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Would you hire one type employee to run your business?

Of course not, different employees have different strengths. So why would you insist that one operating system is ideal for your company? Just as a spot welder or advertising executive should not be handling your office books, Why should Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris or any other single operating system vendor be handling the entire load of your network?

Isn't finding a Windows specialist the solution to all my networking problems?

There is an old adage that states: When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail Many people that specialize in one technology or another do so out of ignorance, not increased skills. Most networking solutions are very similar with differences in the details and features. Functionality follows need, not the other way around. If two vendors offer a solution to any given problem, it is the guy with the wider variety of experience that will find you a solution to meet your companies needs, not the solution within a shrunken knowledge base.

OK, so how do I see the strengths and weaknesses of the 4 major networking systems?

  • Windows - Solid on the desktop, everything you could ever want to plug into a computer can be attached to a Windows machine. However, there is a price to be paid! Poor memory and resource management on these machines make them unstable, and create too many security holes that crackers can use to steal your data or use your machine for nefarious purposes. The second price is extracted in its proprietary nature. If you do not turn your entire business over to Windows, it is often an ill behaved child that requires lots of work. If you do turn your business over to the "Microsoft way", you are at the mercy of a company that does not know your business; you are no longer seeking the best solution to your business problems, but the best Microsoft solution to your business problems; why limit yourself.
  • Macintosh - Here is a moving target if I have ever seen one. Macintosh versions prior to OS/X suffer nearly all the same problems of proprietariness that Windows does. OS/X is much more solid, and based on BSD Unix, a solid and proven performer. As more and more Unix software is recompiled with the Carbon/Cocoa libraries, and OS 9 software is getting upgraded for OS/X, this platform is becoming a real serious contender. However, due to the drastic change at its core, many old Mac axioms are no longer true, and you should find someone specialized in Mac OS/X and/or Unix technologies. I keep the phone number of my favorite Mac guru on speed dial just in case. Macintosh desktops with a Linux servers can probably the most powerful business combination in this review.
  • Solaris - Fantastic server. Solid, Fast, and easy to administer. Desktop? don't even think about it. If you must have a Unix desktop, seriously consider Macintosh or Linux. Much better support for desktop devices. Use solaris if you need an Oracle server, or a large scale website. Otherwise, Linux is a solid choice on Intel equipment. Sun has even begun selling its smaller machines such as Cobalt servers with Linux instead of Solaris.
  • Linux - Pardon the obvious borrowed slogan here, but this is the star of the computing world. Many vendors such as SUN, HP, IBM, and DELL are jumping on the Linux bandwagon... and with good reason. Linux makes a better server than workstation, though many people are starting to find the GNOME and KDE environments highly productive. The office suite software gap has been seriously shrunk with Sun Microsystems Star Office 6.0 (a.k.a. Open Office 1.0). While Linux has come of age on the desktop, it still continues to be one of the best performers in the server and Internet presence marketplace. With software such as Sendmail, QMail, PostGRE, Apache, MySQL, and ProFTP, it is no wonder Microsoft is complaining so vehemently about open source, it is more often superior software that is free of charge. The real downside is that Linux is still Unix, and even with such wonderful tools like Webmin, it is not for the casual user. Having a network admin is a solid choice when deploying Linux. However, the money you save by not paying Microsoft seat licenses, will often cover the cost of a Network Admin. Remember, the money you save is probably your own.