10 Enterprise Linux myths debunked

Linux is over 30 years old, powering businesses all over the world, and yet there are still misconceptions about what it is and how it works. That’s understandable. After all, one reason Linux is special is because it is unique. It doesn’t always work the way other operating systems do, and that’s frankly a good thing. Here are 10 myths about Linux that are getting rather old, and that modern Linux has, quite simply, surpassed.

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1. Myth: Enterprise Linux has a steep learning curve

Origins: When the sky’s the limit, it looks like a long way up. Linux is full of potential, so it can be difficult to differentiate what you need to know to get started and what you want to know eventually.

Reality: Computers are endlessly complex, which is what makes them so powerful. There are plenty of diversions and detours within Linux for you to get lost in, but they’re all optional. The basics of modern Linux is a matter of surprisingly familiar interfaces. Windows pop up, you click OK or Cancel, things happen. In some industries, hundreds of users have a Linux desktop without even realizing they’re using anything different from what they use at home. The conventions of interface design have become all but universal.

That’s not to say you can’t get pleasantly lost exploring the depths of Linux, if that’s what you want. It’s open source, so it can be an adventurous user’s playground. For developers, there are programming languages and frameworks and direct access to devices. For systems administrators, there are networking tools so deep in the stack that it challenges the traditional roles of hardware. If you’re an architect, then Linux can be building blocks for whatever you can imagine.

Debunked: You can adjust the difficulty level of Linux to suit your needs. If you’re looking for an easy option, then just use the tools bundled with the operating system. If you’re up for a challenge, then design your own.

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2. Myth: Enterprise Linux isn’t user-friendly

Origins: Linux isn’t user-friendly in the same way the Internet isn’t user-friendly. Sure, if you look at a snapshot of web pages from the 1990s, the user experience was lacking. But the modern web is so indistinguishable from desktop applications that in some cases it’s an application’s primary interface. If you look back at Linux applications from the 1990s, you’re likely to see the quirks of the ’90s interface design combined with a single developer’s lack of experience with UX.

Reality: Interface design has come a long way since the 1990s. Groups like Freedesktop.org and the GNOME desktop have well-established Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) for standardized and intuitive user experience. Open source toolkits like GTK and Qt make responsive design easy for any developer.

Debunked: The Linux of the 1990s is a far cry from the Linux of today. Through design specifications and cutting-edge developer frameworks, user experience is a top priority for Linux.

3. Myth: Enterprise Linux is too hard

Origins: Back when desktop computers were the only computers, there was a high resistance to learning new methods of tackling common problems. Everyone expected everything to work the same way, so anything different usually got relegated to the “too hard” pile.

Reality: As modern computer users, most of us have developed more alacrity than we realize. We’ve used desktop computers, several different cell phones, game consoles, touchscreen interfaces on everything from copy to vending machines, and a host of websites that update page designs as often as you think to go to the site. Learning a new interface isn’t “too hard” any more.

Debunked: Digital technology has developed a common language. Linux uses that common language when it suits, and provides a greater vocabulary to empower you to take your computing power further than ever before.

4. Myth: Enterprise Linux isn’t for me

Origins: For a long time, Linux was seen as an operating system for big banks of servers. It was the thing that made the Internet go, and the only people who used it were sysadmins. In short, it seemed reasonable to believe that Linux didn’t have anything to offer the everyday computer user.

Reality: Learning something new doesn’t happen in isolation. Each new “trick” you learn on Linux helps you build a new perception of computing. A clever way of solving a problem on one platform often translates to a clever way of solving a problem on another. There’s not always a one-to-one mapping, but broadly this trains you to view puzzles from new angles. The more you learn, the better equipped you are to approach challenges with fewer expectations and greater ingenuity.

If you’re a systems administrator, the new tricks you learn might involve infrastructure, communication and automated configuration settings. If you’re a desktop user, then your new tricks might be running batch jobs and automation to save yourself hours of time.

Debunked: Regardless of what kind of computer user you are, there’s something new you can learn from Linux.

Download the Linux cheat sheet

5. Myth: Enterprise Linux moves too fast

Origins: Linux is innovative, partly because it’s open for improvement by any developer with a good idea and the code to back it up. That means software on Linux can be updated often, and does anybody really want to keep up with so many changes?

Reality: In a closed system, development happens in secret. Software changes on a daily basis, but you don’t see the incremental changes. You get a cumulative update when the patch is released.

In open source, your degree of awareness depends on your focus. If you really want to see all the incremental changes (and many developers do need to see those), then it’s all out in the open for you to see. It doesn’t stop there, though. If you want it, you can even try those incremental changes on your own system. It’s an open beta, all the time, but what some people don’t realize is that it’s entirely opt-in. You don’t have to follow every change if you don’t want to.

A Linux distribution like Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) delivers changes to you only after finalizing and testing the update. You don’t get tentative temporary changes, you get the final release. You not only get the innovation, you also get the stability.

Debunked: Your software stays up-to-date, and gets rigorous testing before delivery.

6. Myth: Enterprise Linux moves too slow

Origins: Stability can be interpreted by some users as sluggishness. Because Linux can run years without a reboot, and can endure an extended lifecycle between releases, it can seem like Linux never changes.

Reality: As any project manager knows, delivering software or IT solutions means managing the components you use to build the solution. That’s a lot to keep track of, so the last thing you need are more variables. That’s why Linux developers work hard to provide a stable platform for you to build upon. The Linux kernel has a stable branch, and core libraries are intentionally slow to change. That’s how the rest of the system can safely evolve and adapt to new developments in technology.

Debunked: A stable platform doesn’t mean stagnation. Linux provides structure, allowing you to focus on trusted libraries and services rather than on the platform.

7. Myth: Enterprise Linux doesn’t do [blank]

Origins: Remember when marketing campaigns claimed that certain operating systems were only good for certain tasks?

Reality: Believe it or not, in the early 2000s, the computing industry was struggling to comprehend how there could possibly be more than one operating system. As a result, there was a common belief that one operating system was for business, another was for creativity and another was just for servers. There was no allowance for people who dared cross those imagined boundaries.

Debunked: Today, technology is part of everyone’s life. Most people understand now that you can use your preferred operating system for whatever you choose to do on any given day. Linux can serve your business needs just as well as it can serve your gaming, creative and network needs.

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8. Myth: Open source can’t be trusted

Origins: To the uninitiated, it seems like hiding code from view would make software safe from attack. However, the truth might surprise you.

Reality: Even the most unsophisticated of attacks doesn’t require access to source code. When a system is attacked, the target isn’t the source code, it’s the conditions produced by the source code. To an attacker, it doesn’t matter why a port is open, or what has caused a memory leak, or why a stack overflow has occurred, it only matters that the vulnerability exists. The fact is, you don’t need access to source code to identify a weakness in running software.

Conversely, access to source code enables you to prevent a vulnerability in software. When everyone can see what software is programmed to do, anyone can find and fix a potential problem. That’s how open source programming works, and it’s one of the most significant contributions that Red Hat makes to Linux. Red Hat works in the open, contributing and accepting improvements to software so that everyone’s environment works better. Fewer vulnerabilities for everyone means a more resilient technology environment.

Debunked: Contrary to popular belief, obfuscating code doesn’t make software secure. Open source software actively encourages improvement by peers, with peer review.

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9. Myth: Enterprise Linux is too hard to install

Origins: You can install Linux on nearly anything, but is it worth the effort?

Reality: It’s fun to witness Linux developers installing Linux onto every computing device within reach. It can also be humbling, and a little terrifying, to see the lengths they go to make it work.

For most of us, however, Linux only needs to be installed on a desktop, server or laptop computer, and luckily that process has been refined down to a few clicks. RHEL features the Anaconda installer application, which walks you through each task required to get RHEL onto your computer. You don’t have to hunt down drivers or worry about formatting your hard drive, because that’s all taken care of for you.

That’s not all, though. You can also run Linux on the cloud, in containers and virtual machines. Those use cases are even easier, often involving a single click in a cloud vendor’s control panel. If you’re a sysadmin or developer and you need Linux in an instant, it’s never been easier or quicker.

Debunked: Installing Linux is as easy as installing an app.

10. Myth: Enterprise Linux has too many choices

Origins: You can never have too many choices, until you really do have too many choices.

Reality: Linux is flexible, which means you have a lot of choices when you choose Linux. You can choose which distribution to run, you can choose which desktop to use, a security model, a firewall interface and much more. That’s the reality, but pragmatically the “hard” choices are deferred. When you run a curated Linux distribution, like RHEL, you get the Linux experience you deserve and that most Linux users recognize. Common conventions that have been adopted by the wider Linux userbase are the same ones you see in RHEL.

It’s no coincidence, of course. Open source informs open source, and trends combined with field tests emerge as the most popular choices. You can safely use the defaults, and you’ll be getting the best that Linux has to offer.

Debunked: Through trends and field tests, the best choices for a Linux experience rise to the surface and are installed by default for you. Once you’ve settled into Linux and feel like exploring alternatives, it’s easy to install additional software you want to try. Every Linux distribution has a software center that makes it easy for you to try out different options at your own pace.