UNIX vs Windows History Reputation Performance Security Stability Cost Usability

History UNIX –Developed since early 70 th in AT&T Bell Labs –Originally no graphical interface, later added –Networking Centered –Multi user environment NT –Developed between 1988 and 1993 –Strong emphasis on stability and performance –First true networking OS from Microsoft –Originally Single user

Reputation: Suck-Rule-o-Meter

Suck-Rule-o-Meter over Time July 1998 May 2000 hitgrowth Windows 1298:185 = 7.0:1 4225:514 = 8.2:1 3.2 Linux 205:952 = 1: :2903 = 1: MacOS 40:364 = 1:9.1 48:80 = 1: FreeBSD 3:78 = 1:26 7:598 = 1: Unix 228:278 = 1: :332 = 1: VMS 21:39 = 1:1.9 24:50 = 1: Hitrate went down for Apple People hate Windows today more than they used to UNIX reputation has improved Keep in mind that this does not reflect the average user but rather programmer or tech wiz.

Security: UNIX vs NT Study by Hedbom and Lindskog Conclusion : –Similar Security Features –NT somewhat more ambitious (well it is younger)

Weaknesses Bypass of intended controls –Password attacks: Capture, guessing –Utilizing weak authentication Active misuse of resources –Resource Exhaustion Passive misuse of resources –Search for weak configuration

Password Attacks Capture: –Legacy problem for both UNIX and NT (old protocols and compatibility) –Both OS transmit under certain conditions Password as plain text Guessing: –NT password storage is easy to crack into –UNIX password storage can be overly accessible (usually there should be 2 file, a /etc/passwd and a /etc/shadow that actually contains the passwords)

Resource Exhaustion Freeze the system by keeping it busy –NT: Priorities from 1-15 –A program with 15 enters an infinite loop –Problem: In NT the process decides about its priority –UNIX: process has no access to priority except for lowering it –Number of processes per user are limited –No Problem

Conclusion There is no significant difference in security between UNIX and NT A lot depends on the configuration and UNIX has more configuration options to secure things

Performance NT can’t yet handle the complex and powerful application that UNIX has Mostly due to memory management issues “ Compaq says that it is selling systems with the UNIX operating system because Windows NT does not correctly run Java programs (a newer language that decreases the amount of time and money to develop software). It has judged Windows NT inadequate to handle server tasks for large networks (many computers connected together to share information) “

Performance Study Windows NT finished dead last overall in a comparison with five different versions of the Unix operating system, concluded a market research firm that assessed the latest versions of these operating systems The company ranks the major Unix variants and NT each year using a scorecard that judges six factors. Windows NT ranked last in every area except one. However, "Even the Enterprise Edition of Windows NT Server 4.0 trails Unix in every area except for PC client support," D.H. Brown said in a statement. "NT still falls short of Unix for advanced Internet protocols and extensions. NT also lags in features for scalability, reliability, availability, serviceability, and system management," the study said.

Usability NT has a very user friendly interface NT requires less sophistication from user than UNIX The Windows interface in UNIX is not as nice as NT Fewer user application programs for UNIX than NT More industry strength applications (Data Bases) on UNIX

Stability Despite the fact that NT is much more stable than earlier Windows OS, it still has lower reliability than UNIX NT can crash when a buggy application crashes (Blue Screen of Death) Memory leaking that eventually decays performance – lack of cleanup and defragmentation UNIX is the choice for critical tasks

Cost NT is costly due to the licensing UNIX application licenses are cheap in bulk Culture of Freeware (GNU licensing) on UNIX where as freeware for significant applications are rare under NT Windows requires more software updates and hardware replacements over time

Case: 500 student system

UNIX cost

Running cost over 5 years Administration effort much higher for NT solution –1 part time for UNIX –At least 4 full time for NT UNIX amortizes over 5 years, NT does not –A 5 year old UNIX machine can very well handle today’s work –PC environment needs upgrade every 2 years –(the PC philosophy is that each new generation makes the old one obsolete)

Sum after 5 years

Case 5000 user in Manufacturing

More Implication Productivity Paradox UNIX architecture has much more redundancy –If one server fail, others are still able to take over the job Fewer staff people means they know more The productivity effect of failure reduction –161 desktop application crashes per day –Users avoid experimenting with the system and never learn to use it effectively –5,000 users like PolyOne with annual revenues in the range of $3 billion. For a company this size, a 1 percent decrease in productivity due to user failure to use the application suite properly and crashes amounts to a $150 million revenue hit in five years

Summary Stability ->UNIX Performance -> UNIX Reputation -> UNIX Security no winner Usability -> NT Cost ->UNIX