Best approach to Linux support
Scott Lowe
Published: 17 Dec 2002 10:34 GMT
At the SourceForge site, you'll find a utility named Apache Toolbox that can help you perform this installation and allows for almost any configuration that you want. For instance, if you want the mod_headers module for Apache installed, simply enable it from the provided shell script. To use this utility, all you need to do is download it and run it. It is provided free and includes a number of discussion forums you can turn to if you run into problems using it.
Once you use Apache Toolbox to get the four applications installed, it is useful to have an easy way to manage the database. MySQL is a great database, but the base installation lacks good administration tools. At the SourceForge site, you will also find an application named phpMyAdmin that helps alleviate this problem. It provides a set of PHP scripts that are capable of managing almost every aspect of the MySQL database. The point of this example is not to show you how to install LAMP, but instead to show you that you can get a plethora of powerful tools from SourceForge to help you administer your Linux systems. I have found the support for the variety of open source tools I obtained via SourceForge to be better than that of many commercial products and much less expensive. It's amazing, the number of people who are willing to spend their time developing these excellent applications and then helping people with them when problems are encountered.
Mailing lists and listservs
Many commercial software vendors provide support for their products via the Internet, but the open source and Linux software crowd take this to new levels. Almost every popular open source application has an extensive network of mailing lists, Web forums, listservs, and newsgroups set up for support. In addition, because the source code for many of these applications is freely available, you can fix problems yourself if you have the appropriate programming knowledge and the time.
Each application generally has its own resources. However, when I have a problem, I tend to make heavy use of Google, since it catalogs discussion boards so well. Because of the close-knit nature of the Linux community, your problem has likely been encountered elsewhere and the answer is probably sitting in a message board somewhere on the Internet. Google can usually help you find it.
I have also found that the mailing lists and listservs for open source applications offer a wealth of knowledge. The group that created Samba hosts one of the listservs I subscribe to. The other admins who subscribe to the Samba lists are extremely helpful and quick to respond to posted queries. If you are new to supporting a product such as Apache, Samba, or MySQL, I would recommend joining one of these lists to help you quickly get up to speed on the terminology of the product, learn the common issues facing it, and get late-breaking news about it. To find a listserv, do a Google for the name of the software program along with the word "listserv."
Oreillynet.com
O'Reilly is one of the original sources for reliable open source and Linux information. With its recognisable brand of technical books (the ones with the animals on the cover), it's well respected in the open source community. I highly recommend the purchase of the O'Reilly book on any application you are considering deploying in your enterprise.
In addition to its excellent books, O'Reilly has launched the O'Reilly network, which is a valuable resource. It has set up a number of sections on many topics, ranging from Linux administration to PHP to XML. Each section contains an abundance of valuable documents relating to the subject matter.
Summary
I have had much less trouble getting answers to questions and resolutions to problems with open source software than with many expensive commercial applications -- and I know that flies in the face of the standard perception of getting support for Linux software. I have often heard the argument that "there is no one to call for help" for certain Linux and open source apps. However, quality help is often no more than a mouse click away.
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