Myth: Linux is not a serious solution for business

Recently IBM and Hewlett-Packard have reported billions of dollars of Linux sales to businesses. Linux is the dominant operating system of the Internet. If you are visiting a web site, chances are that you are visiting a Linux computer.

 Myth: Windows/Solaris has a lower total cost of ownership than Linux

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is the cost to a company over a lifetime of a product. TCO, by its nature, varies a lot between companies because is tightly related to your individual needs and application. Any solution can be expensive if you use the wrong product for the job, if you don't use the product properly, or if you pay for unnecessary components.

The TCO of Linux tends to be lower than Windows, Solaris and similar products for many applications. The reasons for this include:

• Skilled people are easy to find - Exposure to Linux (or similar operating systems) are a part of most university training

• Support is usually unnecessary - If you have skilled people, customer support is usually not required. If you need support (for example, if you are running Linux on unusual equipment), the cost of support varies and you are well-advised to shop around and compare prices

• The software is free - Linux is easily accessible for the cost of downloading and creating some discs

• Security is strong - The risk of viruses, worms and other distruptive software that cause a lot of problems for administrators are greatly reduced with Linux. Software updates are often made available within hours of a problem being detected

• The quality is exceptional - With open source solutions, thousands of experts are working continually to make Linux the best it can be

 Myth: FreeBSD is more secure than Linux

There are two reasons this story has circulated around. First, in previous years some Linux distributions shipped with no firewalling turned on: users who failed to read the installation instructions left unnecessary software exposed to the Internet. FreeBSD shipped with the maximum firewalling. Linux installation programs now offer a range of firewalling levels that a user can select.

Second, FreeBSD is a smaller system and has a smaller market share than Linux: it is a smaller target for attacks, but it also has less features and supports less hardware. Security patches for Linux are often released within hours of a weakness being discovered. Pound for pound, there is no practical difference in security between FreeBSD and Linux.