IBM AIX vs. Ubuntu

IBM AIX is a very powerful and extremely stable operating environment. It is well suited for applications that are business critical and cannot tolerate outages. It is best used to address large enterprise level application needs where stability and scalability are of paramount importance. IBM AIX is less useful for small enterprises.

Incentivized

For a regular not tech savvy user, Ubuntu [Linux] is a piece of cake once installed, and for the tech savvy, super simple to install. And even for the not as tech savvy it is easy.

Server specs don't need to be great, it'll run on anything, though what cpu/memory you'll need depends on your use case.

Incentivized

• IBM AIX is a very stable server product, and I can't recall a time when the server has crashed due to a hardware fault.
• If you have legacy software that can't run on the new-fangled Linux flavors, AIX might be the way to go.
• AIX has a host of built-in management tools that makes system configuration easy for a novice.

Incentivized

• Ubuntu Linux allows interfaces on desktop machines that are relatively easy for former Windows users to adapt to.
• Ubuntu allows smooth updates, usually with little down time.
• The user base for Ubuntu is large, which means help is easy to find.

Incentivized

• While there are options to install some standard Linux tools like Bash, they are not always easy to procure
• Allowing easier flexibility in how some tools and CLI options work would make it easier for admins to float between operating systems.

Incentivized

• I'd like to see Canonical REALLY betting on desktop Linux and move one step forward with innovation in that area to improve user adoption.
• Desktop UI decisions have been not-so-happy in the past. The ability to move back and forth with Unity has pushed a lot of users in favor of options. Having REAL desktop environment options is something to improve as well.
• Improvements in interoperability with other OSes would be very welcome. Sometimes it's just hard to communicate with MacOS or Windows across some protocols. Maybe it's due to the private nature of these protocols, but alternatives are around, we just need to compile and improve them.

Incentivized

While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.

Incentivized

AIX is robust, helps the systems administrator, is built to prevent easily made mistakes. If you are used to other variants of Unix (in particularly Linux) there is no steep learning curve to get started with AIX. You need to learn the intricacies of the operating system, but that is true for any new operating system. AIX has built-in tools for almost anything you want and has the AIX Toolbox (on the web) for tools that are not included with AIX by default, but can be installed. Installation of AIX is modular, you can select with components and features you want to have installed. Installation of additional components (and usually also removal of installed components) is easy and straight-forward.

I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.

Incentivized

There is lots of documentation out there for AIX. On the times I've had to address a hardware issue, IBM's support has been great.

Incentivized

We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have

Incentivized

It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.

Incentivized

Compared to other Unix-like operating systems, IBM AIX is the one with a solid roadmap into the future and is likely to stay around for a long time (it is over 30 years old and still being updated with new features and components all the time). Compared to many Linux variants, the AIX operating system is more robust, easier to manage and well-supported by its vendor.

A viable, free, widely used alternative to any modern operating systems on the market. Ubuntu [Linux] is constantly improved, has an enormous user base, a very good community. It's one of the most advanced Linux distributions of today, and can be highly customized to the point that almost any requirement can be filled with it.

Incentivized

• IBM AIX is more expensive but its worth to have it for the features its embedded with
• It's not suited for small customers because of the hardware cost as the ROI will be less for smaller customers.
• IBM AIX is well suited for companies who has more customers so that ROI doesn't impact.

• Positive impact 1: The great feeling of using quality software, free, completely updated and within the law.
• Positive impact 2: The culture of using Ubuntu Linux encourages information security within the company.
• Positive impact 3: The system has many more customization options, which can make its use more pleasant and personal even in the business environment.
• Negative impact 1: A steeper and more challenging learning curve.

Incentivized