[ossig] Microsoft bets business on Linux

[PC Low]

http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;754084996;fp;524288;fpid;1
It's unofficial: Microsoft bets business on Linux

Rodney Gedda, Computerworld

04/11/2005 08:31:35

The next time Bill Gates sends an e-mail through Microsoft's shiny new
Wireless LAN it will be passed through a behind-the-scenes Linux-based
network appliance.

Earlier this year Microsoft and Aruba Networks jointly announced the two
companies will work to replace Microsoft's existing Cisco wireless network
with Aruba's centrally-managed infrastructure, which eliminates the need for
individual changes on the access points.

Aruba Networks was selected to provide the networking equipment for what is
considered to be one of the world's largest next-generation wireless LANs,
serving more than 25,000 simultaneous users a day in some 60 countries.
According to an Aruba press statement, Microsoft's new WLAN will be deployed
in 277 buildings covering more than 17 million square feet using Aruba
mobility controllers, mobility software and some 5000 wireless access
points.

What the press statement didn't mention is that Aruba mobility controllers
run the Linux operating system which Microsoft has aggressively targeted as
being inferior to Windows as part of its "Get the Facts" marketing campaign.


Mark Robards, Aruba Network's Asia-Pacific vice president, said the
company's mobility controller switches provide integrated security,
including a firewall, VPN, and hardware encryption, and they are "all
Linux-based".

Robards said the network rollout with Microsoft is going well and is likely
to take two years to complete and will contain as many as 7000 access
points. Indeed, Aruba is recruiting Linux developers to work on its mobility
controller software. In an advertisement on the company's Web site, Aruba is
seeking a senior Linux software engineer with "expert knowledge of Linux and
extensive Linux kernel experience".

Sunjeev Pandey, senior director of Microsoft IT, said the company is
"pleased to be partnering with Aruba in the upgrade of Microsoft's
next-generation wireless LAN".

"This partnership will allow Microsoft to leverage a cutting-edge wireless
and mobility platform that provides us the scalability, performance and
security that our environment demands," Pandey said.

Pandey's appraisal of Aruba's technology is in stark contrast to Microsoft's
"Get the Facts" rhetoric which places Windows as a more secure, and
higher-performing choice over Linux.


-- 
It's far easier to fight for your beliefs and than live up to it.
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