From: ellis@epca.UUCP (Ellis Carter)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.novell
Subject: SCO vs Any Other Unix (Summary)
Keywords: SCO vs Any Other Unix
Date: 27 Aug 92 19:36:00 GMT
Organization: Ellis Carter Associates, Metairie, LA

This is the summary of the posting I did for SCO Unix.  Thanks to all
who contributed to the posting.  It was a REAL education!
Enjoy.

Topic for Summary:                                 SCO  vs  Any Other Unix      
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I am contemplating buying SCO ODT or SCO Unix.  I have heard from one 
person that SCO is not as good as some of the other flavors.  I may be 
opening myself up for a large response, but could anyone comment on this?
I realize that this may have been covered extensively or may even be an 
FAQ.  I would appreciate any comments to this subject.  If there is any 
large response, I will summarize.
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We are indeed very happy with the technical support, performance, and
reliability of this product.  I would be happy to discuss this with you
at length if you desire.  We are entirely independent of SCO interests.

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This depends a great deal on what you want to do with your Unix.  If
you want a "business Unix" system that runs and runs and runs, with
little maintenance or downtime, get SCO.  There are also lots of
shrinkwrapped applications available for it, and despite what you
might have heard about SVR4 running SCO applications, it's still going
to be a lot easier to run them on a real SCO system.  The latest
releases (ODT 2.0 and SCO Unix 3.2v4.0) have eliminated most of the
major complaints that people had about SCO -- inability to deal with
long filenames and symlinks, the security that couldn't be turned off,
and so forth.  Support from your vendor will usually be really good
with SCO, and SCO has its own support system that works pretty well.
SCO's documentation is second to none.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a system to use at home or to
play around with, you'll be happier with SVR4.  PD software tends to
compile with less trouble on SVR4 than on SCO Unix (but then again,
SCO is getting better in this regard), and SVR4 has more neato-keen
features than SCO.  SVR4 isn't as stable as SCO, though, and there are
fewer shrinkwrapped applications available for it.  SVR4 will tend to
be less expensive than SCO, but the documentation isn't as good and
support may be more of a problem.

If you decide to go with SVR4, I'd highly recommend Dell's offering.
Although there are a few odd things about it, Dell seems to be a lot
more responsive about fixing bugs in the USL code and supporting its
product.  Esix might be a bit cheaper, but you don't get the same
goodies you get with Dell, and Everex doesn't seem to be as interested
in after-the-sale support.

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Yes indeed, this has been the topic of many "religious like" flame wars in
this group. Get out your asbestos suit :^)

>may have been covered extensively or may even be an FAQ.  I would 
>appreciate any comments to this subject.  If there is any large response,
>I will summarize.

Seriously though, there is one big difference; SCO is based on System V
release 3.x, while many other vendors offer ports of System V release 4.x.
SCO has recently been using the phrase "version 4", which is relevant only
to thier own revision control, SCO is definitely not SVR4! SVR3 is "pure"
System V UNIX, while SVR4 has stuff from BSD UNIX folded in. If you like
pure System V, then you may like SCO, but most people I know (myself
included), like BSD, and hate System V. SVR4 conatins enough BSD-isms to
keep most BSD fans happy, although it's still a matter of personal taste!

SCO has several other negatives; (1) It pretty expensive when compared
to the competition. (2) It's still pretty buggy. Just watch this group for
awhile, and see how many postings like "Trouble with blah under SCO", etc.
you see. Not very comforting, although one could argue this is because SCO
has sold more copies than anyone else. They *have* been around awhile, *and*
they are popular, but then this is also true of MS-DOS :^)

As I mentioned, I like BSD, so SCO was out of the question. I bought
Dell's SVR4, and have been very happy with it. Another thing to consider
is the various free UNIX flavors that have popped up, like BSD386, and
linux. Can't beat the price!

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I have only used SCO and Interactive UNIX, and I tend to use them
differently than a "normal" user might use them (I use them to develop
networking products).  In my experience the SCO implementation of TCP/IP
is _much_ more robust than that from Interactive.  I have uncovered at
least one admitted bug in the ISC implementation, and I have seen much
other bizarre behavior.  Although I have no deep abiding love for SCO,
their TCP/IP is much better.

I don't know if TCP/IP figures in your plans, but this would make a big
difference to me in making a choice.

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Last I heard, SCO was not following the SVR4 route and had no intention
of doing so.  This means again, SCO's products will be 'non-standard'.

Do consider, however, that SCO has a large market presence and the
resources to provide support and maintenance for some time to come.  Be
prepared to pay for more than installation support.  SCO appeals to
business owners who feel a need for the security of things like service
agreements.

I am looking toward SVR4.2/Destiny as the cohesive UNIX that everyone will
use, not SCO.  I expect several of the smaller (ESIX, Dell, etc.) to pick
up SVR4.2 as a product and provide better tech support than SCO can provide.

For now, I think you would be better off with Everex ESIX or Dell UNIX.
Both have inexpensive or free tech support, are current versions and have
a significant base of ported free software.

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YOu will get a lot of personal opinion but most systems out there are still 
SCO and will continue to be so for quite some time to come. What you need to 
measure is support for the long run and that is where SCO shines in not simply 
deserting the past and jumping into the future while leaving many customers 
floating in obsolescence. 

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I have installed and used SCO Xenix, SCO UNIX, ESIX, Interactive 386/IX,
Consensys V.4 and probably a few others.  On the plus side, the SCO stuff
works.  But bug fixes are slow to appear, the software is expensive and
tech support for knowledgable users is a pain as they assume everyone is a
newcomer. The main reason I wouldn't buy SCO products for a new system is
that they are non-standard.  For example, SCO UNIX is not related to
System V, Release 4 yet they try to make it sound like it is.  Lots of
people got burned by going with Xenix and realizing they were stuck
because of the applications they bought.

As for the other vendors, each has its advantages and disadvantages.  I
expect you will hear a lot about each and I am not about to go into
details but here are some clues.
  * Don't buy Consensys unless you know what you are doing or have
    a dealer that will support you.  The lower price is because of
    virtually no hand holding.
  * ESIX is a pretty good product with e-mail tech support and a
    mailing list of ESIX users to talk with
  * For a complete solution I have heard really good things about Dell.

Good luck.  If it matters, I am posting this from a Xenix system and the
system in the next room is Consensys V.4. I am the administrator for these
systems as well as an ESIX system.

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Although SCO Opendesktop has come a long way in the last year, I still
feel that DELL has the best product. wimsey uses SCO ODT 2.0 and ever
since the 'sysop' installed it, I've had problems with logging in and
staying logged in - kind of like earlier days when wimsey used Xenix. I
use DELL at home and have found it very good BUT I have not run it as a
dial-in/dial-out service with ftp etc. According to people who have, it
is very solid. I suspect that DELL has the best 386/486 Unix around -
all things considered. They have a 30 day try out policy as well I hear.

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  I'm not even going to try to summarize. There simply doesn't seem to
be another reliable V.3 UNIX other than SCO. We have a number of them at
work, just got a new ISC, lots of funny stuff, bum compiler, etc.

  For V.4 I would go with Dell (I do at home) and get the whole package
for a cheap price compared to SCO. SCO has drivers for lots of stuff,
has a cross compiler, has both AT&T C and their own, and is reliable.

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-- 
Ellis Carter
Internet:           ellis@epca.wpg.com
New Orleans, LA     (504) 456-2245