Ubuntu Corporate Edition

[leftcase]

Hi Folks.

I work as a systems tech for a reasonably large organisation with a few thousand deployed desktops and a couple of hundred servers. Other than using Sun Solaris for a couple of web-servers, Microsoft solutions are used for all desktop and server roles.

I've managed to sneak Ubuntu based servers into a couple of roles like web-content-filtering and wireless routing, and I must say my experiences with Ubuntu have been largely positive and it stands up well in the roles I've deployed it in.

That said, i wouldn't deploy Ubuntu into a desktop role. What's more my bosses wouldn't let me even if I tried. Let me try to explain why...

The organisation I work for has spend a fortune on deploying Microsoft server technologies and they underpin all that it does. Active Directory to authenticate users to resources, Exchange technologies for organisation and email, File Servers for well... serving files! The list goes on and on. Microsoft Windows XP slides nicely into this organisational infrastructure without fuss because that's what it's designed to do. I can't grab a copy of Ubuntu, install it, join it to my domain, and grab my email out of the box.

That's not because the standards used to accomplish this are closed, they're available and doing the good majority of the stuff above is achievable in Linux. The problem is that it's not very easy to get stuff like LDAP authentication and group policy login scripts enabled in Linux from scratch.

This is a bad thing. Because it's difficult to do and because many organisations have a heavily invested in Microsoft infrastructure there is often little chance of Linux being introduced to the desktop in enterprise.

Introducing it to enterprise is possible though...

I've been looking at the Ubuntu projects here. Projects have been created for a range of needs, why not enterprise?

Take a look at Xandros Enterprise Desktop. It's not a free distribution but it is penned as a Windows XP replacement. It sports some pretty good features including domain authentication, exchange server integration, logon scripts and group policy profiles. Imagine how far an Ubuntu distribution with the same out-of-the-box features would go!

I'm more than willing to help realise this concept in any way I can. Does anyone else share this idea or have any suggestions? Anyone willing to try make this happen?

This thread seems as good a place as any to thrash this out and I've put a wiki entry over here to hold anything that's needed.

<edit> One or two people seem to be having issues with the idea of an enterprise edition of Ubuntu. I think this i because they're missing the point slightly and I need to make it quite clear! To quote TLE a little later on in this thread:

When referring to Enterprise edition I mean something that is distributed freely just as any other Ubuntu deriviate, but which is especially suited for use in large companies with an existing IT infrastructure. </edit>

Looking forward to responses!

[StarsAndBars14]

Uhoh lol. . .

Nothing says "I want to be on the receiving end of a hate filled flame war" like Ubuntu Corporate Edition.



/bombshelter

[leftcase]

Uhoh lol. . .

Nothing says "I want to be on the receiving end of a hate filled flame war" like Ubuntu Corporate Edition.



/bombshelter

Why though?

At the end of the day thats a pretty sad opinion to have. You are making a lot of assumptions in that statement. I for instance work for a public service organisation. The cash we spend on MS products would be much better spend on serving the people we are supposed to look after.

The big problem is, that there is nothing out there that we can use instead of say for instance Win XP. Why is there nothing out there? Perhaps because when suggested people make comments like "Nothing says "I want to be on the receiving end of a hate filled flame war" like Ubuntu Corporate Edition." I dunno....

Forgetting the title (heck, you can call it Ubuntu super edition for all I care) what's your problem with an enterprise ready desktop distro that'll just slide into place in an existing network and save an organisation (and remember, this could be a charity or public sector enterprise) money so it can spend it on helping people?

[StarsAndBars14]

Hang around these forums for a while and you'll see what I meant with that post.

Ubuntu's user audience has every other Linux distro beat when it comes to anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-this-and-that, super-extra-crazy-left-wing ranting. So no, I didn't want to start a flame war with you.

But those things aside, I have no problem with what you're seeking to accomplish. I think it would be a great help to companies that are getting off the ground and need to watch their expenditures. And you're right about the charity thing as well. . .a whole lot of stuff could be bought/given/done with money that would ordinarily go toward XP corporate licensing for 100 or so computers.

[Stemp]

Very good idea Leftcase...

[leftcase]

Hang around these forums for a while and you'll see what I mean.

Ubuntu's user audience has every other Linux distro beat when it comes to anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-this-and-that, super-extra-crazy-left-wing ranting.

You know what, I think you and I are using the word corporate in different ways.

To clarify, I'm using the word in this meaning...

Corporate, from the Latin corporātus, past participle of corporāre, to make into a body, Belonging to an association of employers and employees ie: describing an organisation.

Any 'Ubuntu Corporate' distribution has nothing whatsoever to do with capitalism or politics. It refers to the creation of a distribution which is able to be deployed within an organisation with ease to replace current coporate MS technologies. You'll often find products in IT described as being a 'corporate' solution. This has no regard to political orientation.

Hope that's clear. Just so I don't get flamed of course

[leftcase]

Just a thought, but would Ubuntu Enterprise Edition more accurately describe the idea that I'm trying to get across?

[Somenoob]

Great idea leftcase. I would have no problem with such an edition, and would like to see it put into action.

[Arisna]

Maybe. We'd probably end up calling it something like Busibuntu, though, to keep with the current naming convention.

I'm anti-lots-of-things myself, but I like this idea because it would speed the process of relegating Microsoft to obsolescence.

[nalmeth]

Do you mean like Impi Linux?

Or do you mean a free-as-in-beer enterprise distro?