Linux as King Kong

The Mydoom worm that raced across the Internet last week is only the latest — and craziest — evidence of the passion surrounding Linux.

Initial copies of the virus were programmed to attack the SCO Group, the tiny Utah company that has laid claim to portions of the open source operating system. Granted, Mydoom’s creators are a lunatic fringe. But they would not lob this electronic bomb if there weren’t a larger, saner group of people who are upset at SCO’s attempt to harness the Linux behemoth.

That behemoth will not be tamed, however, as this week’s cover package, with memorable illustrations by artist Bill Mayer, makes abundantly clear.

First, Test Center Contributing Editor Paul Venezia offers a deep and fascinating look inside the new Linux kernel in “Linux v2.6 scales the enterprise .” The previous kernel, version 2.4 (released in 2001), made Linux a respectable choice for enterprise IT. Version 2.6, which came out in mid-December, makes it compelling.

Compared with common flavors of v2.4, the new core quadruples the amount of RAM and the number of x86 CPUs that Linux can handle. It also bumps the maximum file-system size from 2TB to 16TB and expands the permitted number of major devices from a cramped 255 to a spacious 4,095 — all critical for an enterprise core.

Venezia also offers first-hand insight into the power of the open source community. When he found bugs and posted them to the Linux mailing list, quick responses appeared from both Linus Torvalds, Linux’s creator, and Andrew Morton, the “maintainer” of the new core. Within six hours, the problem was pinpointed. The fix has since been incorporated into the next release.

Meanwhile, the companion story by IDG News Service’s Robert McMillan, “Red Hat, SuSE get on board,”  analyzes the social and political developments surrounding Linux adoption (see especially the Q&A with Morton. Taken together, the stories offer a solid guide for planning your company’s Linux course.

The release of a new kernel is only the first step towards enterprise deployment, of course. Next, major vendors such as Red Hat and SuSE must integrate v2.6 into their commercial Linux offerings. Both have already incorporated several key enhancements into their existing v2.4 kernels, and may release full-blown, v2.6-based distributions later this year.

So as in politics and religion, while kooks like Mydoom’s author grab headlines and inflame tempers, the real action takes place elsewhere — in this case at big companies across the globe where smart IT execs are staring out the window into the eye of a giant penguin.