Linux: foundation for future growth

Powerful, flexible and growing fast, Linux delivers a solid platform for data storage infrastructures
Linux is one of the fastest growing, most popular server platforms available today. Analysts' projections for Linux growth range from 28 to 35 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2001 to 2006 compared to other platforms that are expected to grow about 15 percent during the same period. With its exceptional flexibility, reliability and scalability, the power of Linux as a business platform is undeniable.

Linux is driving the next generation of e-business networks by giving companies open access to the continuous innovations being provided by the open source community. What's more, Linux offers freedom from the constraints of proprietary systems. This much is clear: Linux is open and ready for business.

Workload consolidation delivers impressive cost savings
In today's challenging economic climate, many businesses are looking for ways to do more with less. For this reason, one of the most popular uses for the Linux platform is server consolidation. By combining distributed workloads and applications onto streamlined systems, companies can reduce hardware and software costs, lower maintenance and support overhead, and simplify systems management-for rapid return on investment (ROI) and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). When consolidating server infrastructures on Linux, businesses can enjoy impressive cost savings-all on a flexible, open platform based on industry standards.

Storage consolidation offers significant business efficiencies
Storage consolidation, similarly, unites hardware, software, services and systems with sound storage management principles. The key objective of storage consolidation is to achieve higher efficiencies and better returns through end-to-end business and infrastructure optimization, making storage an important element to consider when evaluating workload consolidation.

Storage consolidation goes a long way toward improving the manageability and scalability of storage systems. By simplifying storage infrastructures, consolidation makes it easier for administrators to manage growth, respond quickly to changing business needs and reduce the amount of time spent on deployment and configuration. In addition, thanks to technologies such as RAID (redundant array of independent disks) and clustering, consolidation practices help deliver highly available and fault-tolerant storage for continuous and reliable data access, sharing and backup.

Linux-enabled storage solutions support impressive business efficiencies in the form of low TCO and high ROI, increased openness and flexibility for highly interoperable storage solutions, and the reliability, scalability and security required by vital data systems. For businesses seeking workload consolidation based on Linux, the evaluation of Linux-enabled storage solutions and consolidation is the next natural step in a decidedly beneficial business process.

Linux delivers the power of open platform storage
For many organizations, one of the most appealing aspects of Linux is its open platform structure. Linux enables businesses to build capable, high-end systems using commercial, off-the-shelf and open-source software with easy attachments to a wide array of storage technologies-so companies can avoid investing in proprietary infrastructures that lock them in to a single or limited number of vendors.

Because of its open platform structure, Linux-enabled storage allows customers to expand their storage infrastructures to accommodate changing business needs within budget constraints-without paying a premium for proprietary operating systems with complicated licensing agreements. In this manner, Linux-enabled storage allows for predictable technology investment and low TCO.

Linux also delivers solid reliability, availability and security. By combining the reliability legacy of UNIX systems with open source technology, Linux delivers a flexible platform to support even the most demanding business processes.

IBM lays the foundation for Linux-enabled storage
IBM delivers networked storage providing cost efficiencies and continuous operations to its customers, making IBM storage and Linux a natural fit. IBM TotalStorage products offer companies an extensive array of Linux-enabled storage hardware and software solutions that-in combination with the IBM product line-meet virtually any customer need while exploiting the benefits of open-source, heterogeneous environments made possible through Linux.

IBM has one of the most extensive portfolios of Linux-enabled storage offerings in the industry, including direct attached storage, network attached storage (NAS), storage area networks (SANs), tapes and storage management software-all ready for rapid deployment in pretested, documented and supported configurations. Because IBM's Linux-enabled storage is prepared to support the reliability and performance required by mission-critical workloads, it provides an excellent foundation for workload consolidation.

Akamai chooses IBM TotalStorage on Linux
Akamai Technologies, Inc., the industry leader in Internet content delivery, has selected IBM TotalStorage products on Linux to meet the needs of its 3,500 customers worldwide. Akamai collects volumes of traffic data from over 12,900 distributed Web and streaming media servers worldwide and provides this data to its customers via Web-based reporting applications.

Akamai will move its existing network usage database to IBM DB2® Universal Database Enterprise-Extended Edition and the IBM TotalStorage FAStT500 Storage Server with Fibre Channel, a scalable architecture to handle the company's massive load and reporting requirements. By taking advantage of Linux on IBM NetfinityT, Akamai expects to be able to realize greatly reduced infrastructure costs as well as improved performance and reliability for its business-critical processes, all while delivering superior levels of service to its customers.

IBM and Linux help boost performance for Taiwan Securities Central Depository
When Typhoon Nali hit Taiwan Securities Central Depository (TSCD) in 2001, the company's distributed server infrastructure with limited failover suffered serious damage and was unable to support core applications-bringing critical securities-processing operations to a halt. To prevent such a disaster from occurring again-and to support service and performance for day-to-day business processes-TSCD sought help from IBM Global Services (IGS).

IGS created a solution that leveraged the company's existing servers and hardware-IBM zSeries servers, a tape library, an IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server and an IBM System-p5 (pseries) server-and consolidated workload onto the zSeries servers running Linux. TSCD and IGS also implemented IBM Tivoli Storage ManagerT software based on Turbo Linux, removable media Extended Remote Copy and Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy. Now, TSCD benefits from superior computing power, substantial performance improvement and a cost reduction of 30 percent.

Linux and storage form a winning combination
Taking advantage of the open source foundation, Linux-enabled storage solutions free businesses from the boundaries of closed, proprietary systems-for impressive savings in hardware, software and management. IBM TotalStorage solutions on Linux have the reliability and availability to power today's business-critical storage applications, especially in consolidated storage environments. IBM TotalStorage offers an extensive array of Linux-enabled storage hardware, software and services that tackle business challenges head on.