Linux vs Windows - Conquering a Windows Based World

The New York Stock Exchange continues to heavily invest in Linux blade servers as it builds the NYSE Hybrid Market trading system.

Reason for choosing Linux on x686 hardware.

• Cost
• Flexibility
• Technology Independence

Covered at the NYTimes

“Rubinow said that Linux is mature enough to meet his needs. The open-source operating system may not have all the polish of Unix technologies with 20-plus years of history behind them, “but it’s polished enough for us,” he said.”

That pretty much sums up what I am finding that a lot of people are also saying about Linux and Open Source software in general.  Its not perfectly polished, but its good enough to get the job done.

Redmayne-Bentley migrated to Linux last year for its mission critical business environment, to reduces processing time, support offsite disaster recovery, and upgrade business continuity,while at same time reducing software costs by half.

“Since making the move, the business has seen an 88 per cent reduction in overnight processing time - from 13 hours down to 1.5 hours - along with a tenfold increase in processing power.” 

NYSE is moving from mips mainframe to IBM p servers running AIX and x86 HP servers running Linux, in an apparent move that will cut costs in half.

“Francis Feldman, the vice president of the shared data center for Securities Industry Automation Corp. (SIAC), the NYSE’s technology arm, said the bottom line for the migration was the bottom line. He estimates the move will halve the cost of transactions, and though he wouldn’t detail how much that would mean on a yearly basis, he said it is “serious financial savings, very serious.”"