County Government Embraces Novell's Linux Vision
Lead Story: Solutions at Work
The Jefferson County government provides services for 530,000 citizens in a thriving community in the Denver-Aurora metro area of Colorado. The county has nearly 3,500 employees across 46 locations.
"By implementing Linux and open source solutions from Novell, we are able to reduce our hardware costs by 50 percent, software costs by 30 percent and administration cost by 30 percent – all while improving uptime and overall security. We like that. We like the freedom we get with Novell."
As in most government offices, Jefferson County is interested in using taxpayer dollars wisely and making the most of its limited IT budget. Managing hardware and software costs was a key reason the county began running Linux* and several open source applications. A long-time Novell customer, the county wanted the same kind of user management and network services on Linux as it was accustomed to with NetWare®.
As both a Linux and NetWare user, Jefferson County found the right fit with SUSE7® LINUX Enterprise Server to replace Red Hat*. The county also has plans to move to Novell® Open Enterprise Server to leverage directory and network services on Linux.
"Novell is doing just the right things with Linux," said Steve O'Brien, Director of IT Operations at Jefferson County. "We plan to consolidate most everything to Novell Open Enterprise Server and reduce the costs of buying big expensive servers. In a few years, we plan to be 100 percent Linux with our Novell products."
"We plan to consolidate most everything to Novell Open Enterprise Server and reduce the costs of buying big expensive servers. In a few years, we plan to be 100 percent Linux with our Novell products."
Jefferson County plans to run many of its core applications on Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 including its Electronic Data Management System (EDMS), Remedy and Oracle* applications. The county also has several large PostgreSQL databases – one with 23 million records – that currently run on Linux.
"We like open standards and the security is so much better with Linux," said O'Brien. "As a government agency with a lot of homeland security and law enforcement work, we take security very seriously. We also see a huge difference in uptime with Linux. Some of our Linux servers have been up for three years, while many of our Windows servers require weekly reboots."
Today, Novell eDirectory™ is the foundation of the county's infrastructure, providing a single repository for user identity information. Developers tie all applications that require authentication to eDirectory for centralized user authentication. With the cross-platform capabilities of eDirectory, users can access applications regardless of platform – HP UX*, Linux or Microsoft Windows*.
"Some of our Linux servers have been up for three years, while many of our Windows servers require weekly reboots."
"Because Novell Open Enterprise Server delivers NetWare services to the Linux platform, we can continue to take advantage of Novell's superior networking services even as we deploy Linux to take advantage of lower hardware requirements and high security and availability," said O'Brien.
For example, the county has used Novell iPrint extensively. Novell iPrint simplifies printing by giving users a graphical map of the printers in their area. Clicking on the printer icon automatically downloads the correct printer driver.
"Novell iPrint is an absolutely golden product," said O'Brien. "Our users can print in seconds to any printer on our network and our helpdesk loves it because it frees them up from printing problems."
Another network service, Novell iFolder® gives users secure remote access to files whether working from home, another office or while traveling. Using a standard Web browser, users can access files using any computer. Novell iFolder also provides solid disaster recovery to protect valuable information.
The county selected Novell GroupWise® over Microsoft Exchange for collaboration and is running the GroupWise Linux client on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. GroupWise Messenger provides secure instant messaging among county users, based on eDirectory, and also integrates with GAIM running on Linux.
"GroupWise is head and shoulders above Microsoft Exchange," said O'Brien. "My peers at other organizations describe problems with their Exchange e-mail systems that I don't even think about. And now that Groupwise is supported on Linux, we will enjoy additional savings on collaboration."
Moving to Linux has helped Jefferson County reduce its hardware costs by 50 percent, by replacing large UNIX* servers with Intel hardware. The County has reduced its software costs nearly 30 percent with open source products.
Integrating applications with Novell eDirectory has also helped the county reduce user administration time by 30 percent. Moving to Novell Open Enterprise Server will allow the county to consolidate to a single operating platform for further cost savings.
"By implementing Linux and open source solutions from Novell, we are able to reduce our hardware costs by 50 percent, software costs by 30 percent and administration cost by 30 percent – all while improving uptime and overall security," said O'Brien. "We like that. We like the freedom we get with Novell."