LinuxWorld.com

Open source management software breaks into the data center

When a Linux rollout cuts costs, proprietary IT management software is the next budget item on the chopping block.

By Jim Romeo, LinuxWorld.com, 04/24/08

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Folks like Alex Rodriquez of Expedient do not see the shift to open source management as a windfall for cost savings, but are cautiously trying out open source tools in an augmented way as Hinkle suggests. "We don't see the costs of HP, IBM or a CA being material in the overall scheme of the enterprise when deploying Linux, at least no more than that of using a traditional UNIX system," he says. "As well, we're implementing customized open source based solutions to help drive a portion of what Tivoli would normally provide for us in a UNIX environment. In that respect, we get to start in the shallow end of the pool, and integrate with the incumbent management platform. Overtime, we expect that open source piece to grow until it eventual consumes that majority of the environment."

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"I am seeing many CIOs considering open source systems management solutions to help them manage their infrastructures, and at greatly reduced costs," says Anthony Gold of Unisys. "GroundWork is one of many including Hyperic, Zenoss, and several others. However, datacenters that have already paid for enterprise-wide licenses for the more expensive proprietary solutions like OpenView can still leverage their investments with Linux servers."

Bart Grantham, VP of R&D for Logicworks says that there is no silver bullet to solve the issue of whether to go open source or stick to proprietary sources for IT management tools—on either side of the debate.

"The question really is: once deployed and mature, will the system management software actually hold you back and result in lost opportunities? Will you start making hardware and software purchasing decisions based on what the management software supports? What will you do when one of your key pieces of infrastructure is not supported by a new version (or vice versa)?" asks Grantham. "In discussing the evaluation and deployment of a system management product, all parties should acknowledge that whatever product is selected there will not be 100% coverage of all possible IT problems. You will still need to have your staff build custom scripts and modules for the many pieces of your IT infrastructure that makes your company's operations unique. Ultimately, system management products should be viewed as tools to augment your staff's ability to recognize and solve problems, rather than the seductive vision of a central puppet-master. Remember: intelligence still resides in heads, not machines."