Arthur Fuller
fuller.artful at gmail.com
Mon Jan 19 03:51:19 CST 2015
Jim, Given that they are XP-era boxes, my initial question would be, How much RAM is available? As you know, for a pure Linux install even 2 GB will suffice, but the reason I ask is that the way I see it, your preferred paths (mine, too, with that many boxes to consider) are either Linux + Wine or Linux + VirtualBox + XP VMs. Either way, a minimum of 4 GB of RAM would be needed. I am also assuming that the critical software aboard each desktop is close to identical. So 1000 / 78 = 12.8 boxes . Assuming one server per store, that averages to 65 desktops per store. Really? Who would have thunk that a puny little pharmacy would need that many boxes per store? Regardless of the actual distribution, that's still a lot of boxes to convert. Presumably you'll recommend a path and the other consulting firm will do the actual ports. I certainly don't need to tell you what to do. If it were me, I'd start with a physical inventory. Maybe instead of or in addition to a server per store there are one or more server farms, in which case one approach may be a cloud solution. Is there an off-the-shelf "pharmacy package" that they use? If so, and it was written in .NET, then perhaps a port to Mono? What's the Back End database? It would be really convenient if it were MySQL. For other stuff, I'm guessing they use Office. An enterprise-wide conversion to Office Libre or OpenOffice would involve training, store by store -- not your problem of course, but somebody's. Still, I can sure see why such an outfit would be looking to escape the MS stranglehold. The extended-support packages offered by Ubuntu etc. start to look really good by comparison. Please keep me posted on how it goes. (Strictly Canadian note: do you ever watch Dragon's Den? One of the dragons, Jim Treliving, he of Boston Pizza and Mr. Lube, frequently mentions London Drugs. I don't know whether he owns a piece or just has an ongoing relationship with them.) Arthur On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 7:48 PM, Jim Lawrence <accessd at shaw.ca> wrote: > Over the last couple of weeks I have been in conversation with a support > company who have been approaching a number small to medium companies and > trying to get them to migrate up from their XP boxes Yes, you would not > believe how many businesses are sitting still and trying to figure out > which way to go next. > > I have been brought in to do some consulting on how easy it is to move a > company called LondonDrugs from XP to Linux. They are not a large company > but they will have to move their 78 store with around a thousand Desktops > and Servers sooner than later. Microsoft, has approach them, offering > deals, assistance and even terms but the management does not want to end up > in a similar set of circumstances, in another five years. No matter what > the results are it is going to cost the company millions. I of course am > hoping they will choose Linux for a majority of their computers but have no > say in the outcome. > > I know I said I would not get pulled back into systems work but my Volvo > has broken, probably the most expensive part in the car; the control > mechanism between the front and rear AWD and it will cost about 4K when the > taxes are paid. Hopefully a weeks work will cover it. > > The final ending of Windows7 may not be so...has not Microsoft condemned > Window 7 to the dust-bin a couple of times before? > > Jim