Microsoft makes Unix Services For Windows available for free

Submitted by charlie.collins on Wed, 01/14/2004 - 14:57

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Microsoft has always had their "Services for Unix". However, it was previously 99 bucks a seat. They have now announced that the new version 3.5 will be free. What is SFU? Its a sort of shell and utilities for Windows. It contains an nfs client, all sorts of utilities (grep, gcc, etc) and supports most apps (including POSIX multithreading capabilities). Does it outdo Cygwin (I dont know)? Personally , I think this is great news for all and a good move by Microsoft. Regardless of the motive it helps interoperability. Some folks, Microsoft included, claim that the reason Microsoft is doing this is to allow for easier migration FROM Unix to Windows. That doesnt make much sense to me. Just because Windows can run a certain Unix app, its still a Unix app and would still have to be ported to be a Windows app? Microsoft thinks (according to the linked news.com article) that this will make Windows an x86-Intel OS choice when it comes to choosing between large Sun/HP machines and Linux. They basically state that with SFU people can now dump Solaris and pick Windows. Uh, yeah, ok, mmm huh. I dont think that most, if any, companies/users that run large apps on Unix and are looking to save money are going to look to Windows. It just doesnt make sense. In those cases people look at Linux/Intel/x86 because its proven capable and reliable and more cost effective. An alternative to that is Windows running some emulator stuff and then running your app? Uh huh, mmmm, ok. (Sarcastic tone implied, work with me here.) Also even when just for the sake of rhetoric you do follow the logic of "run your unix apps over here on Windows" it gets hairy. Microsoft ships software like gcc (the, uh, GNU, c compiler) and myriad other utilities and brags about it? You need all that other related stuff to run your app, and its open source, etc, but you should run that stuff on Windows? Now overall I think SFU is a great idea, when its free. But I think claiming its for helping "migration" is dumb. Microsoft ought to claim its for helping out their customers that might have a heterogeneous environment and maybe need to mount some NFS stuff? Or maybe even better for customers whom are so pissed off at "find" that they will be dumping Windows any minute if they cant get their hands on "grep" real soon. The theme here is that maybe its to offer more VALUE to their CURRENT customers? I think this HELPS Microsoft because it helps their CUSTOMERS use the products they purchased. Thats good, to provide value to your customers (something many companies and orgs seem to miss lately). Customers with Windows desktops can communicate with and use Unix servers, but it doesnt really translate into more Windows based solutions overall? Props to Microsoft for this. For more see the linked news.com article and the SFU site. Microsoft takes on Linux with free tools: news.com

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Re: Microsoft makes Unix Services For Windows available for free

Submitted by jeepmutt (not verified) on Wed, 01/14/2004 - 16:10.

I think that you are missing a point to this play by Microsoft. Basically, they're saying (and I think that you'd agree) that Intel platforms are much cheaper than proprietary Unix platforms. And Wintel platforms are still cheaper than proprietary Unix platforms. Right now, they think that people are dismissing Windows out of hand because "Linux is Unix" and "Windows is not." What they're trying to do is say that "Windows can kinda be like Unix, too." This isn't a bad marketing idea at all. You figure that in most shops there's gonna be a windows server somewhere. Now with this, (assuming they really make people aware of it,) people in those shops who wanna migrate from proprietary Unix to 'something else' will at least be able to give Windows a shot. Add in the fact that people with proprietary Unix are probably more comfortable with dealing with big, well-known vendors, they might be tempted to goto MS, and say Dell, as opposed to trying to figure out how to get support (both HW and SW) from a Linux system. Anyway, I wouldn't dismiss the logic of Microsoft, it isn't all that far fetched.

Re: Microsoft makes Unix Services For Windows available for free

Submitted by Mr. Atrox (not verified) on Wed, 01/14/2004 - 19:34.

Actually I wasnt missing that point at all but directly refuting it. I understand what they are trying to say, I just dont buy it. Windows is not an alternative platform to run your Unix apps on and Linux is. Its not JUST about being Intel/x86, its the reliability and robust nature of LINUX. I think I said that in the article, no?