John,

>The bottom line is that Sun technology and the related folks - is very complicated and expensive to implement. TCO is a big issue - and one that MS wins hands-down. Look at implementing a Novell network vs. an NT network. The cost to maintain and implement a Novell Network is roughly 10x that of an NT/2000 network. A NT/2000 network is a lot easier to implement as well. Ever try setting up a Unix server? It is a complicated PITA!

Not trying to attack or anything, just wanted to get a feel for the depth of your opinion... How much Unix/Linux have you used/administered in the past? Just curious... With a recent distro of Linux (say, the latest SuSE) running a nice GUI (like the latest KDE), I can't imagine setting up a file/print/web server as being any more difficult than setting up something in Windows 2000. To be honest, the only thing I have found Linux to lack is desktop applications, and that doesn't really matter on the server...

Couple that with Linux/Unix's built-in remote control capabilities: X had been doing remote terminal, etc. stuff for more than a decade before Terminal Server was deployed, and Unix has always been a breeze when it comes to remote adminitration via Telnet, FTP, etc.

So, why do you think TCO on a linux network would be so much greater, especially considering the licensing fees are very reasonable (free). Any money spent on licensing could be spent on a tech support contract, making ownership that much more trouble-free...

All of these points would apply even moreso to a shop that was into Unix anyway.

Anyway, I was just wondering how much you have played with this stuff so I can get a feel for where you are coming from...

Thanks,
JoeK