Compare and Contrast three separate and distinct linux vendors of Essay

Compare and Contrast three separate and distinct linux vendors of workstation and server - Essay Example The cost of availability and after-sales support of the three vendors will also be analyzed. Most importantly, any hidden charges or licensing fees as required for subscription of Microsoft applications will also be reviewed. Finally, a recommendation in choosing Linux and the reasons behind preferring Linux over Microsoft will also be provided. Moreover, the feasibility in using Linux workstation and servers will be analyzed which will provide the key benefits that can be experienced by the enterprises. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 3 Introduction 4 Thesis Statement 5 Red Hat Enterprise Workstation 5 Red Hat Enterprise Server 9 SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation 11 SUSE Enterprise Server 15 Oracle Linux Workstation/Server 18 Conclusion 21 References 22 25 Introduction Organizations around the world are looking for better alternatives to Microsoft due to the introduction of one of the most controversial licensing agreements in May, 2001. The licensing progr am was introduced to promote the rights and to ensure maintenance of software which was named Software Assurance (SA). The experience Microsoft had after the development of this licensing program made them stall the releases of other licensing programs subsequently. The variance nature of modern day industries did not accept the new program thereby, making the company to modify the program (BetaNews Inc, 2012). Business organizations typically are different from consumers which brought software without signing any contract. However, organizations required to enter into a multi-year volume licensing contracts. Prior to the release of this agreement, existing customers were provided a discount while upgrading their software based on their contract. However, new customers had to pay full price for the software intended to buy. With the introduction of SA, the customers had to pay Microsoft 29% of the full license price each year for upgrading desktop software and 25% for server softwar e. Furthermore, customers were required to buy the upgrade rights at the same time while purchasing the new software, before they actually needed it (BetaNews Inc, 2012). Thus, business organizations were facing lots of hardships with the new licensing agreement and therefore, started looking for better alternatives. In this regards, Linux is one of the most preferred options due to certain advantages possessed over Microsoft. For instance, Linux is an open source and free software which provided customers the opportunity to develop the visualization mechanisms to enhance the performances. Furthermore, Microsoft consumers who did not posses volume licensing agreement were not allowed to install software in virtual machines running on the same organizations. However, with Linux, users can deploy purchased software to multiple machines with no additional cost (Gabriel Consulting Group Inc, 2009). Thesis Statement The study will provide a contrasting analysis of Linux vendors, namely, Red Hat, SUSE and Oracle software on the basis of reliability, performance, application, support and training, availability and cost of ownership. Moreover, the study will define the best distribution of workstation and server of Linux among its vendors. Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Reliability Red Hat Enterprise assures users to provide the best in class applications