Newsgroup: it.comp.os.dibattiti
Titolo: Choosing an Operating System

CERT® Coordination Center
Choosing an Operating System
We receive reports of incidents from sites that use a wide variety of
operating systems (OS). Because of operating-system-related difficulties
these sites have experienced, we are recommending some things to
consider before choosing an operating system. 
In-House vs. Outside Tech Support
Consider these things: 
* Do you have in-house expertise to do necessary software maintenance if
you're using freely available software? 
* Can you buy a product with vendor-supplied customer support? 
* Do you need to pay a third party for customer support? 
Freely-Available vs. Commercial Software
If you have knowledgeable staff, you may choose to use freely available
OS versions so that you can maintain or fine tune the product to meet
specific requirements. You might have more confidence in the modified OS
because you were responsible for making changes or closely involved in
the implementation of patches or workarounds. If you know about a
vulnerability and understand the problem, you may want to apply fixes
immediately to the source code rather than wait for an upgrade or patch
to be released through other channels. 
If you select freely available OS versions and don't have the resources
to maintain software in-house, it's important to know that you could be
placing your site at a high risk of compromise. This risk can exist
because your site will not be receiving security patches on a regular
basis from a vendor (or third party). In cases where intruders are
exploiting a vulnerability, operating system vendors may have analyzed
the vulnerability and released security patches for their operating
systems. On the other hand, sites with freely available OS versions but
without the expertise to develop and install patches may remain at risk
from the vulnerability. 
If you do not have the time or expertise to modify and maintain an
operating system in-house, you might choose a commercial vendor product.
When you buy a commercial operating system, you can purchase a service
contract to provide you with patches, upgrades, and other customer
assistance. Alternatively, you could buy third-party service or select
products from vendors who implement fixes and make patches publicly
available. 
Understand Your Needs
When choosing an operating system, there are many things you need to
consider. Among these are 
* Availability of source code vs. binaries 
* Availability of technical expertise (internal and external) 
* Maintenance and/or customer support 
* Customer requirements and usability 
* Cost of software, hardware, and technical support staff 
Regardless of the choice you make, you should first carefully review and
understand the needs of your organization or customer base in terms of
resources, cost, and security risk, as well as any site-specific
constraints; compare the available products and services to your needs;
and then determine what product best matches your needs. 
This document is available from:
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/choose_operating_sys.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The CERT Coordination Center is part of the Survivable Systems
Initiative at the Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded
research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University. We were
started by DARPA (the Defense Applied Research Projects Agency, part of
the U.S. Department of Defense) in December 1988 after the Morris Worm
incident crippled approximately 10% of all computers connected to the
Internet.
http://www.cert.org/nav/aboutcert.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPG

 consider before choosing an operating system. 
Non mi pare dicano nulla di strano.
Quando metti su un sito internet devi fare le tue scelte ponderate e con
intelligenza, e pianificare anche interventi e modifiche. Non farle e' da
stupidi. Cmq il third party support esiste pure con Os free. 
---> 
www.redhat.com
 <--- tanto per dirne uno.
-- 
                    Davide "Gatto Feroce" Inglima
     Fondatore del ChronoITA, first Italian Chrono Trigger Fan Club
 
http://web.tiscalinet.it/chronoITA
       Bibliotecario del B.U.B.B.L.E. Vicepresidente del M.A.M.E
                     Fan #1 di Emrys e di Eugeal