Brief Comparison between UNIX and LINUX

Introduction

The history of UNIX® dates back to 1969. Through the years, it has developed and evolved through a number of different versions and environments. Most modern UNIX variants known today are licensed versions of one of the original UNIX editions. Sun's Solaris, Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX, and IBM's AIX® are all flavors of UNIX that have their own unique elements and foundations. For example, Sun's Solaris is UNIX, but incorporates many tools and extensions designed to get the best out of Sun's own workstation and server hardware.

Linux® was born out of the desire to create a free software alternative to the commercial UNIX environments. Its history dates back to 1991, or further back to 1983, when the GNU project, whose original aims where to provide a free alternative to UNIX, was introduced. Linux runs on a much wider range of platforms than most UNIX environments, such as the Intel®/AMD led x86 platform. Most UNIX variants run on just one architecture.

What is it?

UNIX is an operating system that is very popular in universities, companies, big enterprises etc.

Linux is an example of Open Source software development and Free Operating System (OS).

Architectures:

UNIX is available on PA-RISC and Itanium machines.

Linux Originally developed for Intel's x86 hardware, ports available for over two dozen CPU types including ARM.

File system support:

UNIX: jfs, gpfs, hfs, ufs, xfs format

Linux: Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, Jfs, ReiserFS, Xfs, Btrfs format

Usage:

The UNIX operating system is used in internet servers and workstations.

Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers.

GUI:

Initially UNIX was a command based OS, but later a GUI was created called Common Desktop Environment.

Linux typically provides two GUIs, KDE and Gnome. But Linux GUI is optional.

Market share for Desktop PC:

UNIX Less than 0.5 percent of the PC market.

Linux The market share of Linux is about 0.8%.

Threat detection and solution:

UNIX Because of the proprietary nature of the original UNIX, users has to wait for a while, to get the proper bug fixing patch. But these are not as common.

Linux In case of Linux, threat detection and solution is very fast, as Linux is mainly community driven and whenever any Linux user post s any kind of threat, several developers start working on it from different parts of the world.

Cost:

Different flavors of UNIX have different cost structures. With the hardware included, a midrange UNIX server can cost anywhere in between $25,000 and $259,000 with high-end severs ranging up to $500,000.

Linux can be freely distributed, downloaded freely, distributed through magazines, Books etc. There are priced versions for Linux also, but they are normally cheaper than Windows.

Security:

A rough estimate of UNIX viruses is between 85 -120 viruses reported till date.
Linux has had about 60-100 viruses listed till date

Text mode interface:

UNIX Originally the Bourne Shell. Now it's compatible with many others including BASH.

BASH (Bourne Again Shell) is the Linux default shell. It can support multiple command interpreters.

Development and Distribution:

UNIX systems are divided into various other flavors, mostly developed by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations.

Linux is developed by Open Source development i.e. through sharing and collaboration of code and features through forums etc. and it is distributed by various vendors such as Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, and GentuX etc.

User:

UNIX operating systems were developed mainly for mainframes, servers and workstations. The UNIX environment and the client-server program model were essential elements in the development of the Internet.

Linux operating system for everyone, from home users to developers and computer enthusiasts alike.

Kernel:

UNIX kernel is not freely available.

Linux kernel is freely available.

Patches:

UNIX patches available are highly tested.

Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.

UNIX Operating System Names:

A few popular names:

HP-UX, IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X, IRIX

Linux Distribution (Operating System) Names:

A few popular names:

Redhat Enterprise Linux, Fedora Linux, Debian Linux, Suse Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu Linux

Summary

Overall, the general environment between UNIX and Linux is very similar. Moving as a user or administrator from Linux to UNIX, or vice versa, brings some inconsistencies, but overall is fairly seamless. Even though the file systems or kernels might differ and require specialized knowledge to optimize, the tools and APIs are consistent. In general, these differences are no more drastic than variations among different versions of UNIX. All branches of UNIX and Linux have evolved and will be slightly different, but because of the maturity of the UNIX concept, the foundation doesn't change very much.