May 15, 2000
My prior column (April 24, 2000) discussed revolutionary developments in hardware. This column is about evolution in OSes. Like biological evolution, OS development responds to predators and explores new niches in the ecology of computer systems. The phrase, "think of it as evolution in action" comes from Oath of Fealty, a science-fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Jerry is also Byte.com's lead columnist. (Oath of Fealty, published by Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-82802-9).
The evolution of operating systems has, in aggregate, given us new choices. They are more mature and support a much wider range of hardware than even a year earlier. In addition to Intel architecture, Linux supports Compaq Alpha, Sun SPARC, Hewlett-Packard and IBM architectures as well. The increasing maturity of free OSes and the broad range of available software has led users to see these new options as viable alternatives to the traditional vendor-supplied OS. Alternate office suites are available on most of those architectures. Applications that are ported to a widely available OS like Linux can make more sales and reduce programming and support costs, enabling reduced prices and increased profit.
How does this affect you? Most people start by using Intel or AMD-based personal computers with a Microsoft OS, but now other OS platforms offer new ways to provide compatible applications. Platforms based on x86 processors also have increased choice in software because of open source applications, many available for Windows users. New releases of BeOS and Linux can coexist with Windows 9x. Other office suites can exchange files with Windows Office applications. No longer is every business chained to Microsoft OS and software in order to do business.
Sun's free Star Office package for a wide range of platforms will interchange with MS Office applications. Corel Word Perfect Office on Linux and Word Perfect Suite 8 for Windows will also interchange, and Applixware has a similar packages. These office suites support interchange between Windows Office and Linux, Solaris, Mac, OS/2, and a number of Unix servers not based on Intel x86 processors. These large Unix servers can reduce costs by offering reliability, resistance to viruses, and scalability plus the benefits of central administration and backup.
None of this OS development has happened overnight. Linux is approaching 10 years, OS/2 is 12, and the 32-bit version is 8 years old. BeOS is 5 years old, the original BSD is more than 15 years and FreeBSD is close to 5 years. The granddaddy of operating systems is IBM's OS/360, which in its current incarnation as System/390, is just turning 36 this April. Yes folks, it does reach that far back.
Compare these numbers to Windows 9x at less than five years, NT at slightly more and Windows 2000 just being born. Some of the instability of Microsoft operating systems is simply due to its youth, and some is due to the huge amount of new code in each new version. Reliability takes time to develop. IBM offers mainframe systems with System/390 that are designed for five nines (99.999 percent) reliability in certain configurations. Five nines amounts to 5.25 minutes of downtime a year. This is a significant accomplishment, requiring redundant hardware and specific software. Don't expect your PCs to ever reach this level.
This is the question that jumps to mind for most people because when they bought their computers, Microsoft Windows came preinstalled. After all, if you can do everything you need under Windows, why complicate your life with a different OS? To answer this, I'll draw an analogy. There's an old carpenter's saying "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Similarly, if all you run is Windows, all you can run is Windows-compatible software. Only knowing Windows is like only knowing how to dance the waltz.
There is a much larger world of OS and software beyond Microsoft Windows. OSes that perform better than Windows with multimedia. OSes that support the wide range of Unix workstation tools. Virtual OSes that enable more than one OS to run at the same time. OSes that are more resistant to viruses than Windows. Processors that dramatically outperform x86 chips.
If all you did was explore some of these alternatives as an experiment, you would then know firsthand whether any of them offered advantages, and you would have a better knowledge of where Windows fits in your needs. Exploring different OSes doesn't have to be difficult. There are three simple alternatives that I'll outline here.
Simplest of all is taking an older system, even a 486 or slow Pentium, and after saving any data files you might want, installing Linux or other OS on it to experiment. Almost as easy, is getting BeOS or Linux that will install alongside a Win 95/98 system on your current system. This takes a little more care if you need to rearrange your disk's partitions, but both BeOS and Caldera OpenLinux have made that quite easy by including software to partition the disk without losing the current Windows install.
The third alternative is a bit harder, but more flexible in the long run. Purchase an inexpensive hard disk, as little as $79 for an 8.4 Gbyte hard drive, open the system, and install it as the first drive on the second IDE channel. If you don't know how to do this, one of your experienced friends can walk you through it. Install your new OS on the second disk, and get a multi-boot manager to let you pick which one to run when you start the system. Multiboot enables more than two systems on a disk so you could experiment with several.
This approach isolates the individual OS and makes experimentation safer. Experimentation or not, I strongly recommend making backups on a regular basis. Even though it is a nuisance, sooner or later you will delete a file you need, and only the backup will save your day. And if you do the wrong thing while experimenting, recovery is just a tape or CD away. The hardware may not fail, but people make mistakes all the time. An alternate backup could be on writeable or rewriteable CD, which is a good substitute for tape and can be shared with family.
Which OS might you want to try? Just read on to see some of the choices you have available.
Just when Microsoft has to face a possible breakup by the U.S. Justice department, the OS situation is at its brightest since the early 1980s. Here is a list of alternate OSes and where they probably would work best.
A very effective desktop, Warp comes with a bonus pack with enough software to handle home or small-business needs. I am using Warp 4 as a small server system, and it works fine for my seven-system network. For large server needs, the Warp Server for e-business supports SMP and thousands of users on a large system. At the end of this column is a detailed update on OS/2.
An outstanding multimedia desktop. The best OS for sound and video, with built-in support for SMP up to eight processors. It can co-reside on a Win 95/98 system or work stand-alone. BeOS is available as a free download and easy install as an alternate OS, or as a $40 CD with BeOS Pro and extra features. Be promises to continue development of the OS, and the Be website lists over a thousand application and utility programs already available. In addition, Scitech is developing video support for BeOS. BeOS Download Scitech BeOS List
A powerful workstation or server requiring some level of technical understanding after installs ranging from trivial to difficult, depending on hardware configuration. Linux as a server can fully support a small to medium-sized business with file and print support using Samba, or as a killer Web server. Linux now supports up to 8-processor SMP systems. Even if you've just returned from Mars, you would already know about it. Linux on the S390 mainframe has demonstrated an astounding 41,000 independent Linux systems before the mainframe ran out of resources.
Here are three of the major Linux players; check out the Linux Journal for links to others.
FreeBSD is the outgrowth of the original BSD Unix created and supported by the University of California. When support was finally terminated by UC, several programmers stripped out the proprietary parts of BSD, creating BSD 4.4-Lite. Further development and enhancement with open source has created a reliable system which runs mega sites like Yahoo and cdrom.com. FreeBSD is known for its reliability and stability, benefiting from a more organized and controlled source system than Linux. FreeBSD powers some of the biggest sites on the Web (Yahoo, cdrom.com).
Lots of new hardware support was added in the recent 4.0 release. On the desktop with Gnome, KDE, or one of several other window managers, it is a stable, powerful system. FreeBSD supports the Alpha and x86 processors only. A series of extensions enable FreeBSD to run Linux binaries, Unix System V R4 binaries, and access other file systems, including Netware and NTFS. Recently BSD/OS from Berkeley Software Design and FreeBSD have merged, but both versions will continue to be sold. It looks like the best of each set of components will emerge as standard. There are a number of other OS versions based on BSD that you might check out too. I'll have more to say about FreeBSD after testing my copy of 4.0.
For the real OS enthusiast, check out a do-it-yourself toolkit called OSKit. A free, regularly updated set of modules. It's almost a Leggo kit for operating systems. Fun and informative. Just looking at the diagram on the main Web page will give you a better appreciation of how much goes into a modern OS. For the confirmed OS junkie like me, life isn't complete without that daily trip to OSNews. OSKit OS news
The general term for this type of system is Virtual Machine (VM).These systems are designed to run under one OS and let one or more alternate OSes run alongside by emulating the system calls. A typical use for a VM would be using Linux as a base OS and running NT on top for access to a special NT application. An additional use for a VM running the same OS as the base would be to test a new release or application with complete isolation from the underlying OS.
In case of a crash, diagnostic information makes bug finding easier. Regrettably, neither Intel nor AMD has ever created an x86 chip, which is capable of "virtualizing" the protected x86 instruction set. If that ever happens, a fully capable VM could run in base hardware and run any x86 OS on top, with much better efficiency and isolation than current approaches.
IBM originated its VM/360 in 1967, and with hardware support has extended the VM capability on its mainframes to an amazing degree. Bochs is a VM designed to run on a variety of operating systems and provide emulation support for other OSes. It is a free download. VMWare is a commercial product that uses Linux, NT, or Windows 2000 as a base OS and runs other x86 OS on top.
Because of the limitations of x86 chips, VM operation has a variable but substantial overhead. The only way to find out if it works for you is to check out the requirements, download the trial version, and test it. One obvious requirement is for more RAM to reduce swapping.
I've added Virtual Network Computing (VNC) to this list, even though it is not an OS, because it is incredibly useful. VNC can be installed on almost any system and the display and control of that system can be managed from any other system, regardless of the hardware and OS on either system, even remotely. If you have a bunch of different systems to use or maintain, this tool can give you back your life.
IBM has announced that Warp 4 client, with the merged code from the e-business server and updated drivers, will be available as a new CD-ROM that will be annually refreshed each November, starting in 2000. Netscape 4.61 was renewed on 3/31/2000. It is available now for download. Warp 4 Fixpak 13 is now in version 2. This FP makes a major change in the virtual address space for Warp client from 512 Mbytes to 3 Gbytes, the same as the server.
It also has the merged kernel and the boot screen now shows the internal revision 14.040_W4. If you downloaded the original FP13, before April 20, replace it with the new version that fixes a number of instabilities. IBM has revived video support by licensing a special edition of the Scitech display drivers for all OS/2 users. This makes drivers available for almost all current video chip sets. An even broader set of chip sets is supported by the Beta22 available at Scitech, but it is limited to a 21-day test before buying or uninstalling. Now you can use the hottest video cards with OS/2. The SE edition does not support 3-D or video acceleration.
Is OS/2 Really Alive With Support? The short answer is yes, but. The But part is that we finally have clear indications from IBM that support for OS/2 is going on a year-to-year basis, with assured support for at least the next three years. For the details, check out IBM's strategy paper. The key paragraph is:
"Briefly, IBM recommends using Internet technologies on both internal and external networks with server-centric business logic delivered by thin-client applications. Customers should exploit OS/2 e-business enhancements and deploy new e-business technology applications concurrently with existing OS/2 applications until platform neutrality has been achieved, and then change the operating system"
IBM recommends three overlapping phases -- Prepare, Deploy, Transition -- as a means to help smooth migration and leverage Internet technologies. IBM is quite clear that it intends to force transition to another OS at some time in the future, and is extending the Warp support year by year until most customers are ready to migrate to some other (unstated) OS. This date is probably not any later than 2005, and may well be sooner.
Some other straws in the wind: Fixpacks after FP40 for Warp 3 are for Warp Server only. FP41 and later will not install on Warp 3. Smart Reseller reported that AS/400 systems will discontinue the firewall based on OS/2 because "That OS is at end-of-life."
The evolution of operating systems is, and will continue to be, driven by economics. IBM has embraced Linux for a number of reasons, and a major one is economics. IBM currently develops and supports three main OS for the mainframe line: A virtual DOS, a Virtual Machine (VM) and System/390, the ultimate successor to MVS. In addition, they support AS/400, AIX and OS/2. Each OS costs resources to keep up with hardware development, and worse, each one must be supported by a wide range of tools, middleware, and applications.
Even for IBM this is an expensive proposition. In addition to simplifying IBM's OS support situation, Linux also offers a wide range of software that would be uneconomic to port to six different OSes. Thus, in one step they improve their software offerings, and reduce their OS support costs. Looked at this way, it's a no-brainer. That's why OS/2 will ultimately be phased out as a standard product. That doesn't mean your OS/2 system stops working then, just that it will gradually lose support for new hardware and software.
Fortunately, we have time to plan and prepare. IBM, unlike Microsoft, has always prepared a transition plan over an extended time when migrating customers from software losing support. Whether it is 2003, 2005, or 2007 when OS/2 is detached, we have sufficient time to prepare for a smooth migration. Just in case anyone thinks I'm happy about this, let me clarify. I have been a very pleased OS/2 user since 1992, even before Windows 3.1 came out. I run five OS/2 systems, one with Win 95 on dual boot, two Linux, and one FreeBSD.
OS/2 is clearly my major platform and contains most of the results of 19 years of working with personal computers, starting with the Radio Shack Model III. I can remember migrating from DOS to DESQview, a very good multitasker available in 1987, five years before Windows 3.1 would multitask effectively. DESQview is gone, killed by Microsoft's incompatibilities introduced with Windows 3.0. From there to Windows 3.0 briefly, then on to OS/2 V2.0 beta in 1991, with no looking back.
The end for OS/2 is a certainty, barring extremely unlikely events. What's uncertain is the date, though indications from IBM now put that three to seven years in the future. Meanwhile, with new support for video cards, updated CDs for installs, continued enhancements and driver updates, OS/2 remains a reliable high-performance OS for your desktop. This does make the situation easier to adapt to. I'll be looking at all the options for alternative OS, desktops and tools, and writing about them as I find good choices.
What I can see happening in the future is that the OS situation will divide into three levels. First will be vendor developed and supported OSes such as System/390, NT, and Monteray, which will be available for purchase on very popular or very expensive hardware. Second, will be open source and low-cost systems, collected and supported in bundles, like Caldera, Red Hat, and FreeBSD.
The third level will be custom and hobbyist systems supported by small groups. Other groups will maintain and enhance open source applications and tools. Proprietary tools like Adobe's PDF generator and Photoshop are being functionally duplicated in open source by Ghostscript and GIMP.
As the open source tools approach parity with proprietary tools, software vendors will be forced to charge for services and support to survive. I expect the spreading Linux syndrome to be repeated as open source tools and applications come of age. This will change the software landscape permanently. Moving to a new OS will be a major project for me and many others. I am already using Linux and FreeBSD.
These are not yet systems that can be comfortably used by non-technical users unless setup and supported by an experienced person. But given a few years on Internet time, that will change. Already, Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 has the best install program I have used to date. "For every door that closes, a window opens." That bit of philosophy has been experienced as reality by most people, and the OS/2 closure will be no exception.
By the time we need to migrate, there will be more than one good OS to select from. It is even possible that there will be a fully capable VM that lets us run any OS, any application. Maybe that horse will learn to sing. This Part II was originally intended to include information on applications, tools, and utilities as well as OS information. But covering the OS situation, even briefly, was enough to absorb in one column. I'll be covering the rest in Part III: Applications, Tools And Utilities, next time.
All content on this site is Copyright 2001 by Bill Nicholls