Distribution support
Currently, Lotus provides support for installation on four different distributions of Linux, but only one distribution is certified. Red Hat Linux, version 6.0 and above, is the only certified Linux distribution. Caldera, version 2.2 and above; SuSE, version 6.1 and above; and TurboLinux (at http://www.turbolinux.com), version 6.0 and above, are all also supported.

It's important to read the release notes before doing an installation of Domino. Lotus supports or certifies the operating system based on the assumption that certain patches have been installed. If your operating system doesn't have all those patches, you not only risk potential security bugs, but Domino may not install properly.

The business case for Domino on Linux
Now that you're more familiar with the history of Linux and, more specifically, Domino for Linux, it's time to decide whether or not running Domino on Linux is right for your organization.

There are several factors that need to be addressed before implementing Domino on any operating system: cost, stability, performance, security, and support. This section will examine each one of these factors.

Cost savings
One of the biggest advantages of Linux is its cost. You would be hard-pressed to find an operating system that is less expensive than free. Even if you desire the additional support that comes from purchasing Linux, it's still significantly less expensive than comparable operating systems.

Linux also has the advantage of no additional per-server costs or user licensing fees. A single Linux CD can be legally installed on as many servers as you'd like, and you can connect as many people to a server as it'll bear.

Linux also runs much more efficiently on older, or legacy, hardware than other operating systems. In fact, this is one of the primary advantages of Linux: it's designed to be as efficient as possible and make the most use of available hardware resources. Red Hat 6.2, the most current version of Red Hat Linux, has minimum hardware requirements of a 386 processor, 16MB of RAM, and 500MB of hard drive space for a standard installation.

Installing Lotus Domino on the server does add to the hardware requirements, but not significantly. The minimum (although not recommended) hardware requirements for Domino on Linux are a 486 processor with 64MB of RAM and 750MB of hard drive space. Domino and Linux are both designed to run as efficiently as possible with minimal hardware requirements.

In addition to the low acquisition and hardware costs of Linux, IBM is aggressively pursuing the small business market. On June 13, IBM released the SBP (Small Business Pack) for Linux. The SBP contains the Domino Application Server 5.03, DB2 V7.1, and Websphere Standard Edition V 3.05 for less than $500. This offer currently runs until December 31, 2000.

Stability and availability
A low cost operating system is worthless if it's not very reliable. One of the reasons many organizations have been quick to adopt Linux is because of its innate stability and availability.