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Red Hat can claim it is the top distributor of Linux software. But the Debian Project can retort that it is really the leading distributor because it is the fastest-growing outfit in the Linux market. Which organization is right? That depends on one's source of information. A report by research firm IDC reckons that Red Hat accounts for 60 percent of the Linux server market. But a recent report by Netcraft.com contradicts IDC, saying Debian's version of Linux is actually the "fastest growing" distribution of the software.
Re: Linux Distro Numbers Differ, Depend on Metrics
Posted by: Trife22 2004-02-19 11:43:06 In reply to: Gene J. Koprowski
These facts are even more twisted than the article suggests. If a distro starts with 1 user and gets 2 that is a 100% increase, are they the most popular?
Red Hat has 60% of the user base out of an estimated 18-20 million linux users, for them to match %50 that means 6 million new users in 6 months? That's absurd. They had a 90% renual rate for subscriptions and a 27% increase of new subscribers. Success is measured by the pocketbook not in apache banners which are changed by most people to avoid OS detection techniques. The machines that still have banners are likely to be unconfigured meaning, some guy at home who doesn't know his webserver is on. Admins are not as dim
Red Hat has 60% of the user base out of an estimated 18-20 million linux users, for them to match %50 that means 6 million new users in 6 months? That's absurd. They had a 90% renual rate for subscriptions and a 27% increase of new subscribers. Success is measured by the pocketbook not in apache banners which are changed by most people to avoid OS detection techniques. The machines that still have banners are likely to be unconfigured meaning, some guy at home who doesn't know his webserver is on. Admins are not as dim
Re: Linux Distro Numbers Differ, Depend on Metrics
Posted by: bangular 2004-02-18 13:26:34 In reply to: Gene J. Koprowski
It doesn't even really matter when it comes down to it. Comparing debian and red hat is apples and oranges. They are two completely different markets. Debian is for those who know what they are doing, Red Hat is for those who don't. If you know what you are doing, you don't need support. If you don't know what you are doing, you need support. But besides that, general purpose linux distributions share over 95% of the same software. I don't think people realize this. They usually only differ in versions of that software, how that software is configured, or software they have written themselves (which usually accounts for like 1-2% of the software). "The Enterprise level community" have to be the biggest idiots when it comes to linux. They are so used to licensing terms, support contracts, etc. etc. they think of distributions in the wrong terms all together. I don't think they will ever get it. Linux distributions differ so little at their core, if you stripped out all references to it, it would hard to tell which is which. At that point, only the init script style would tell...
Re: Linux Distro Numbers Differ, Depend on Metrics
Posted by: Trife22 2004-02-19 11:23:21 In reply to: bangular
I think it is you who doesn't understand them. Not how they don't understand linux. Busineses want support not only cause its cheaper to give the job to someone who already does it, but because they have someone to blame, and something to fall back on.
Linux distro's are not all the same either, take Debian for instance, isn't stable kernel 2.4.4 or something while Red Hat has 2.4.24 with many 2.6 features backported nobody has yet like NPTL. Thier kernels handle large load and huge performance increases due to that back porting. Debian uses RH software like Anaconda, Kudzu, Exec-shield and soon NPTL all written by Red Hat. Businesses want the source of the innovation not the 'community' getting it second hand. You can manage many machines for RHN, Quality certifications, google buys from Red Hat, Amazon, so you know it works for big names. These are things busineses look at closely.
Linux distro's are not all the same either, take Debian for instance, isn't stable kernel 2.4.4 or something while Red Hat has 2.4.24 with many 2.6 features backported nobody has yet like NPTL. Thier kernels handle large load and huge performance increases due to that back porting. Debian uses RH software like Anaconda, Kudzu, Exec-shield and soon NPTL all written by Red Hat. Businesses want the source of the innovation not the 'community' getting it second hand. You can manage many machines for RHN, Quality certifications, google buys from Red Hat, Amazon, so you know it works for big names. These are things busineses look at closely.
