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Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

 
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Blaq Dawg
Occasional Contributor

Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

Hello fellas/ladies I know this might start a heated discussion, but honestly which is the "best" OS to use for networking?

I'm a windows fan but from what other professionals are telling me is that Windows is insecure. I'm thinking of changing to a Unix-like OS, but first I just want to know the pros and cons of it.

How can this problem be solved and improved?

Thanx
Dx o_0?
12 REPLIES 12
Steven E. Protter
Exalted Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

Best?

Depends on your critera.

They are all very strong in networking. I'd not use XP because its too complex and has security issues.

You forgot HP-UX.

SEP
Steven E Protter
Owner of ISN Corporation
http://isnamerica.com
http://hpuxconsulting.com
Sponsor: http://hpux.ws
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hpuxlinux
Founder http://newdatacloud.com
Blaq Dawg
Occasional Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

Thanx Steve for replying.

Yes, you are right that I forgot HP-UX, I have not become in contact with it that often. Actually I've just recently been introduced to it.

What are the pros and cons of HP-UX and Window XP?

Dx o_0?
Steven E. Protter
Exalted Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

HP-UX really is not terribly secure out of the box. It has the advantage of being secureable, which is what HP wants. In a closed network where security is not a problem, you don't need to do anything to it and its reasonably secure.

With security_patch_check, Bastille and a few simple scripts written by Bill Hassell you can lock down an HP-UX system in a very understandable way.

Its simple, and doesn't involve the hundreds of megabytes of security patches requires to secure a Windows 2003 box. W2K3 was reasonably secure btw, but still had lots of holes in it that were exploitable.

I'm in my spare time a Windows 2003 admin and have a few hundred hours of experience using gui admin. I hate gui tools for admin, and prefer command line solutions. I don't have to fire up a vulnerable browser to patch HP-UX.

With the exception of Exchange, for which an open source version exists sthat can be compiled on HP-UX an HP-UX server can replicate or imitate all the functionality of a Windows server.

With a simple cookbook that takes a few hours to implement you can make HP-UX into a primary domain controller with Samba shares, and queues for most common printers.

The administration is elegant and understandable.

BTW you can do this with Linux, and I'm pretty sure you can do it with Solaris as well. Each OS has its pros and cons.

SEP
Steven E Protter
Owner of ISN Corporation
http://isnamerica.com
http://hpuxconsulting.com
Sponsor: http://hpux.ws
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hpuxlinux
Founder http://newdatacloud.com
Stuart Browne
Honored Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

*nod* I agree with pretty much everything SEP has said.

I've just got my hands on a Mac (*yay!*), and am starting to muck around with it. There's a learning curve, as it's underlying BSD is different from other releases.

It does all depend on what you're wanting to do with the machine in the end.

If you just want to do user-apps, stick with XP, making sure it's behind some well set up firewalls.

If you're wanting a server, drop XP like a hot potato and go for one of the Unix variants.

HP-UX and Solaris have well known histories and are actively updated on a regular basis. Same goes for the BSD's. Of course, all of these solutions come with a hefty $$$.

Linux is very fluid thing, but if you go for one of the Enterprise level products, all should be well (I personally despise Debian). Using something like CentOS gets the best of the Enterprise level product, without a pricetag at all.

Mac OSX as a server is, well, odd. I know a number of people swear by it, and are using more and more, but the security issues it's had in the past are just downright scary. I'd shy away from OSX as a server for a while yet. As a workstation though, I don't think you can go past OSX.. It's got the best of both worlds, and is quite affordable.

Just my thoughts..
One long-haired git at your service...
Muthukumar_5
Honored Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

For Networking,

I hope windows based systems are not competitive to *NIX platforms. May be we can add 2003 server.

You can select HP-UX platform for networking which is having good performance on that except security related.

I feel you can add one platform called freeBSD here which is having good performance and network related stuff(s).

--
Muthu

Easy to suggest when don't know about the problem!
dirk dierickx
Honored Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

if you are looking for a system for 'networking' (whatever that encompasses), i would not go for hpux (it doesn't make any sense).
xp does not have the best tcp/ip stack, even ms knows this and have rewritten it in vista (will it be better, we can only hope).
solaris 10 (not 9) does have a good networking stack, very performant.
the most secure network OS is OpenBSD, and NetBSD also deserves a look.
linux, the nice thing is that there are a few distro's around that will turn your machine into a FW or a router while taking the 'unix' layer away from you, which is nice if you don't want to learn unix but still have a powerful network device. http://www.ipcop.org/ http://www.m0n0.ch/wall/ http://smoothwall.org/ http://www.wifi.com.ar/cdrouter.html http://www.astaro.com/

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

Dear Blaq Dawg,

I personnally think that you're trying to win the contest : "The biggest Forum's Troll of the year".
Alan_152
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

Depends on whay you really need out of the box:

If I am running java services, then I go with Solaris.

If I'm going with a web server, then I run apache on a solaris, linux, or (sometimes) windows -- depending on the customer (I run apache on knoppix, myself).

If this is for a graphics or music studio, then Mac.

If I'm integrating into an existing MS environment, then I go with XP or linux with samba.

If I'm doing mail or dns, I am nonstandard and do windows (THAT should earn me some wrath from somebody).

If I want the system to work on the 1st try, I'll use MS-DOS.
Bill Thorsteinson
Honored Contributor

Re: Debian Linux vs. Solaris 9 vs. Mac OS X vs. Win XP

It all depends on what you want/need to
do. All have their uses.
Changing environments will have a learning
curve. You will likely also have to
abandon software which runs only on Windows.
Open Office is a decent replacment for
Microsoft Office.

Debian is very open source. Relatively,
secure out of the box, and easy to firewall
down to an even more secure configuration.
I recommend shorewall. For intalling
new sofware I recommend aptitude, which is
installed as part of the base install.
Software installation will pull in other
necessary packages over the net.
I use it heavily in development as
software is easy to come by and install.
It also avoids the delays required for
purchasing software.

HP-UX and Solaris are both proprietary
with the accompaning delay in software
upgrades. I find software installation on
both to be more complex than necessary.
Pretty well anything you can run on Debian
you can get or build for either.

I use Windows when require by proprietary
software packages.

For desktop use, I switch between Windows
and Debian. I would consider Mac OS X, but
it would require new hardware.