 in their dealings with employees, customers, suppliers and industry experts. However, millions of people with sensory, age-related, and other disabilities worldwide have been unable to fully participate in this evolution because of barriers to access and use. OAA maintains the new tooling technology will help narrow the Web 2.0 digital divide for many segments of the global population by facilitating consistent, industry-wide interpretation of standards such as the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).
"From a development perspective, tooling has been the missing link," says Michael Squillace, co-chair of the OpenAjax Alliance Accessibility Tools Task Force and IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center software engineer. "WCAG 2.0 gave us the criteria for Web 2.0 accessibility, and technical specifications like WAI-ARIA helped us understand how to enable rich internet applications for accessibility. But, there hasn't been a reliable way to ensure compliance or validate correct implementation of specifications for accessibility. This rules format makes that possible. It's a significant achievement."
To learn more, go here.
This article was originally published at the IBM LinuxLIne
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