In the Windows world, you can never have enough memory. But Torvalds
insists that 2GB of memory is all that an x86-based Linux ever will
demand. If you need more, he quips, there's always Alpha hardware, which
Red Hat Linux supports. In theory, that combo scales to 8GB.
Other Linux supporters, like McKee from TurboLinux, claim that Linux
for x86 needs a higher memory limit. "Some large Unix-based database
servers, for example, are typically outfitted with 4GB, 8GB, or even more
memory," he notes.
Large memory support isn't expected to debut in the Linux 2.4 kernel.
However, you can expect to see it by mid-2000.
Linux also has shortcomings on the administration front. While Computer
Associates and other systems-management vendors race to bring Linux into
the managed operating-system fold, more work needs to be done.
"There is a robust set of SNMP tools and capabilities with Linux,"
asserts TurboLinux's McKee. "[But] most of these tools have not been
tightly integrated into the operating system, and configuration can be a
bit unintuitive for new users."
Indeed, without some manual configuration, McKee says a Linux box can
appear as a black hole within most corporate networks that use
network-management applications, such as Hewlett-Packard's OpenView and
IBM's Tivoli .
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