LinuxIT Blog UNIX vs Linux: A Guide to the Five Migration Issues - and How to Avoid Them

Thinking of migrating from UNIX to Linux? Think it's a headache? Think again. Your transition will be pain-free if you follow our guide to the five main pitfalls - and our expert's advice on how to avoid them.The thought of migrating from UNIX to Linux may seem daunting at first, but with this guide to the pitfalls and how to avoid them, making the change has never been easier.The need to bring down operating costs is placing organisations under a large amount of pressure to migrate to Open Source systems, including Linux-based environments."To migrate from UNIX to Linux can be complicated if a bespoke application is being moved," says James Byrne, senior engineer for Linux system management specialists LinuxIT. "But it can also be relatively straightforward if a COTS application is being shifted."To ensure the transition is as painless as possible, Byrne adds that the target server environment must be comparatively stable. There can be consequences if that isn't the case. For example, an international retailer tried to migrate a server that was running its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and kept stumbling because the platform was in an unstable state.By getting the Linux migration right, organisations can gain access to flexibility and a future-proof roadmap. This brings with it the benefit of choice and platform consolidation. The benefits are a reduced footprint within the data centre; the ability to virtualise servers; and the ability to use a public, private or hybrid cloud.You need to plan your Unix migration strategy for maximum agility, performance, and scale.Getting it right is critical so that your modernised infrastructure can prepare you for - not lock you out of - future strategic development opportunities.Before you migrate your systems, here are the five main pitfalls:Switching compilers when moving from UNIX to Linux often requires compiler flags, makefiles, build process and other coding changes.There are standard library issues, too, involving ANSI/ISO and C++ library implementations which may differ between vendors and versions.Byrne adds that there are architecture considerations that occur when porting from older systems such as big-endian byte storage: this is frequent among UNIX host architectures and it needs to be considered whenever moving to Linux on Intel-systems which use little-endian storage.Applications that are not written in POSIX may need to be modified.Storage engines and communication libraries may behave differently on different platforms. Byrne says there are some other issues to consider, including whether the software operates on a 32 bit or 64 bit system, memory management issues that can cause locking or contention issues, and kernel differences.With regard to memory management, commercial applications should have already taken this problem into account to produce a version of their application - and by calling LinuxIT's experts, all of these issues won't seem so complicated.Takeaways:The need to bring down operating costs is placing organisations under a large amount of pressure to migrate to Open Source system.Migration from UNIX to Linux can be complicated if a bespoke application is being moved, but pain-free is the server environment is a stable one.By getting the Linux migration right, organisations can gain access to flexibility and a future-proof roadmap.Getting your porting strategy right is critical so that your modernised infrastructure can prepare you for - not lock you out of - future strategic development opportunities.Should you make the change? Learn how to successfully - and easily - migrate your systems from UNIX to Linux while avoiding the common porting issues.