Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 11:18:56 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Cassata <jim@web-ex.com> To: Shawn Workman <sworkman@nidlink.com> Cc: FreeBSD Net <freebsd-net@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Migration to FreeBSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9901281104060.27966-100000@Homer.Web-Ex.com> In-Reply-To: <XFMail.990127200020.sworkman@nidlink.com>
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Shawn, As a network integrator with extensive experience with Microsoft, Novell, and UNIX (including FreeBSD) I can understand your boss' concerns. If you do not know much about computers, your overall opinion is that Microsoft is the easy and affordable way. You buy into their marketing BS. Microsoft products are a tremendous blessing to those of us who bill by the hour, as it needs a large amounts of time and money to implement any of the services you probably have running at home. There goes the idea of affordable. Large companies rely on UNIX and Novell, because they work. Microsoft makes most of their money off of the non computer-literate person. Migration and growth are tremendously more complicated and costly for Microsoft products, between hours consumed, downtime and fees. I typically see Windows NT on a company's rollout plan when those in charge are of a very limited experience. We can all report on where and when Microsoft products are appropriate (on the desktops for most users) but what will probably convince your boss is by showing him that you are capable of supporting a FreeBSD environment. (and that means knowing where to find the answers, not necessarily having them all up front) Set up a box for him and run email and www and firewall services, then let him toy with the idea of more powerful hardware and licensing/consulting costs on a less reliable Windows alternative. Jim Cassata 516.421.6000 jim@web-ex.com Web Express 20 Broadhollow Road Suite 3011 Melville, NY 11747 On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, Shawn Workman wrote: > I currently work for a company that has a small lan( 15 machines total ) and we > are adding a T1 line in a month or so. I proposed to my boss that we should > use FreeBSD and NATd allong with a kernel built with IP forwarding as our > gateway to the internet accross the T1. > > The machine we are currently using as a gateway is our main file server (not my > choice) it is a PII 400Mhz with 128 MB ram and a 9.1GB UW SCSI 3 drive running > NT 4.0. > > My boss is foolishly considering running our current file services on this > machine as well as a web server and a SMTP server for our site and a few others > that we are going to host on site. This is the same machine that all of our > sensitive company information is on. > > I am looking for advice on how to approach him with the option of FreeBSD. He > loves M$ and was getting ready to dump 1000 on MS Proxy 2.0 when I stopped him > and pointed him toward the aVirt Gateway server.. > > I have mentioned to him, every time we add a new machine or other component to > our network, that FreeBSD could do it better and without client license issues > or costs. He just looks at me and says "Isn't that what you run at home?" so I > say yes, and tell hime it is awesome and less crash prone than NT and if it > does crash it is almost always something the Administrator messed up, or a > first time user.. > > I really want to implement FreeBSD in our system not only as our gateway but > also as our networks file servers.. > > Any advice will be greatly appreciated... > > Shawn Workman > > ---------------------------------- > E-Mail: Shawn Workman <sworkman@nidlink.com> > Date: 27-Jan-99 > Time: 19:50:59 > > This message was sent by XFMail > ---------------------------------- > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-net" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-net" in the body of the message
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