Unix - Infoworld

Quest extends Unix Sudo tool to run compliance reports

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:03:40 +0000

Reflecting the growing need for automation tools in the enterprise, Quest Software has released a software package that could help Unix administrators better manage policy files that determine which users can access privileged material and programs on Unix and Linux systems.

The package extends the capabilities of the Unix Sudo tool. "A lot of our customers have been using Sudo for many years. This provides them with compliance and reporting capabilities," said Jackson Shaw, Quest senior director of product management.

Oracle updates Solaris to better handle cloud workloads

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:39 +0000

Oracle has updated its Unix-based operating system Solaris, adding some features that would make the OS more suitable for running cloud deployments, as well as integrating it more tightly with other Oracle products, the company announced Wednesday.

Why aren't you using FreeBSD?

Paul Venezia — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Here I sit, watching a freshly installed FreeBSD box run through cvsup on all ports, to be closely followed by a new kernel compilation. As the output flies by in the xterm, I find myself wondering why I don't run into more FreeBSD in the world.

As Ubuntu Linux turns 7, 'Precise Pangolin' plans under way

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:48:56 +0000

It was exactly seven years ago that the very first version of Ubuntu Linux -- dubbed "Warty Warthog" -- was released, kicking off a long line of increasingly popular versions of the free and open source operating system.

Oracle's Hurd sees long Sparc, Solaris roadmap

admin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:43:27 +0000

With its new Sparc T4 processor, Oracle is working to pull away from its Sun Microsystems legacy, and adopt its own roadmap for this processor family.

When Oracle acquired Sun in early 2010, it was buying a distressed company that had just abandoned a five-year effort to develop a 16-core Sparc chip, code-named the Rock, as the broader market was increasingly turning to lower cost x86 systems. The Rock chip was first due for completion in 2008.

PlanetLab creates a more advanced Unix sudo tool

admin — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:15:37 +0000

Researchers at the PlanetLab global research network have developed a potential replacement for the widely used Unix sudo tool, called Vsys, that will offer administrators far greater control over what end users can and can't access.

"Vsys is a tool for restricting access to privileged operations," said Princeton University's PlanetLab researcher Sapan Bhatia, who introduced the technology at the Usenix conference held last week in Portland, Oregon.

Oracle returns growth to Sun server business

admin — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:30:03 +0000

Oracle logged a small milestone in its Sun acquisition during the first quarter, expanding sales of Sun's server hardware for the first time in three-and-a-half years, IDC reported Tuesday.

Sun's server business was already in decline when Oracle announced plans to buy the company a little over two years ago. Sales plummeted further amid the uncertainty over what CEO Larry Ellison planned to do with the business.

Five Linux distributions get a fresh boost

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:50:34 +0000

Between the launch of a new Linux kernel update and the news that open source has achieved mainstream business use at last, it's been an exciting week in the world of open source software.

Linux and Mac OS are the fastest-growing operating systems

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:10:09 +0000

Microsoft may still dominate the operating system market, but Linux and Apple's Mac OS platforms were the fastest-growing in 2010, according to new data from Gartner.

Worldwide operating system revenue totaled $30.4 billion in 2010, Gartner reported Wednesday, representing an increase of 7.8 percent from 2009. Within that overall market, Microsoft still claims the leading position, with a 78.6 percent market share.

Ubuntu Server geared for future clouds

admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:25:41 +0000

The next version of Canonical's Ubuntu Server, version 11.04, due out April 28, will set the stage for the open-source operating system's greater usage in the enterprise cloud, company officials said.

"People running private clouds will start really scaling those over the next several years. So what we care about is the ability to expand as customers deploy more and more servers into the cloud," said Steve George, Canonical's vice president of business development.

IBM refreshes Power systems to keep Unix sales edge

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:18:24 +0000

IBM has updated its Power systems lineup with higher-density blades and faster processors for its mid-range Power 750 server, looking to keep its momentum in Unix sales as the market inches back to life.

IBM has been outselling both Oracle and Hewlett-Packard in the Unix market, helped by its introduction last year of the eight-core Power 7 processor, and by lingering doubts about the roadmaps of its two biggest rivals, said IDC analyst Jed Scaramella.

Feds finally extend security baseline to Red Hat Linux

Roger A. Grimes — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

At long last, a version of the U.S. Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB) for Red Hat Linux Desktop is in the house. The first set of USGCB security requirements were created some five years ago by the Office of Management and Budget, specifically for Windows Vista, with the assurance that other OSes would follow. With the proliferation of Macs and iPads, I'm surprised not to see a USGCB for Apple products.

Why the Windows Server crew deserves respect, too

Paul Venezia — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I've been a little unfair to the Windows crew the last few weeks. I've been going on and on about Unix administration and occasionally using Windows as an example of how not to do things. But as I reflect back on those posts, I must admit the Windows I've been bashing belongs mostly to the past.

The decline and fall of system administration

Paul Venezia — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Last week I wrote a piece on why it isn't a good idea to just reboot Unix boxes when something goes wrong without first trying to determine why it went amiss. The post was predicated on my 20 years of wrangling Unix and Linux boxes. I thought it was an innocuous point, but it stirred up a hornet's nest.

McNealy: Sun could have won out over Linux

Paul Krill — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:05:03 +0000

Sun Microsystems' mishandling of Solaris on the Intel platform left an opening for Linux to become established, when the company's Solaris OS could have won out instead, Sun co-founder and former CEO Scott McNealy said when interviewed Thursday evening by former Sun president Ed Zander at a Silicon Valley business and technology forum.

When in doubt, reboot? Not Unix boxes

Paul Venezia — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Last week, I wrote a little item titled "Nine traits of the veteran Unix admin." Had I known that a few hundred thousand people would read it in just a few days, I might have put on a clean shirt or something. Regardless, I'm sorry I stopped at nine. I had at least fifteen, but it was already a long post.

Nine traits of the veteran Unix admin

Paul Venezia — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Last week I briefly departed from reality, thanks to the inexplicable actions of the CRTC, but this week, I'm off the drugs and back on terra firma -- sort of. Anyway, to celebrate my return to the land of the sane, I thought I'd tick off a few hallmarks of veteran Unix admins, so you have a better chance of spotting these rare, beautiful creatures in the wild. Here is our song.

Software security: Honesty is the best policy

Neil McAllister — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Every developer knows the importance of issuing security patches. Unexpected bugs that lead to software vulnerabilities are virtually unavoidable; the key is to acknowledge them when they're discovered and issue fixes before they can be widely exploited. But what do you do when you believe vulnerabilities may have been introduced into your code base intentionally?

Oracle highlights Solaris Unix plans

Paul Krill — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:20:45 +0000

Oracle executives talked up on Thursday the planned Solaris 11 release due in 2011, with the Unix OS upgrade offering advancements in availability, security, and virtualization.

Attachmate to retain Novell Unix copyrights

admin — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:22:16 +0000

Novell's copyrights for the Unix operating system will remain under Attachmate's control as part of the companies' pending merger, a Novell spokesman said Wednesday.

The confirmation, which came in a terse message posted to Novell's website, seems to rule out questions of whether Unix assets are part of some 882 patents being sold to a Microsoft-led consortium, CPTN Holdings, as part of the deal.