Linux Foundation Publications
 |
2013 Enterprise End User Report Author: The Linux Foundation The extent of Linux adoption among the world’s largest enterprises continues to grow, according to the findings of the 2013 Enterprise End User Report produced by The Linux Foundation in partnership with Yeoman Technology Group. March 2013 Download Now |
 |
2013 Linux Jobs Report Author: Dice & The Linux Foundation The Information technology (IT) jobs market is experiencing its first renaissance since it emerged decades ago. Today the professionals who manage the data centers that support the world’s largest web companies, e-commerce businesses and social networks are in high demand. Software programmers who know how to build applications and make devices work together are among the hottest commodities in any industry. To understand what’s contributing to this trend and learn how companies can recruit and retain key Linux talent, Dice and The Linux Foundation have again teamed up to share the hiring forecast for the year ahead. The 2013 Linux Jobs Report includes new data from both hiring managers and Linux professionals. By surveying both employers and employees, the Report provides a comprehensive view of the Linux career landscape, from the business needs driving the demand to the personal incentives that are most attractive to Linux professionals. February 2013 Download Now |
 |
Open Source Cloud System Software Author: Gary Chen is Research Manager for IDC's Cloud and Virtualization System Software. Cloud computing is changing the IT market in a multitude of ways. Public clouds are changing the way enterprises deploy computing resources, and private clouds are changing how enterprises approach their own IT. Open source software has played a leading role in the development of public clouds and now is moving into the private cloud space. Most open source cloud software builds on existing open source (Xen and KVM) or proprietary hypervisors and operating systems (Linux) by developing a new complementary class of software that IDC terms "cloud system software." Cloud system software provides abstraction and APIs at a higher level than a hypervisor. Open source cloud system software such as CloudStack, Eucalyptus, and OpenStack allows enterprises to build "Amazon style" clouds in their own datacenters. This IDC White Paper examines the results of a recent IDC enterprise cloud system software survey that probes the use of cloud system software in the enterprise and the role of open source and community. November 2012 Access Now |
 |
Migrating from QNX to Embedded Linux Authors: The Linux Foundation In recent years, many companies have moved to open source as it affords more flexibility and cost control. Many users of QNX are currently looking at Embedded Linux as an alternative embedded OS, but are unsure of how to migrate. The Linux Foundation offers resources, training and an open source build tool, the Yocto Project, to help companies make this transition. IT executives, managers, and engineers have a fiduciary duty to investigate and recommend technology alternatives for technical, legal, strategic, or financial reasons. This article discusses what these persons interested in porting QNX-based embedded systems to an Embedded Linux platform should consider. July 2012 Access Now |
 |
Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It Authors: Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net, Greg Kroah-Hartman, The Linux Foundation, Amanda McPherson, Linux Foundation The kernel which forms the core of the Linux system is the result of one of the largest cooperative software projects ever attempted. Regular 2-3 month releases deliver stable updates to Linux users, each with significant new features, added device support, and improved performance. The rate of change in the kernel is high and increasing, with between 8,000 and 12,000 patches going into each recent kernel release. These releases each contain the work of over 1,000 developers representing nearly 200 corporations. This is the fourth update of this document, which has been published roughly annually since 2008. It covers development through the 3.2 release, with an emphasis on the releases (2.6.36 to 3.2) made since the last update. It has been a busy period, with seven kernel releases created, many significant changes made, and continual growth of the kernel developer and user community. April 2012 Read This Free Publication |
 |
2012 Linux Jobs Report Authors: Dice.com and The Linux Foundation It is well accepted that the IT job market is a bright spot in otherwise uneven economies. In the United States, the unemployment rate for tech professionals is 3.8 percent, a vast improvement from 5.3 percent just 12 months ago and far better than the 8.3 percent national unemployment rate.1 With strong evidence of job creation tied to increased adoption and use of Linux, Dice and The Linux Foundation teamed up to better understand the global 2012 hiring outlook for Linux professionals. February 2012 Download Now |
|
Open Sourcing Proprietary Tech Made Simple Authors: Ibrahim Haddad, Ph.D., is the Director of Technology and Alliances at The Linux Foundation and Contributing Editor for the Linux Journal & Brian Warner is Operations Manager at the Linux Foundation. As corporate participation in open source grows, many companies are discovering the advantages of releasing formerly proprietary technologies as open source. This article introduces a basic process and checklist that may be followed when creating a new open source project from proprietary code, to ensure a successful release. February 2012 Download Now |
|
Upstreaming: Strengthening Open Source Development Authors: Ibrahim Haddad, Ph.D., is the Director of Technology and Alliances at The Linux Foundation and Contributing Editor for the Linux Journal & Brian Warner is Operations Manager at the Linux Foundation. Upstreaming is a term used to describe the process of contributing in-house source code modifications back to an open source project, with the goal of having them accepted and distributed in future project releases. This paper discusses the process of upstreaming, the benefits to all parties involved (companies, projects, open source ecosystem), and highlights some best practices to follow. January 2012 Download Now |
 |
Linux Adoption Trends 2012: A Survey of Enterprise End Users Author: The Linux Foundation in Partnership with Yeoman Technologies The Linux Foundation, in partnership with Yeoman Technology Group, recently conducted an invitation-only survey of 1893 enterprise Linux users. The survey pool was comprised of The Linux Foundation End User Council, as well as other companies, organizations and government agencies selected by The Linux Foundation and Yeoman. January 2012 Download Now |
|
Establishing an Open Source Software Strategy: Key Considerations and Tactical Recommendations Authors: Ibrahim Haddad, Ph.D., is the Director of Technology and Alliances at The Linux Foundation and Contributing Editor for the Linux Journal & Brian Warner is Operations Manager at the Linux Foundation. In this article, we explore three basic strategies for organizations that utilize and integrate open source software in their products: consumer, contributor and leader. November 2011 Download Now |
|
Understanding the Open Source Development Model Authors: Ibrahim Haddad, Ph.D., is the Director of Technology and Alliances at The Linux Foundation and Contributing Editor for the Linux Journal & Brian Warner is Operations Manager at the Linux Foundation. This paper presents an overview of the open source development model. It discusses the typical progression from an idea to an implemented feature, and highlights some of the key characteristics of open source development. November 2011 Download Now |
|
Making UEFI Secure Boot Work With Open Platforms Authors: James Bottomley, CTO, Server Virtualization at Parallels & Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board Chair & Jonathan Corbet, Editor at LWN.net & Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board Member "Secure boot" is a technology described by recent revisions of the UEFI specification; it offers the prospect of a hardware-verified, malware-free operating system bootstrap process that can improve the security of many system deployments. Linux and other open operating systems will be able to take advantage of secure boot if it is implemented properly in the hardware. This document is intended to describe how the UEFI secure boot specification can be implemented to interoperate well with open systems and to avoid adversely affecting the rights of the owners of those systems while providing compliance with proprietary software vendors' requirements. October 2011 Download Now |
|
10 Ways to Get Started in Embedded Linux Development Author: The Linux Foundation Linux is making its way very deeply into embedded devices, from consumer electronics to embedded devices to in-vehicle infotainment. According to a 2008 VDC report, Linux is used by over 18% of embedded developers, making it the most popular embedded operating system. Its popularity spawns something dear to the hearts of software developers: jobs. A 2010 study by the Linux Foundation showed that the market for Linux jobs has grown 80% over five years, with a large percentage of those in embedded Linux. How do you join the fun? The Linux Foundation has compiled a quick and easy guide to getting started with this exciting area of computing. January 2011 Download Now |
 |
Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It Authors: Greg Kroah-Hartman, SuSE Labs/Novell Inc., Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net, Amanda McPherson, Linux Foundation The kernel which forms the core of the Linux system is the result of one of the largest cooperative software projects ever attempted. The rate of change in the kernel is high and increasing, with over 10,000 patches going into each recent kernel release. These releases each contain the work of over 1000 developers representing around 200 corporations. This is an update to the August 2009 white paper. December 2010 PDF Version |
|
Linux Adoption Trends: A Survey of Enterprise End Users Author: The Linux Foundation in Partnership with Yeoman Technologies The Linux Foundation, in partnership with Yeoman Technology Group, recently conducted a survey of 1,948 Linux users. This invitation-only survey pool was comprised of the Linux Foundation End User Council as well as other companies, organizations and government agencies selected by The Linux Foundation and Yeoman Technology Group. October 2010 Download Now |
 |
Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It Authors: Greg Kroah-Hartman, SuSE Labs/Novell Inc., Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net, Amanda McPherson, Linux Foundation The kernel which forms the core of the Linux system is the result of one of the largest cooperative software projects ever attempted. The rate of change in the kernel is high and increasing, with over 10,000 patches going into each recent kernel release. These releases each contain the work of over 1000 developers representing around 200 corporations. This is an update to the April 2008 white paper. August 2009 PDF Version |
 |
Linux: The Operating System of the Cloud Author: Amanda McPherson, Linux Foundation After struggling to reach mainstream status in the technology world for years, utility computing may yet arrive in the coming quarters. This time around, however, it will be known as cloud computing. And when cloud computing does cross the chasm into mainstream adoption, it will be powered by Linux. May 2009 PDF Version |
 |
The Opportunity for Linux in a New Economy Author: Al Gillen, Program Vice President, System Software at IDC This Linux Foundation sponsored IDC white paper takes a look at the forecast for Linux in a new economy. The paper predicts Linux will be the long-term winner in the OS market, rebounding more aggressively than other platforms. April 2009 PDF Version |
 |
Estimating the Total Cost of a Linux Distribution Authors: Amanda McPherson, Brian Proffitt and Ron Hale-Evans An examination of how much it would cost to build the average Linux distribution, from scratch, today. October 2008 PDF Version |
 |
How to Participate in the Linux Community Author: Jon Corbet This document will help developers (and their managers) work with the development community with a minimum of frustration. It is an attempt to document how this community works in a way which is accessible to those who are not intimately familiar with Linux kernel development. August 2008 |
 |
Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It Authors: Greg Kroah-Hartman, Jon Corbet and Amanda McPherson The kernel which forms the core of the Linux system is the result of one of the largest cooperative software projects ever attempted. The rate of change in the kernel is high and increasing. This paper examines the players in the Linux kernel development process. April 2008 |
 |
Linux Graphics Essay Author: James Bottomley The purpose of this document is to illustrate by example the strengths and weaknesses of the open source development model versus the binary driver one. July 2008 |
Recent Blog Posts
