Topic: e-Smith vs. win2k

[shreyas]

sorry to be bothering u guyz with this well known fact, but i was to convince my dad that linux is way more stable AND secure than win2k. Besides, e-smith comes with a build-in e-mail server, proxy server, dns server, etc... saving us mucho $$$... e=smith wins in performance as well! any responses would be welcome...

thanks
shreyas

[Dan Brown]

Don't forget that the resource requirements for e-smith are _much_ less than for Win2k.  I don't think you'll get a functional win2k-based server running on a P150 with 16 MB of RAM and a 1.5 GB HDD.

[shreyas]

exactly, and even with greater resources, linux manages way better

[Colin Mattoon]

Depending on your needs (of course), with a little (very little) additional effort, e-smith Linux is perfectly capable of serving the needs of many homes and small businesses on a mere 486 with 16 MB ram and hard drives smaller than 1 GB.

[Orville Carter]

I try to avoid WinNT bashing (most of the time).
WinNT has some great features. It is a nice piece of software.

Where WinNT4 fall apart is in a) Reliability, b) Service, and c) Price.

Reliability: This is subjective, but many NT4 users have pull their hair out on this one.
There is nothing more frustrating than having to reboot dozen's of client' servers
every 10 to 14 days, simply because the surver has slowed or frozen. It looks
very unprofessional.
E-smith runs nonstop for months with no noticable drop in performance - Clients are
happy - and thats good for ongoing business.

Service: Try calling MS for after sale service! Good luck. The fight begins begin the
application software developer and MS. Naturally, you are caught in the middle.
E-smith has the world of users (and E-smith crew) to assist at a moments notice.

Price: Yeah! WinNT cost me "an arm and a leg". E-smith was just an iso download.

[Gerald]

Let's give credit where credit is due. I use both e-smith, W9X,NT and W2K, All are fine products. All are very reliable when the hardware is certified. I never reboot e-smith, W2K or NT when the hardware and drivers are all certified. The big advantage of e-smith is the bottom line. I will run on older equipment with less resources. It is very solid and a great choice for file and printer serving. Email and web serving are also great features. However, if you need colaboration using Exchange Server, VPN, etc. NT(W2K) is the obvious choice. However, you must pay the piper.

[Marshall]

Gerald I don't know how you figure that NT is the obvious choice you can do all of the above including VPN using linux,  I have not met a NT machine (even with Certified hardware and Drivers) that did not need regular reboots, and constant defrags.