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<title>The Story of an Implementation LG #51</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<H1><font color="maroon">The Story of an Implementation</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:jacek@softomat.com.pl">Jacek Kijewski</a><BR>
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Translated from the Polish by
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<a href="mailto:Pawel.Moszumanski@sobieski.com.pl">Pawel Moszumanski</a><BR>
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Originally published in
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<A HREF="http://www.linux.com.pl">Linux Plus</A>, February 2000<BR>
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<!-- Editor: <A HREF="mailto:artur@software.com.pl">Artur Skura</A> --></EM>
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<P> The implementation was conducted in Jan III Sobieski Hotel - one of the
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biggest, most luxurious and prestigious hotel facilities in Poland. The
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hotel offers a wide variety of services, ranging from suite rental,
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through restaurants to organisation of conferences.
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<P> The hotel has over 400 rooms and employs up to 600 persons. The office
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and administration centre is located in a four-story building. The hotel
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owns restaurants, underground car park, business centre, pay-TV,
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information desks at the airport, etc.
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<P> Jan III Sobieski is a giant entity which could be compared to a large
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factory. It is operated round-the-clock, as guests do not like to be
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kept waiting. Since the prices reflect hotel's high standard, the guests
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are keen on getting their money's worth. The expectations with regard to
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the computer system are, therefore, very high.
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<P> The system has to provide for uninterrupted operation in continuous
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traffic. Operating downtimes should be reduced to a minimum, as no time
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is available to shut the server down for maintenance. The system should
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provide for reliable customer service and ensure that the numerous,
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large and critical databases be adequately protected.
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<P> The following systems had been in use at Jan III Sobieski Hotel prior to
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the network implementation:
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<OL>
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<LI> The main hotel system developed by a German company operated on HP
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UX and alphanumeric terminals. The system supported room reservations,
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inventory settlements and accountancy. Its greatest weakness was the inability
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to communicate efficiently with taxation modules, as the system supplier could
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not keep up with the rapid changes in Polish legislation.
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<LI> The office centre was operated in Windows 3.11 and MS Office 4.3
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(Word 6.0, Excel 5.0) environment. Since the applications' processing capacity
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became insufficient, a decision was made to switch to a 32-bit platform.
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<LI> Novell NetWare was the file server.
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</OL>
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<H1>Why Linux?</H1>
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<P> The decision to implement Linux was made in 1998 when communication
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problems with the taxation module were aggravated due to frequent
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legislative changes. A decision was made to purchase an application
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designed by a local provider and offering better support. The hotel
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selected HS-Partner and their hotel and restaurant application.
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<P> The HS-Partner application (now HS-Partner - Protest) operates on Linux
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graphic terminals. The terminal comprises a PC in specialist casing, a
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touch-operated LCD display and software: XWindow and specialist
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libraries. It is based on QT with a number of adjustments implemented by
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HS Partner programmers.
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<P> The actual program operates on a server based on the SQL database -
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initially PostrgeSQL, now Adabas-D.
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<P> The terminals themselves provide for secure operation in the kitchen and
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the bar as they are resistant to temperature, humidity and do not need
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to be repaired. It is a very important feature in a hotel and restaurant
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environment.
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<P> The application was implemented in the first half of 1999. The
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management decided to switch to a 32-bit platform. The choice was
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restricted to two platforms - Windows NT and Linux.
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<P> <A HREF="mailto:Pawel.Moszumanski@sobieski.com.pl">Pawel Moszumanski</A>,
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a manager of the
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IT department and a great Linux enthusiast, played the vital role in the
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decision-making process. Being aware of system capabilities as well as
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the hotel's operating needs, Moszumanski was able to convince the
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management to seriously consider the Linux option.
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<P> At that time, our company had already become known for forcing
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StarDivision, the developer of the StarOffice package, to enter the
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Polish market. We took an interest in StarOffice after we had
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experienced difficulty in promoting our Linux solutions. Still, the
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customers never ceased to ask the sacramental question: what about Word
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and Excel?
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<P> StarOffice was the only Linux package which could match Microsoft
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solutions. Its operating standards resembled similar solutions developed
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by the Redmond company. The only obstacle was the absence of a Polish
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distributor and a Polish language version.
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<P> After laborious efforts (the Polish market has always been disregarded
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by American software developers), our company finally became an official
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StarDivision dealer and we could offer solutions based on the system.
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Thanks to our PKFL activity and the recommendation of HS-Partner, we
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were able to establish contact with Jan III Sobieski Hotel.
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<P> The hotel management were faced with a difficult choice - either to
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spend a lot of money to develop Windows-based solutions or to acquire a
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system whose advantages were recognised only by the professionals
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without any marketing support. The main advantage of Linux was its
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ability to maintain a uniform system platform, while Windows' strength
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laid with its commercial popularity. Still, the numbers were on our
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side. The cost of acquiring Windows-based software exceeded the Linux
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solution five-fold.
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<P> For a large company like Jan III Sobieski Hotel, the cost of acquiring
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software is not as important as overall system development costs. As it
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turned out, the total software cost was ZERO!
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<H1>Let's reduce TCO</H1>
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<P> The cost of owning a computer is higher than the actual purchase cost.
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The cost of installing 100 computers with NT Workstations would be:
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100 (computers) x 2 (hours to install the system, network and
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applications) equals the monthly pay of a well-paid computer expert.
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<P> Additional costs would have to be incurred with regard to management,
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maintenance and support. Jan III Sobieski Hotel is a large facility and
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it takes more than a short walk to get from one building to another. A
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system requiring less maintenance would be the preferred choice.
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<P> The alternative solutions were the Zero Administration Kit, PC Anywhere
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and others. Still, they implied additional costs without a guarantee of
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proper operation.
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<P> All those features were already present in the Linux System. A PC could
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be transformed into a practically self-operated terminal, a remotely or
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centrally controlled workstation. The high reliability of a Unix class
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system also guaranteed safe data processing.
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<H1>One Company - One Platform</H1>
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<P> The hotel management decided to implement a uniform system platform. A
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decision was soon made to introduce the StarOffice package provided that
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the HS-Partner system would be successfully implemented. The
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implementation was completed in August 1999. The next step was to unify
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the system platform. Negotiations were held on involving our company in
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the implementation process. Our company had become known for a number of
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successful StarOffice implementations based on Linux, for example in
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Warsaw's BoatHouse restaurant.
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<P> The hotel management take credit for approaching the subject in the most
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reasonable way - by stating the requirements and demanding results. They
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did not intervene in technical details and provided the programmers with
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the freedom to make the right decisions.
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<H1>A present from Sun</H1>
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<P> At that time, a fee was charged for commercial StarOffice applications.
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Even though it was half the price of the MS Office package, we still had
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to import it, pay the customs duty, wait and transfer the money.
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At low margin levels, it was not a very lucrative undertaking - our
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company makes money on implementing, rather than selling software
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packages. In the late summer of 1999, StarDivision was taken over by Sun
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Microsystems and the StarOffice package became available to the public
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for free. We no longer had to waste our time dealing with bureaucratic
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chores and we were (and still are) the most competent company
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implementing the StarOffice package based on Linux.
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<H1>What about the terminals?</H1>
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<P> We suggested that Xterminals be used, but the idea was not picked up by
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the hotel's IT department. Firstly, the terminals implied additional
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costs. The hotel had an adequate PC base and only some of the computers
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required upgrading. Secondly, a new server would have to be acquired to
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prevent the loss of the system's calculating power on the terminals.
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Server capacity was also questioned.
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The capacity of the Intel platform and servers with Linux support seemed
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limited and other hardware platforms were not an option. The present
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solutions ensure adequate processing capacity.
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<P> The management decided to postpone the decision on buying terminals
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until the existing stations became inadequate. A number of weaker
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computers would still have to be configured as Xterminals.
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<H1>Setting to Work</H1>
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<P> The contract was signed in October and it involved training and system
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installation. We had to begin by developing a quick system installation
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mechanism.
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The company called MandrakeSoft helped by releasing Linux-Mandrake.
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This distribution was equipped with the KickStart mechanism which
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provided for automatic installation based on previously developed
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scripts. Our programmers wrote a set of scripts which installed the
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system and the required applications with the developed computer base.
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The script would be saved on a floppy disk and run to install the
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abridged version of Mandrake, the StarOffice package, configure the
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network and printers.
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Another set of scripts was used to automatically generate user
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configurations. All those tools enabled us to install the system on
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workstations practically overnight.
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<H1>Technical Aspects of the Configuration </H1>
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<P> Workstations with the operating system and the StarOffice application
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are installed on the local disk. The users' home directories are
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installed from the server with the use of NFS. Authorisation control is
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conducted with the use of yp. IPXutils is used to communicate with the
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Novell server.
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<P> The only problem was NFS. NFS itself is not an optimal solution and is
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probably the greatest weakness of Unix systems. The majority of hotel
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users frequently browse through directories to find a given file - with
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100 logged users, the capacity of the server using nfsd drops below the
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allowable level. The Kernel nfsa driver - knfs - was used. At present,
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processor load is negligent (the server has two processors) and the
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network operates correctly. We did not experience any other
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network-related problems. Thanks to remote access, user support became
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possible without running from one floor to another.
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<H1>Training</H1>
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<P> Training sessions were held in the hotel's training room. Two lecturers
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trained two groups each. Courses were taught daily - one group in the
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morning, the other in the afternoon. The course comprised 24 class hours
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on package operation, basic Internet and e-mail skills, etc. The users
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did not have any problems with the presented material despite the sudden
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change of the working environment. The training session lasted less than
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four weeks. Following the course, we provided the users with two weeks
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of start-up support - a job well done by Piotr Duszynski.
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<P> Most users are not familiar with the specific nature of the Linux system
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and the system itself. They use the window manager interface to open
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applications such as StarOffice, accounting applications and, in
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justified cases, Netscape. Practically none of the users know how to
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administer or configure the system, but such skills are not required.
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<H1>Present Condition</H1>
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<P> The hotel currently relies on the above hotel system and the office
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centre operates the StarOffice package. The HP UX accountancy system is
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also used. The WWW and e-mail server operates on Linux. The Novell
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NetWare system is integrated with Linux using IPXutils tools.
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The Windows system is used for pay-TV, which is the only hotel service
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that keeps the IT department busy troubleshooting.
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<H1>The Story of Success</H1>
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<P> The implementation was one of the few stories of success in the Polish
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computer industry. I would rather not make any references to major
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system failures experienced by large companies, but we tried to steer
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clear of the common errors. The hotel management defined the goals and
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the programmers developed the right implementation methodology. The IT
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department is always short of people during system implementations which
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is why we had to resort to outsourcing to a limited extent. Pawel
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Moszumanski's managerial skills cannot go unnoticed - he scrupulously
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supervised project goals and provided the team with organisational and
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technical support. Much of the credit goes to the hotel's staff who
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provided us with a friendly and stress-free working atmosphere. We also
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received massive support from Arek Podgórski, one of the top Linux
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administrators and system designers, and Piotr Duszynski, implementation
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expert. Lenin's theory that "all depends on the working class" was fully
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proven.
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<H1>Other Applications</H1>
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<P> A business application should be the key feature of a computer system. A
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Unix class system proved to be a reliable platform for such
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applications. Business applications should be selected to match the
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company's operating profile, but the system's open architecture and
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stability should also be taken into account. The costs of maintaining
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and developing open applications and systems are half of those incurred
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in closed systems. Linux and other Unix class systems, such as SCO and
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Solaris, provide the perfect solution. The system selected for office
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applications should be well integrated with the business application
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system. Linux is the best solution in the Unix system category. It
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provides for a single stable platform, uniform administration system and
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lower costs. Network size is of minor significance - we have implemented
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a similar solution (featuring Xterminals) in 5 workstations at Warsaw's
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BoatHouse restaurant. A similar method can be applied in a network of
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1000 workstations. Unix was developed for large networks, but Linux is
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more flexible and can be used in both small businesses and giant
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corporations. If its scaling capacity is exhausted, commercial Unix
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systems can always be applied.
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<P> <EM>Softomat's web site is
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<A HREF="http://www.softomat.com.pl">http://www.softomat.com.pl</A>. In the
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near future, the company plans to launch a mini service which will discuss
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their experience implementing the above as well as other projects.</EM>
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
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Copyright © 2000, Jacek Kijewski (author), Pawel Moszumanski (English translation)<BR>
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Published in Issue 51 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, March 2000</H5>
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