Sort of OT, but not really ... filePro and SCO vs. Linux

[John Esak]

Anyone who has read this list, or any of the communications forums about
filePro over the past 20 years back to the first one on CompuServe... knows,
or should have easily gathered that I am a staunch SCO supporter. Not for
any other reason than the O/S has been bulletproof for us with usual uptimes
of 200+ days being no problem... and shutting down only being required for
some special maintenance or whatever. It has and does do its job well. I
have used a couple different Linux systems for various and sundry tasks in
the past, but not often. I do use 2003 server for many things and its RDP
capability is just terrific. I'm truly not an O/S bigot of any kind. On the
whole I would never have put in anything other than SCO though for large
multiple user installations. Unfortunately, and I say that with great
emphasis, that has to change. Here is a small edited shard of a note I just
sent to FP Tech. Thought some of you in the same situation (or roughly the
same) might find it interesting.
---

I'm making this note (edited a little) public because I think lots of
people/companies are in the same position Nexus is in now. I am in NO way
advocating that *anyone* switch from SCO, which I still think is a
spectacular O/S and bargain for its cost over the years... I am just
describing what I am going to do for this one long-time client... and some
very brief, inadequate reasons. Just one quick pre-comment... the only
reason we were moving from SCO 5.0.6 to SCO 6.0 at all in the first place,
was that it broke the 2GB file size limit, and it had very fast Unix-based
I/O drivers and file system. Two desirable, if not "necessary" features.
Linux also has these "features" going for it.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Esak [mailto:john at valar.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 11:43 AM
To: Sales at Fptech. Com
Cc: Rick Walsh
Subject: Send me a quote... no lots of quotes... :-)



Hi Janis,

Hey listen. Here is my situation. Nexus has not loaded or even downloaded
their new 5.6 version for their SCO 5.0.6 server yet. As I had told Bill
Randall they are waiting for some drivers for their new 6.0 SCO server
before they put in the new filePro upgrade/transfer. He essentially said no
problem, we would work something out some way or another.

It has been nearly 9 months since we got the new SCO server and several (not
just one) companies have refused to make drivers for their hardware running
under SCO 6.0. For example we have an 8 port fax/modem card by Multitech in
our old server that they will NOT be providing a driver for on SCO 6.0. So,
we bought a Digiboard 4 port modem/fax board to replace it and they
originally said yes, they would make a driver for SCO 6.0... but then after
months and months backed down. Other things like FacetPhone and other cool
products are harder and harder to implement on SCO. Therefore, I just made
the decision for Nexus to bite the bullet on our costs for the SCO 6.0 O/S
and switch that new machine over to Linux. At least this way, we are working
in an environment that is supported seemingly by everyone. I sort of hate it
because I still thing Linux has too many flavors and too many chefs making
the soup... and feel just exactly opposite to the way most of the world
views this "free/fee" GPL stuff... but that's not here or there anymore. I'm
a realist and I have to consider the future for my clients and myself. Long
story short. Rick will shortly be completely wiping out the  Nexus SCO 6.0
server which has just been sitting there doing nothing and putting some kind
of Linux on it. We'll do some investigation first, of course. Most everyone
on this list thinks SuSe is the way to go. Dell (the brand of the server)
supports RedHat... lots of considerations. (Don't think I would ever want a
Dell tech coming in to fix any problem... so that isn't really important,
but at least all the drivers for the stuff in the box would be certified and
ready-to-go.) I come from the days when RAID drivers for Linux were either
non-existent or iffy, or worse. Too much rides on this particular server to
be playing around with *anything* uncertain/untested. We may go with RedHat
for just that reason alone. The things I've heard about SuSe seem okay,
except that the usual glibbety-glop of versions, kernels, upgrades, patches,
etc., have swirled around that platform so fast it doesn't seem like it is
really quite "stable" yet. I mean, the first I heard of it, the 9.0 version
was pretty good... minutes later, the 9.1 came out and by the time we were
testing that a year or so ago, people were saying, "Oh why aren't you using
9.2?"  :-( and currently (seemingly minutes later again) it is 10.+... and
do they mean the version from last week or yesterday? And further, the two
o'clock version or the 4 o'clock one?  The security patches for "this
program or that" come out as fast and as numerous as the Microsoft updates
do, no matter what anyone says.  On top of these annoyances, the product is
owned and operated by Novel. In my opinion one of the worst computer
companies ever. They ruined there own network solution... they ruined
WordPerfect after they bought it. They ruined Corel after they bought it.
They ruined SCO-O/S's after they bought into them. They ruined real Unix
after they bought into it... and now, they are playing with SuSe making
claims and promises that are not happening anywhere near the time frame they
suggest.. and how is it I'm supposed to think they have magically turned
their track record of ruining things around and will do great things with
SuSe? Who knows... (please, don't answer that... I'm just ranting a little.)

It's all going to be one of those big "learning experiences". (Happily, I
can just tell Rick to learn it... and keep doing the things I usually do.
:-) [Now let's see, is that echo "Hello World"\n  or echo -n "Hello World"
??? and ... OHGOD!!!! where is "setcolor"!!!!! What the hell is this
"dircolors thing anyway?"  I mean after 20 years of GPL development you
can't come up with anything better than that. The code the Linux crowd
*should* have stole from sco is "setcolor". :-)

Seriously, SCO has been essentially maintenance free for its whole lifetime
with us, and I envision lots of change-over blues and hardships...
especially with the thousands of shell scripts I've created for Nexus over
the past two decades... but, it has to be done.

SO:

Therefore I need to get them a Linux license.

1) Can you quote me on a "new" 64 user runtime, 10 user devsys version of
5.6 for Linux.

or:

If you will allow it (as Bill mentioned he would) let us re-work the 5.6
upgrade we bought for SCO 5.0.6. Here are some possible scenarios. I think
the one I like most is the first one.

2) Can you quote me on changing the 5.6 64 user runtime 10 user devsys
version we just purchased to a 10 user runtime, 5 user devsys version, still
keeping it for SCO 5.0.6. Take the difference in cost for these two things
and apply it to the cost of the new Linux system in quote #1 above. I will
then use this 10user10devsys version to upgrade my personal SCO 5.0.6
version at my house.

3) Just apply the full price of the SCO version we just bought to the new
Linux version in quote #1, and I'll buy the 10user10devsys upgrade for my
home SCO 5.0.6 system separately.

Those seem to be the 3 most logical, easiest things to do, right?

Well, here are a complicated couple others which may be better, I'm not
really sure.

None of the above get us to the point of upgrading the existing 5.0.6 SCO
version that is running now on the old server at Nexus. It will take us a
good 3 months to move to the new Linux server I think and I would love to
put up the new 5.6 filePro there while we are waiting. Can you check with
Bill to see what he had in mind for this situation. In other words, we would
use the 64user10devsys that we just bought on the old server for 3 months or
so, and then when we move to the new Linux box, we turn off the old license?
(It could be quicker than 12 weeks, but I want to have some leeway.) Or, we
pay to do the conversion from one O/S to another that Bud mentioned awhile
ago?  Or, here's a weird one... we use the version as we bought it for the
next 12 weeks or so on the old server. At the point where we move to the
Linux box and don't need filePro on that old box anymore, the 64user10devsys
license gets converted to a 10user5devsys version that I can move to my box
at home. In this case, you would apply the difference in price of these two
versions to the cost of the new 64user10devsys system we want for the new
Linux server.

We will purchase the new Linux 64user10devsys version immediately so we can
be working it into place   over the next 3 month changeover.

The old Nexus server will most likely be converted from SCO 5.0.6 to Windows
2003... in which case a version for filePro for it will most likely be
ordered. In no case, now that we are switching to Linux, will that box stay
operating with any *nix filePro version period.

I know this all sounds complicated... but it really isn't. I've tried to
clarify it as much as possible. Just sort of breaks down to how can we best
make it through this next 12 weeks and not end up paying for two
64user10devsys systems when all we really now need is 1 64user10devsys Linux
version, and one 10user5devsys SCO 5.6 version. Maybe send this note along
to Bill for his advice.

Thanks,

John Esak
The Valar Group
(570) 384-2444


P.S. Honestly, I don't want this to be any kind of a SCO/Linux war thread. I
was very leery of sending this note thinking that is what the "usual
advocates" will turn it inot. I *really* hope not. In fact, no response at
all would be just fine. I only want to put up one situation and one
solution... in the hopes that people making the same kinds of decision will
see what I *had* to do.