"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"

There are many variations on the phrase - but I think the meaning is a great fit when considering the Grid community's almost apologetic view of its relationship with Linux.

Today, Linux is by far the preferred OS in Grid environments. There - I said it.

Whenever the Grid community is presented with the question of which OS is best tailored for Grid environments, the response is almost always the "we support everything ... Grid is OS-agnostic ... it's all about heterogeneity" monotone response.

I think by not acknowledging the traction of Grid on Linux, we're doing a disservice to the evolution of Grid in general. There ARE some specific reasons why Grid has taken off on Linux, as this month's newsletter participants discuss. The OS is cheaper, you can get "closer to the metal," and there are various other Linux performance issues that make it particularly well-suited for clustering, Grids and virtualization. Will Windows be a serious contender in Grid? My guess is absolutely... and the Grid community should continue to work hard on the Windows OS work. Is Solaris an important OS in Grid environments today? You bet.

My point here isn't that we should abandon other operating systems for Grid environments. It's that we're not taking proper advantage of the momentum that we have today on the dominant OS in Grid environments... Linux.

So what needs to happen? For starters the Grid community needs to have a stronger presence at Linux events, and vice-versa. I'm very encouraged that the LinuxWorld Expo, for example, is co-locating an event with the GGF and EGA. And LinuxWorld also has some great conference sessions on clustering, Grid and virtualization.

I'd like to see the two worlds continue to converge, and jointly explore the possibilities. It's possible that the explosive growth of Linux in the enterprise is just the horse that Grid needs to ride to get to more mainstream use. Irving Wladawsky-Berger from IBM ponders the possible benefits of the Globus Toolkit becoming part of a certified Linux stack... an idea that others, such as the 451 Group's William Fellows, have also contemplated in the past.

So rather than deflecting the Linux question, Grid pros should start acknowledging the traction and taking proper advantage of the opportunity. The other OS discussions will surface in their own time.

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