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Over the past five or so years, many of you will no doubt have heard something about a PC program called "Linux". Some may wonder what it is; most will wonder at least how it's pronounced (Lynn-ux, not Line-ux). A few will wonder how NRAO ever got involved with it. This article will try to answer some of these questions.
In a nutshell, Linux is an operating system. It can replace the DOS/ Windows combination that is usually found on personal computers, and in fact it can run on just about any sort of computer including Macs and Suns. Unlike most other operating systems, Linux is free, or to be technically correct, it is "Open Source" software.
Linux got its start in Finland back in 1991, when a college student by the name of Linus Torvalds decided to write the heart of a Unix-like system (a "kernel") for his new PC. However, unlike other programmers or students, he did not keep it to himself or try to make money off it. Instead, he released the source code to first a few friends, then more people, until about 100 students, computer programmers and enthusiasts around the world were trying it out. Very shortly thereafter, many of the freely available GNU tools (including the highly regarded C language compiler gcc) were added alongside this new kernel, and within a year, a functional, Unix-like operating system had emerged. Network code and a windowing system (X11 from MIT, same as on the Sun workstations) soon followed, and by mid-1993 the whole package had started to become stable.
In the fall of 1993, I remember getting a query from John Broderick at Virginia Tech asking if it was OK for his student to try porting our AIPS software on his PC (this is the same software used by our Astronomers to reduce and analyze their observations on the Sun Workstations). By this time I had heard about Linux and wondered if this was what the student had in mind. The following day, Jeff Uphoff had contacted me confirming that Linux was indeed what he was using. I was quite skeptical that Jeff would have any chance whatsoever of success, but I answered his questions nonetheless.
Two weeks later, Jeff sent another e-mail stating he had some problems. However, these turned out to be finishing touches, not show-stoppers! He had done it! I was so amazed at this feat that I invited him to come by when he could and install Linux on one of our PC's. Within a month, we were both huddling over a (then state of the art) Gateway 486/66 system, boot floppies in hand, busily preparing it for AIPS. Within a couple of hours, we had the system installed, looking for all intents and purposes like a Sun (even down to the Open Look window manager) and busily munching away on AIPS data. It could run about half the speed of the Sparc IPX systems we had at the time.
It was not too surprising then that Jeff was soon on the NRAO payroll. Most of us in Charlottesville got to know him quite well as his natural problem-solving abilities in systems administration and programming became more and more evident. By the time he moved over to the AIPS++ group, he had firmly established Linux as a standard operating system for serious Scientific data analysis at NRAO. Not only that, but Linux had started to take over other server roles, such as a firewall for our internet mail, a usenet news server, a system logging server, web servers, and more.
By the time he left NRAO for greener pastures, his replacement and colleague Rob Millner had taken over the role of Linux advocate with much enthusiasm. Advances in the speeds and abilities of PC's had now combined with Linux and new compilers to the point where a PC/Linux system was more cost-competitive than a Sun workstation with the same performance. This did not go unnoticed by the various computer divisions within NRAO, and in 1998 for the first time ever we purchased more Linux/PC systems than Sun workstations.
So that's how we got involved so much (and so early) with Linux. Of course, there's a lot more to the story than I can tell in these pages... many of us in Charlottesville, for example, had our home PC's upgraded to Linux with the help of either Jeff or Rob, and we've found in the process that it's not necessary to use software from a certain large software company in the Pacific Northwest for just about anything anymore. I'm writing this article, in fact, on my home PC in WordPerfect, and the system is running Linux, Netscape, a few terminal emulator sessions, a clock (which is telling me it's way too late!), and a mail program. And of course it's connected via modem to our networks so I can with a few keystrokes log in and check my work mail (only 3 new messages; things are quiet on Sunday nights). If I wanted to create some fancier artwork for this article, I would fire up the "GIMP" (Open Source -- free -- version of software like Photoshop). But I'm out of time so I'll conclude with a few brief notes and caveats:
Here are a few web resources to help you learn more about Linux and the Open Source movement:
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