Introduction

This article describes my experiences in migrating from Solaris 2.6 to SPARC/Linux, running on a SPARCstation 5. Note that this project was more than simply a lab experiment; this machine sits on my desk at work and is the computer at which I spend most of my time.

The article documents the choices I made, the actions I took and the problems I encountered, and concludes with my overall impressions of Linux as a computing environment from several aspects.

There is a lot of interest in Linux at present, both as an alternative to lesser operating systems and as the latest fad. My experience was slightly different to many for several reasons:

• I need to do real work right now on this machine - I am not simply an enthusiast wanting to get away from Windows. This is an existing client desktop, not a new backend Intranet server. Hence immediate availability is more important.
• I already use Unix and have a high degree of familiarity with it. In my case, I am using S/Linux as an alternative to Solaris, which is another Unix variant. Solaris is commercially supported and has a long, distinguished pedigree. It is also extremely popular in the enterprise.
• Linux for SPARC has been playing catch-up to the Intel release until quite recently. In some areas, it still has a way to go. The greater consistency of SPARC hardware has probably enabled it to reach its present stage in a shorter time than would otherwise have been possible. Nevertheless, the S/Linux people continue work to extend support for existing hardware, never mind newer architectures like the UltraSPARC.

This article will be of interest both to `power users' familiar with other Unix variants and more general Linux users keen to see whether their favourite OS stands up as a desktop platform in a productive environment.