UnitedLinux was announced earlier this year with a bold promise of a November release date. Well, November is here and the good news is that the promise is being realized -- UnitedLinux 1.0 is here. The big question now is, will it fly?

This article was written over the course of the four weeks prior to closure of the UnitedLinux 1.0 product, when much of the external working of the final product matured and came into shape. While this article is about UnitedLinux, the commercial form in which it will be available may vary considerably across the four partners: Conectiva, SCO, SuSE, and Turbolinux. During the Beta and Release Candidate period the UnitedLinux component CDs -- those containing the base components of the operating system -- were bootable and capable of controlling the installation of the product. Since then, due to a mixture of events, licensing constraints, and other legalities and arrangements, it has become necessary to obtain from the installer an acknowledgement of license compliance. It was therefore decided that, for SCO Linux 4.0 (powered by UnitedLinux 1.0) at least, only the vendor CD will be able to control product installation. This article is therefore based on SCO Linux 4.0 as a product.

Each vendor incorporates its own "value add" to create the commercial products. SuSE, for example, will release its product as SuSE Enterprise Linux Server 8.0 (powered by UnitedLinux). But remember that the core components will be identical across the UnitedLinux distributions -- the packages are physically identical and the installed product will be certified as UnitedLinux 1.0. Confusing? Not really, if you focus on the essence of the message "certified consistency."

A bit of history

The journey toward completion of UnitedLinux has been long and arduous. At the November 1999 Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, the first moves towards the unification of Linux distributions were made. The project had a number of starts, each of which came to a halt because vital ingredients were missing, yet there was always agreement that unification of a business Linux platform made sense. The key factors that would impact a successful venture were identified early in 2000. Then came the really difficult work, that of convincing each company contributing to the unification initiative that there would be a net gain for all players.

Whenever companies start out on a program like this, there are many who need to be convinced it will work. When executive staff finally arrive at a consensus that the project has the potential to be successful, the work of convincing other interested parties just begins. In the case of UnitedLinux, it was necessary to gain the commitment of the shareholders/financiers of each of the partner companies (and, in one case, through a difficult transition of ownership). At the same time, it was imperative to gain the commitment and support of all major business partners -- companies such as IBM, HP, Compaq, Oracle, Intel, AMD, Borland, Progress Software, Computer Associates, Linux International, The Free Standards Group, and many more. The tightening of world financial markets only added to the challenge for UnitedLinux to come out of the gate with a winning product and support combination.

Most important of all, however, is the ongoing need to win the hearts and minds of software development organizations worldwide, and to garner commitment to deliver applications that customers will want to buy. The ultimate success or failure of UnitedLinux will depend not only on the ability of the UnitedLinux partnership to work -- a big enough challenge in itself -- but particularly on how well and how quickly developers climb on board and get ready to deploy applications into customer hands.

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Specifications

During March and April of 2002, the UnitedLinux board commissioned a team of technicians to arrive at a set of specifications for UnitedLinux. This team met its mandate by producing a shopping list of features and functionality that was broken down into three categories: "essential," "necessary," and "nice to have." Input was provided from the four founding Linux vendors, and each partner in turn asked for feedback from major business partners, OEMs, ISVs, and so on.

A set of base specifications was necessary, as this would define the launch point for all other specifications. Each of the base components were discussed at length to ensure that the first generation of UnitedLinux would last a distance of at least two years from date of release. It was recognized that the development and release cycle for version 1.0 would take six to eight months and that the product itself would be current for 12 months from day of first shipment and would be supported for another 12 months following the release of version 2.0. The UnitedLinux board arrived at the following list:

• Kernel 2.4.18 or higher
• glibc 2.2.5
• GCC 3.1
• XFree86 4.2
• KDE 3.0
• LSB compliant
• OpenI18N (formerly Li18nux) compliant
• GB18030 compliant

Additional real-world enterprise-type functionality specifications were settled upon, and a wish list of additional features was also added.

So here we are. UnitedLinux has been in beta test since mid-September, and this is our test-drive. How does it look? SCO Linux 4.0 itself consists of four CDs: one SCO boot/install CD, two binary UnitedLinux CDs, and one source CD. The two binary CDs comprise the UnitedLinux-branded components, which together have been certified on hardware and software from original equipment vendors that are working closely with the UnitedLinux project. Each UnitedLinux partner will ship products that consist of the UnitedLinux base CDs, plus additional CDs that provide partner-specific features and functionality. Each partner will feature the fact that their commercial server products are "powered by UnitedLinux."

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Installation

So, how does one install this product? Anyone who has installed SuSe 8.1 will see some interesting parallels in the installation process. Our hardware for this journey will be a virtual machine running in VMWare 3.2 on another Linux platform. We would normally begin by properly documenting our hardware configuration. Keep a particular note of such esoterics as video card (make, chipset, and memory configuration), network card/s (make and model), and, if a white box, make a note of the motherboard (chipset in particular).

First, we will boot the install process right off the vendor's boot/install CD.

Apply the necessary voodoo to make the system boot off a CD-ROM. Installation passes through startup processing and eventually arrives at a screen called "Language." Here I chose "English." The next screen asks you to choose the mode of installation required, the options being "New installation," "Update an existing installation," or "Boot installed system."

I accepted the default settings for "Keyboard layout," "Mouse," "Custom boot manager installation," and "Language selection." When the partitioning option is chosen, you are presented with a suggested partition layout and three options, "Accept proposal as-is," "Base partition on this proposal," and "Create custom partition setup" (see Figure 2).

You might choose to customize the partition layout as follows:

Table 1. Sample custom partition layout

Note: The partitions shown in Table 1 are for SCSI. The partitions for IDE would be /dev/hda1, etc.

Exercising even greater choice for the example installation, I ignored this advice and created a 251MB swap partition and a 3.6GB root file system.

Now came the tricky part, "Software selection." The SCO/UnitedLinux base system does not install the C/C++ compiler and tools. For this installation I chose everything.

You would of course set the time zone to your local needs as did I. After these few settings have been tweaked to suit your design, you would click the "Accept" button and set the installation running. Follow the prompts and insert the CDs in the order given. Depending on which packages and which installation options have been selected, you may be prompted to insert any or all of the two UnitedLinux and vendor CDs.

First, the installer will prepare each drive and partition, then it commences installation of each of the packages. The progress bars all showed sensible and very realistic indications of installation progress, the name of each package as it is installed, and a measure of the progress towards completion of installation from each CD that is required (see Figure 3). The time estimates were within reasonable accuracy, falling within two minutes of actual installation time.

After the packages are installed, the system will prompt before rebooting into the new system. The boot process is neatly crafted and the screen reports all activity. The user is left with no doubts that the installation has progressed well so far, or intelligent error messages are presented. The first system on which I installed UnitedLinux was known to have a defective hard drive, and this was clearly evident during the first reboot. It is so nice to see what is going on as a system boots. It's trendy today to hide the detail from the user. So far in this installation UnitedLinux has behaved itself by presenting enough, but not too much, detail.

When the system has rebooted, the system will prompt for any CDs that are still required for system installation. The whole process follows smoothly. We will now see a sequence of screens that will let us set up initial accounts and tune system settings such as video mode.

The next screen, "Password for "root", the system administrator," provides an opportunity to enter the root password in two boxes. This allows validation that the password entered is what the installer really had in mind. There is also an "Expert Options" button, which lets you set the systemwide password encryption method. There are three to choose from:

• DES (default)
• MD5
• Blowfish

I felt compelled to use MD5; you might prefer the more secure Blowfish method. Next, I was offered the opportunity to add user accounts to the system. Dutifully, I added an account so that the system could be used by someone other than root (see Figure 4).

At this point, the new system installation is starting to shape up. We are presented with another screen to configure the graphical desktop environment. This screen adds the thoughtful option of "Text mode only - no graphical desktop." If you are installing a server that you know will be heavily loaded and that no user will ever need to touch, then why consume the unnecessary overhead of X Windows? On the other hand, needed or not, most will install it anyhow. We know human nature demands it; after all, X Windows looks cool doesn't it?

Next appears a screen that shows the progress of writing all server component configuration files to disk in readiness for detailed configuration later in the installation process.

When the configuration files are ready to receive further setup information, the first stage involves auto-recognition of all physically attached printers. The fact that this step does not explore the network for available printers could be made known more firmly. In any case, the next screen "Installation Settings," will let us modify network interfaces, printers, modems, and ISDN adapters (see Figure 5).

Note: SCO Linux 4.0 (UnitedLinux 1.0) will autoconfigure only the first network interface. The default configuration is as a DHCP client. This means that if the first interface should be configured with a fixed IP address, or if the machine has more than one network interface, then it is necessary to click on the option to configure "Network Interfaces."

In the event that you need to install network printers, now would be a good time to click on the "Printers" label. Skip the auto-detection step, then click on the "Configure" button. Since you are trying to install a network printer, click on the "Show more connection types" radio button. Choose the appropriate radio button. There will be an option to choose a printer driver and to give the network printer a local name. Eventually, you will be returned to the "Installation Settings" screen. Press the "Next" button to continue. The system will now save network configuration settings and will then enter multi-user mode. A boot screen may appear on screen. If all was concluded successfully, then a login screen will soon appear (see Figure 6).

Congratulate yourself, you are ready to log in. Have fun!

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Package review

Since the prime focus of UnitedLinux is to present a platform that is ultimately suited for enterprise server deployment, this commentary will be limited to server type component software. Since I've mentioned it, the question on your mind is likely, "Does UnitedLinux deliver?"

So, here is a list of the major server component packages. I have flagged those components that are unique to SCO Linux 4.0. Anyone who is developing software with a view to portable deployment on UnitedLinux will want to avoid any dependencies that may not be present in other UnitedLinux-based products.

System environment tools

• backhand-1.2.1: load balancing tool for Apache servers; nice to have if you need it
• jakarta-tomcat-4.0.4: Java servlet container
• medusa-0.5.1: indexed file search toolkit
• PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules): extensive suite, includes One Time Password support, ldap, SMB_auth, krb5, and radius
• pth-1.3.7: GNU Portable Threads (SCO add-on)

System management tools

• apcupsd-3.9.8: UPS daemon and tools for APC UPSs (SCO add-on)
• amanda-2.4.2p2: Advanced Maryland Network Disk Archiver, a networkwide backup and archival tool (SCO add-on)
• apt-0.5.4cnc7: Debian's advanced Packaging tool with RPM support; this is a very popular add-on (SCO add-on)
• argus-2.0.5: network monitoring tool
• etherape-0.8.2: graphical network monitoring tool (SCO add-on)
• ethereal-0.9.6: graphical network traffic sniffer and packet decoder
• evlog-1.4.1: Enterprise Event Logging toolset (POSIX)
• gq-0.6.0: LDAP client written in GTK
• heartbeat-0.4.9e: Heartbeat system for Linux-HA configuration
• jfsutils-1.0.24: utilities for managing IBM's JFS (journaled file system) under Linux
• lsb-1.2: Linux Standard Base tools and runtime reference environment
• mdadm-1.0.1: multi-disk configuration utility
• mon-0.99.2: network monitoring system
• nagios-1.0b4: nagios network monitor
• webmin-1.024: Web-based system management and configuration tool (SCO add-on)

Security tools

• aide-0.9: intrusion detection tool
• arpwatch-2.1.a11: tool to monitor and keep track of Ethernet/IP addresses; reports significant changes via e-mail
• avmailgate-2.0.1: tool that allows several virus scanners to let the MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) scan incoming e-mail
• bastille-1.3.0: system security hardening toolkit
• freeswan-1.98_0.9.14: kernel based IPsec support; used to set up VPNs (virtual private networks)
• ippl-1.4.14: configurable IP protocol logging tool
• portsentry-1.1: port monitoring and reporting sentry (SCO add-on)
• saint-3.4.2: Security Administrators Integrated Network Tool
• seccheck-2.0: security checking scripts
• stunnel-3.14: universal SSL tunneling toolkit
• tcpd-7.6: Wietse Venema's TCP Wrappers toolset
• tripwire-1.2: tool to monitor filesystems (part of an intrusion detection regime
• vlan-1.6: 802.1q vlan implementation facilities

Development tools

The range of development tools is excellent for a basic development environment, but the user must actually choose to install them, as the compilers are not installed by default. The GNU tool set is nicely up to date.

• autoconf-2.53: tool for creating autoconfiguring software build environments
• automake-1.6.3: tool for auto-creating Makefile.in files for use by autoconf
• bison-1.35: parser generator tool that was fashioned after YACC (Yet Another Compiler Compiler) and is still used by many long-term UNIX programmers
• ctags-2002.7.18: tools to generate tag files for use with vi and Emacs
• cvs-1.11.1p1: CVS front end to the Revision Control System.
• emacs-21.2: GNU Emacs editor/development environment
• expat-1.95.4: XML parser and tools
• flex-2.5.4a: GNU lex work-alike that can be used to generate pattern parsing programs
• gcc-3.2: GNU Compiler Suite; include C, C++, Pascal, Fortran (g77), etc.
• gettext-0.11.5: NLS toolset filters for multi-lingual catalog support
• groff-1.17.2: GNU variant of the AT&T Documenters Work Bench toolset
• guile-1.4.1: GNU Ubiquitous Intelligent Language for Extension (embeddable Scheme implementation in C).
• itcl-3.3: object oriented extensions for Tcl
• java2-1.3.1: full Java 2 SDK and JRE environment
• lsof/ltrace/strace: debugging tools
• perl-5.8.0: Perl, including a very extensive collection of Perl modules
• python-2.2.1: Python programming language and runtime support
• sablot-0.82: XSL processor
• tcl/tk-8.4: The Tcl scripting language and Tk toolkit

Development libraries

There are more development libraries than space permits. The following is only a sampling:

• cyrus-sasl-1.5.27: libraries and tools for SASL for client side/server side authentication
• fltk-1.1.0rc5: free C++ GUI libraries for X11 and OpenGL application development
• glibc-2.2.5: standard C libraries
• libidl-0.8.0: IDL parsing library
• libiodbc-3.0.6: The iodbc driver manager library
• openmotif-2.2.2: Open Motif libraries

Network services

• apache-1.3.26: Apache web server; we would expect this to be here. Obviously, UnitedLinux has opted for the known stable release 1.3.x rather than the avant-garde version 2.x, which is likely a good move given the conservative nature of corporate Web site owners
• bind9-9.1.3: Berkeley Internetworking Name Daemon or DNS server, nicely up to date (important for security purposes)
• dhcp-3.0.1rc9: ISC DHCP server and tools
• freeradius-0.5: free RADIUS (Remote Dial-In User Service) authentication server
• heimdal-0.4e: freely exportable, independent implementation of Kerberos5/Kerberos4 authentication services
• hylafax-4.1.3: fax server package (SCO add-on)
• imap-2001a: Washington University IMAP4/POP2/3 mail servers
• inn-2.3.2: InterNetNews news server
• jabber-1.4.2: Jabber messaging server (SCO add-on)
• jserv-1.1.2: pure Java servlet engine for Apache
• mailman-2.0.13: GNU mailing list manager
• marsnwe-0.99.pl20: Martin Stover's NetWare Emulator (NetWare 2.x server)
• Apache modular extensions: Perl, php4, Python, SSL
• mysql-3.23.52: MySQL SQL server
• nas-1.5: Network Audio System (client/server audio server)
• netatalk-1.5.3.1: Appletalk server for Linux
• openldap2-2.1.4: LDAP server and client tools
• openslp-1.0.9: Service location protocol v2
• openssh-3.4p1: Secure Shell server and clients
• openssl-0.9.6g: Secure Sockets (v1/2) and Transport Layer Security (v1)
• postgresql-7.2.2: Postgressql SQL server, with ODBC and JDBC extensions
• ppp-2.4.1 + pptpd-1.1.2: PPP/PPTPD Servers
• proftpd-1.2.6: ProFTP Server (SCO add-on)
• samba-2.2.5: MS Windows file and print server and client software
• rsync-2.5.5: remote synchronization daemon/client
• squid-2.4.STABLE7: SQUID Web/FTP proxy server
• squidGuard-1.2.0: Filter plug-in for SQUID for rules-based access control
• squirm-1.23: SQUID Web cache redirector (SCO add-on)
• vnc-3.3.3r2: Virtual Network Client server/viewer for MS Windows and X Windows interoperability and for remote management support
• vsftpd-1.1.0: very secure FTP daemon

Linux kernel

The kernel is based on linux-2.4.19 with enterprise features enabled. The facilities and capabilities of the kernel include:

• File systems: Ext2, Ext3, JFS, Reiserfs, Logical Volume Manager (LVM); note that the kernel had support for POSIX ACLs as well as Extended Attributes
• I/O: raw I/O and asynchronous I/O
• Execution: Next Generation POSIX Threading (NGPT is a derivative of pThreads), HyperThreading
• Memory: NUMA, Memory Extension Technology (MXT), Large Memory Support (64GB physical RAM)
• SAN support: iSCSI
• Modern hardware support: ACPI
• SNMP/CIM support
• Protocols: IPv6

The UnitedLinux base system includes support for High Availability (HA).

An often asked question centers around system limitations. Check out these facts:

Table 2. System limitations

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Developing for UnitedLinux

It has been said that "It is better not to start than not to finish a race." Software development is a risky business, for often the real complexity of satisfactorily completing a project becomes apparent only as the work progresses. The software developer is always challenged by the sheer size of the task of total life cycle analysis for the project that is about to begin. Many factors impact the total life cycle of a software project. Some key risk factors can be anticipated and minimized, while others present a great deal of the unknown. Here are few key questions every software developer should attempt to answer before commencing coding:

• How will the application being considered deliver unique benefits to users?
• Why will the user (customer) want to purchase this application?
• How will the customer justify the cost and balance any perceived risks in purchasing this application?
• How much is the customer willing to pay for the complete business solution?
• Are there sufficient potential customers for this type of application?
• What will be the final cost of producing this software application?
• How can we minimize the development time before we will gain earliest revenue?
• Are there any coding/development/protocol standards that must be adhered to?
• What will be the deployment cost?
• How will the application be maintained?
• What legal/ethical constraints might affect this work?
• How long will it take to recoup the initial development investment?

These are but a small start to a complex array of questions that the developer should ask. In many cases, the answers will set limits on how an application may be developed, as well as how it might be deployed. In the real world, there are often forced constraints. Compare the constraints on selecting the development and/or deployment platform for an application that will target companies with 5-10 employees to one targeted at companies with perhaps 1,000 users. The development process must allow for very extensive scalability in how the application will be deployed. So, how does a UnitedLinux-based platform help solve these challenges?

The Java language is a preferred development language, since it offers wide choice of deployment platform ranging from a single-user desktop PC right up to large mainframe computers. Realistically, though, it is difficult to avoid some degree of deployment platform dependence in every application. Windows platforms, UNIX systems, Linux implementations, and mainframe OSes all have different printing subsystems, and different ways of accessing application-specific hardware (such as cash drawers, label printers, bar-code scanners, and so on). Each of these considerations forces some form of limitation on the final deployment platform, and thus limits also the scalability of the application.

The only deployment platform that offers total consistency throughout the range of scalability is Linux. Linux may be run on any hardware from an Intel 80386 right up to an IBM mainframe, with complete consistency and thus with reduced need to build in specific hardware platform dependencies. But who can deny that not all Linux operating system distributions are born equal?

The Linux Standards Base (LSB) specification was designed to eliminate many of the differences between Linux distributions (see Resources for links to more information on LSB), but it does not unify them to the point where a software house can develop on any one Linux distribution with the knowledge that the final application can then be deployed on any other. Likewise, OpenI18N (formerly Li18nux; see Resources for a link to more information on OpenI18N) helps to standardize many aspects of software development with full Internationalization support, yet significant platform differences remain across Linux distributions. The UnitedLinux initiative set out to conquer such obstacles by establishing a globally consistent base development and deployment platform. The UnitedLinux product, which is the base of all its partner distributions, is identical across distributions. The startup process, core libraries, default tools and utilities, and so on, are now exactly the same for SuSE, Conectiva, Turbolinux, and SCO Linux products.

Because the base product is LSB compliant, OpenI18N compliant, and GB18030 compliant, developers who choose a UnitedLinux powered platform will have a well-defined, uniform development platform and a sure and certain deployment solution for their customers. While at the outset the UnitedLinux initiative is focused on the Intel processor architecture, UnitedLinux will eventually release a fully scalable uniform product for Intel IA32 and IA64, AMD x86-64, PowerPC, and IBM S/390 processors.

The best advice for any developer on UnitedLinux is therefore to avoid proprietary dependencies and stick with LSB/OpenI18N/GB18030-specified functionality; you will arrive at an application that can be certified to be fully scalable and capable of global deployment. If you're looking to target deployment in Latin America, Central America, North America, Europe, the UK, or in wide character-set countries such as China and Japan, then UnitedLinux may be your platform of choice. Whether you choose to develop in Java or follow some other application programming and deployment environment, UnitedLinux will give you much-needed consistency.

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Deployment on UnitedLinux 1.0

UnitedLinux 1.0 will support a wide range of hardware. In preparation for this article, I tested the UnitedLinux installations on a range of hardware including:

• Celeron 800MHz PC system with 384MB RAM, and a 40GB IDE hard drive
• AMD XP1700+ based PC system with 1GB RAM and an 80GB IDE hard drive
• A dual-processor AMD XP1600+ server system with 64bit PCI-X slots, 1GB DDR2100 RAM, a 3Ware 7500-4 IDE RAID controller with 3 60GB IDE drives, 1Gb ethernet, and extra 2 x 40GB hard drives
• A quad-processor Intel Xeon-based IBM system with an IBM ServerRAID storage system

In all cases, the installation went smoothly and the system ran well. In my opinion, the UnitedLinux 1.0 base product demonstrates excellent hardware scalability and every capability to meet the demands of a wide range of deployment scenarios. There is a generous level of support for hardware RAID devices, software raid, logical volume management, high performance and high bandwidth ethernet, and more. It will be interesting to see what OEM bundled platform deals this new platform will inspire. UnitedLinux powered systems can be implemented at any price point from very low cost/high performance, all the way up to the highest performing Intel processor platform available.

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Technical opportunities and capabilities

UnitedLinux 1.0 has an impressive array of facilities that includes solutions for:

Authentication and authorization

The inclusion of Kerberos5 and LDAP support provides a way to implement a true directory architecture-based authentication solution as an alternative to Microsoft Active Directory, Sun One, iPlanet, Novell NDS, and other such solutions. When coupled with the use of PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules), this delivers a good deal of flexibility. Samba's Winbind technology together with PAM lets an organization leverage its existing MS Windows NT4 or Active Directory investment to create a high degree of interoperability not previously available across multiple vendors' OS products.

Security features

In the past, too little attention was given to protection of the server environment. With UnitedLinux, one may choose to implement a full virtual private network (VPN) that is interoperable with MS Windows 2000 IPsec based VPNs, or with IPsec-based VPN routers. On the other hand, one can elect to simply use IP tunnelling or even just a user-space virtual Lan (VLAN).

Firewall options are available and vendor add-ons should be considered as each offers interesting solutions. There are tools for validating file integrity, for intrusion detection, for auditing of all system access and file modification, and a greater level of potential controls overall than in previous Linux offerings.

Application support

By itself, UnitedLinux 1.0 offers a compelling alternative for office automation solutions as a replacement for or an addition to existing MS Windows file and print servers, Web proxy servers, SQL data servers, and e-mail servers. The inclusion of VNC support provides a usable solution for remote cross platform management. VNC is also available for MS Windows platforms and offers a convenient remote management and interoperability solution for large sites, particularly those already familiar with products such as Carbon Copy and PC Anywhere.

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Conclusion

So, does UnitedLinux deliver on its promises, as seen through SCO Linux 4.0? Yes, I believe it does. In any case, there won't be a dull moment as we watch four competitors offer solutions based on the same base OS. It will also be interesting to see if UnitedLinux can gain commitment from the remaining Linux competitors that have not yet joined the movement towards binary unification and certification.

Resources

• This white paper provides a complete list of the features and standards incorporated into UnitedLinux.
  
  
  
  
• For ongoing information about UnitedLinux developments, join the UnitedLinux mailing list.
  
  
  
  
• Take advantage of UnitedLinux resources for ISVs.
  
  
  
  
• Check out the Linux Standard Base Web site for background on the LSB.
  
  
  
  
• For a step-by-step guide to writing and testing apps to comply with the LSB standards, read "Developing LSB-certified applications" (developerWorks, October 2002).
  
  
  
  
• Those interested in internationalization should go to the OpenI18N Web site (OpenI18N was previously the Li18nux Initiative.)
  
  
  
  
• The Free Standards Group is the force behind the Linux Standard Base and OpenI18N.
  
  
  
  
• Information on UnitedLinux and on specific individual distributions is available from each of the partners:
  • Conectiva
  • SCO (formerly Caldera)
  • SuSE
  • Turbolinux
  
  
  
  
• Links to some of the major applications and technologies mentioned in this article are listed here:
  • Apache Web Server
  • Jserv for JavaServer Pages
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Samba for MS Windows File and Print
  • Squid Web/FTP Proxy Server
  
  
  
  
• Looking to dive in and get started? Check out these development tools for UnitedLinux:
  • GNU toolset manuals
  • GNU Developer Resources
  • CVS information
  • Active Web pages (non-Java)
  • pHpBuilder home page
  • IBM WebSphere
  
  
  
  
• Speed-start your Linux app with IBM middleware for Linux (WebSphere, DB2, Lotus, etc.). Get the middleware for Linux on a Software Evaluation Kit.
  
  
  
  
• Find the Linux resources you need in the developerWorks Linux zone.
  
  

About the author

John H. Terpstra is CEO/President of PrimaStasys, Inc., which works with software developers and resellers to maximize profitability through the deployment of open source software. John is a frequent speaker at open source and other industry events. An IT professional with over 18 years industry experience, he serves on the Open Source Software Institute Advisory Board, co-originated the concept of forming what has become the UnitedLinux initiative, is a co-founder of the Samba team, has worked with the Linux Standards Base for a number of years, and co-founded the Li18nux Initiative. You can contact John at jht@primastasys.com.

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Table of contents

• A bit of history
• Specifications
• Installation
• Package review
• Developing for UnitedLinux
• Deployment on UnitedLinux 1.0
• Technical opportunities and capabilities
• Conclusion
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

Local resources

• IBM Innovation Center - Austin, TX
• IBM Innovation Center - Chicago, IL
• IBM Innovation Center - Dallas, TX
• IBM Innovation Center - San Mateo, CA
• IBM Innovation Center - Waltham, MA
• Technical Briefings in North America

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