At the end of October I attended the
Alantejo
Linux congress and LAN party, which was held in the
city of
Évora.
Évora is a marvelous UNESCO World
Heritage city which has from Roman ruins to 18th century buildings,
not to mention the superb food. It is
well worth the visit if you happen to travel to Portugal.
At this meeting a conference was given
by José Antonio León Moreno
from the “Center of New Initiatives” in
Extremadura (Spain)
about the
Linex project where he stated
mildly that the Spanish region of Extremadura is using Linux on the
desktop in the PCs used by the public administration civil servants of
the region of Extremadura.
After reading in the Linux forums all the pains
and troubles that Munich is going trough to migrate their desktop
systems to Linux this sounded to me like something incredible. When he
finished his talk and the floor was open for questions I could not help
but ask him about this subject again, the answer was simple: “We changed
the desktop systems from Windows to Linux during the weekend, when
the civil servants came back next Monday morning they found Linux running
on their desktop machines”. Wow! So Munich is receiving all the press about
their careful and detailed migration to Linux on the desktop
and here comes one of the poorest region in Europe showing that this can
be simply done during a weekend.
Some of the figures he showed in his presentation, and not only the
ones related to desktop Linux, were really impressive. I will try
to summarize some of the highlights here,
but you can read more at the
Linex web page
or in the section
“What is Linex?”.
The public government of the Spanish region of Extremadura
has now a long tradition of promoting and using free software.
Extremadura is a region located in the South-West of Spain, in the
center of a triangle formed by the cities of Madrid, Seville and Lisbon.
With the goals of ensuring the accessibility of every citizen to the
Information Society and promoting the digital literacy for everyone,
both in urban and rural areas, they created what they call a
“Regional Intranet” which consists of a big regional network
with
more than 1400 points with a bandwith of 2 Mgbps. In this way
all the schools, health centers, hospitals, employment offices, etc.
have a broadband connection to the Internet. Since every town
in Extremadura has a school, they are also able to enjoy this
high speed Internet service even in the smallest town of the region.
Another essential component of the network are the end user terminals.
These were made from PCs running a localized version of Linux called
Linex
(compound word from LINux and EXtremadura) which they tailored
to their specific needs and changing the name of the programs to
more accessible ones to the people in Extremadura. For example, the Gimp
image processing program
was renamed to Zurbarán, a famous Spanish painter.
Besides building one of the best known Linux distributions,
Linex, they have achieved
the amazing goal of having one PC for every two students in their schools.
Yes, you read it correctly, one PC per two students.
In total they now have some 80000 desktop PCs running Linux.
Of them, 66000 are in
schools and education centers and the rest, 14000,
are in other public administration
buildings. Although not 100% of all Extremadura’s public administration
departments have been switched to Linux desktops, this numbers certainly
indicate that they are in the right path to reaching this goal.
If that were not enough they have also setup what they call “Vivernet” which
is a place where new companies can establish themselves and the regional
administration of Extremadura will provide them with all the hardware
and services necessary to be on the Web,
from the PC to the high speed
Internet connection at no cost.
Extremadura was once home of the famous conquerors of the new world
and now they are ready to take up the whole world, at least the Information
Age one. As their motto says, “Be legal…copy gnuLinex”.
About the author:
Xavier Calbet is a long time free software user who started
using a Linux distribution in the ancient past when Slackware had
to be installed using tens of floppy disks. He is now currently
working on his two pet projects: a meteorological field and satellite
image display system,
SAPO,
and the best available free
numerical computer language as of today,
PDL (Perl Data Language).
In his spare time he gives
tutorials on how to write
device drivers for the Linux kernel.
If you would like to see your thoughts or experiences with technology published, please consider writing an article for OSNews.
An important/interesting info is missing in the article: Linex seems to be based on Debian, at least Distrowatch says so.
Edited 2005-11-10 20:03
who cares what its based on? (besides distro zealots that is
)
the important thing is that they moved what seems to be that they moved from windows to linux over the weekend
now, i have not checked the links provided so my question(s) may have been answerd there but:
was there any systems running special software made specificaly for some task or other running on windows before the switch?
and if so, how are this now handled? a back end windows machine running vnc or similar where the user can access said software over the network?
did the software get replaced beforhand? if so the total change time should include the time used to write said replacements.
to me it sounds like the rollout was basicly this:
a file server where set up on the network. the “techs” where issued boot cds with a basic linux system on them. they would then go around booting the diffrent desktops from this cd and input some basic info. the install would then happen from the server and the cd could be ejected and moved to the next box while the install was running on the others.
it just shows that with good planing one can do fast rollouts. only diff is that to do a similar thing with windows you would most likely have to buy expensive extra software to handle the task, plus the licence costs for each windows desktop.
in comparison, every linux distro out there have a basic system for this kind of install buildt into them.
hell, some of the more popular (like th debian that the parent comment talks about) allwos you to download a very small image and then do a install over the internet, no questions asked.
linux truely is a child of the internet, and the devs and users continualy come up with new ways of using it
who cares what its based on? (besides distro zealots that is
)
Well, the article is quite interesting but a bit “light” on the technical side…like you said, it’s hard to imagine how to update thousands of PCs over the weekend even if it’s just a copied image over the network…and I’m sure there was a long testing period before the update.
If it’s based on Debian, some other Distro or even 100% self-made is certainly interesting and I would expect this information in such an article…maybe theres a followup on the technical aspects.
it just shows that with good planing one can do fast rollouts. only diff is that to do a similar thing with windows you would most likely have to buy expensive extra software to handle the task, plus the licence costs for each windows desktop.
I’m sure you would get really good conditions on the licences…if you don’t have most of the needed know-how inhouse there won’t be big differences in costs between Linux and Win. But yeah, planning is everything.
I wonder how many of these big migrations get done without big press coverage…
sure you would get nice conditions on those licences. but can you realy beat free in both cost and conditions (outside of those “redistribute the changes” that you find in the gpl that is)?
as for big migrations that happen without big press? most likely quite a number. mostly in the area of public schools and similar.
in norway there have been a distro made (linux based for those interested) called skolelinux (translated school-linux) thats basicly a 1 image thin client, server and workstation installer. funny thing is that the goverment more or less demand windows as a standard. but more and more schools, feeling the tightening budgets and increased requirements for computers in the classrooms opt for going linux.
thing is that this distro is a nice framework for all kinds of office systems. thin clients in most offices and similar, a couple of servers in the rack, and workstations on the laptops and so on.
It is indeed based on Debian, though there was some announcement a while back that, IIRC, meant future releases would be more of a localization of Ubuntu. As far as I know that’s not the case (yet).
While many people critized the idea of renaming names, it’s a fantastic idea, from a usability POV.
I mean, calling a music player “lennon” would be much easier to remember for users than “amarok”
I would vote for ‘yellow submarine’ myself 😉
But in both cases, there is a risk of being sued..
Not really. But there is a risk of angering developers.
Forget Munich? Why? Because it’s a much larger city with a much more complex civil administration’s conversion doesn’t matter in the face of a small community’s overnight conversion?
And how well was it done anyway? Spain isn’t renown for it’s incredibly efficient government, so I’m wondering how many people discovered they lost valuable work after the weekend of conversion.
While I agree that “forget Munich” is not a terribly nice title, your doubts aren’t too nicely expressed either. Tit for tat, I guess.
Forget Munich? Why? Because it’s a much larger city with a much more complex civil administration’s conversion doesn’t matter in the face of a small community’s overnight conversion?
Small community? Extremadura is one of Spain’s largest regions.
And how well was it done anyway? Spain isn’t renown for it’s incredibly efficient government, so I’m wondering how many people discovered they lost valuable work after the weekend of conversion.
I’ve talked personally to one of the persons responsable for the migration. There was no fuss about the migration, people didn’t lose their work and all was good. It was amazing.
By the way, the entire migration, including creating Linex, costed about 30 000 euros; the price Microsoft asked, just for the licences, was 50 000 000 euros. That’s a big difference. 🙂
“By the way, the entire migration, including creating Linex, costed about 30 000 euros; the price Microsoft asked, just for the licences, was 50 000 000 euros. That’s a big difference. :-)”
ok, thats a clear jaw on floor moment!
“By the way, the entire migration, including creating Linex, costed about 30 000 euros; the price Microsoft asked, just for the licences, was 50 000 000 euros. That’s a big difference. :-)”
Yeah, take that TCO troll..!
[intentional_sarcarsm] Why haven’t they just deployed 20 Apple computers, it would be so much easier? [/intentional_sarcarsm]
Don’t be surprised.Dutch always thought Spain is nothing more than a holiday resort where Spaniards are a rara avis. They believe 80% of Extremadura is Dutch and English,so why bother?
*Italics*Spain isn’t renown for it’s incredibly efficient government*Italics*
LOL
Does the concept “Stability and Growth Pact” mean something to you? *
i guess it does not…
The spanish government _has proven to be_ more efficient than others. Period.
BTW, I dont find the title to be offensive, but I agree with you in this: there is no reason to compare Munich with Extremadura.
* http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/about/activities/sgp/sgp_…
Hmmn, Spain or Portugal and escaping a dull grey English November. I’m up for it.
Linex is based on Debian – see
http://www.linex.org/linex2/linex/ingles/linex_tecnico_ing.html
Skolelinux, mentioned by another poster, is also based on Debian.
The City of Munich’s migration, if it ever happens, will be another adaptation of Debian, I believe.
Of the top seven distros on http://www.distrowatch.com four are based on Debian or are Debian. One of them is Ubuntu.
Debian represents an interesting alternative to the Red Hat or SuSE way of doing things. You don’t have to buy into the whole bag, including armies of consultants and astronomical support costs. You can roll your own and choose your IT support companies. While this is a no-go for the enterprise, who may anyway be looking for certification to run, say, Oracle, it can be very appealing to government, educational and non-business outfits of all kinds, as well as to specialists who do have the necessary skills, like some ISPs for example.
Debian in its various flavas has a huge user-base, actual and potential, but it doesn’t get nearly so many headlines as the commercial outfits.
Uninformed bigotry is aggravating to me, if the fact that a small region in Spain beat Munich to the point so be it, but please stop with the condescending tone.
Of course Spain is far from being perfect, but I still think it is important that a region in an industrialised country (and the 10th world economy at that) has managed to convert their desktops in such matter. If your pride was somehow “bothered” by it so be it. In fact Extremadura started this programme a few years ago… it is a interesting example, so please let’s just leave it at that.
Hello, I’m spanish. First of all, I have to say that Extremadura is a big region in the west of Spain, so please, don’t compare it with a single city!
On the other hand, Spain is in the top ten economies of the world, so do not say silly things about spanish efficiency.
Another thing to be considered is that Extremadura is the region with less resources in Spain, and for that reason they think about ways of saving money (such as with GPL software).
That’s all I had to say.
CU
–beto–
How many PCs was “migrated”? 3 workstations (including 1 broken and 1 “solitaire station”) and 1.5 servers?
Greate success! Wow! Everybody cheering!
You know, I can, to a certain point, understand people not reading TFA on Slashdot. After all you have to make the incredible effort of going to another site.
But as I say I can understand it to some extent.
Your comment, on the other hand, seems… well, stupid. Yeah, I can’t say it any other way, sorry.
From TFA: In total they now have some 80000 desktop PCs running Linux.
Of course Spain is far from being perfect, but I still think it is important that a region in an industrialised country (and the 10th world economy at that) has managed to convert their desktops in such matter. If your pride was somehow “bothered” by it so be it. In fact Extremadura started this programme a few years ago… it is a interesting example, so please let’s just leave it at that.
Ehh, pride in what exactly?
“By the way, the entire migration, including creating Linex, costed about 30 000 euros; the price Microsoft asked, just for the licences, was 50 000 000 euros. That’s a big difference. :-)”
Yeah, take that TCO troll..!
Exactly, and I’m guessing you can get rather decent technical support for the remaining 49 970 000 euros 🙂
Wow!! my hometown on osnews.com…