IBM proves Linux commitment in AIX 5L

By P.J. Connolly, InfoWorld | Operating Systems

With enhancements from third parties such as Argus and Bull, AIX can also be beefed up to Common Criteria 2.0 B1 certification. These are the kinds of systems that attackers ignore in favor of easier prey.

Don't let the L for Linux confuse you; this will be IBM's beefiest AIX ever. Folding Linux support into AIX, a sign of serious commitment to Linux, does not compromise IBM's investment in AIX. If anything, IBM is going to be walking the walk as well as talking the talk. Although new installations will be an obvious place to deploy AIX 5L, we predict that customers will want the Linux features and other enhancements so much that they will upgrade with little coaxing.

THE BOTTOM LINE

IBM AIX 5L

Business Case: IBM's AIX may lack the flashy marketing of other Unix families, but it makes up for it by consistent quality in all areas. If scalability, security, and stability are sore spots for your operations, AIX 5L may prove to be the cure for what ails you. IBM's support for Linux also means that your company can employ the hottest developers and administrators to build enterprise-class applications.

Technology Case: Linux has gradually infiltrated the enterprise, and IBM has figured out that it's better to be holding the reins than just jumping on the bandwagon. Itanium support, an improved JFS2 file system, and networking and security enhancements combine to make this not only the toughest AIX ever but also a very attractive alternative for those looking to make a break from Solaris and Sparc.

Pros:

+ JFS2 offers the potential for petabyte-size file systems

+ Linux compatibility features improve application portability

+ AIX supports both RISC-based Power and forthcoming Itanium processors

Cons:

- IBM hardware still lags behind Sun's and HP's in number of CPUs and is behind HP's in total memory supported