[plug] [link+highlights] Linux TCO: Less Than Half The Cost of Windows

[Leon Brooks]

    http://cin.earthweb.com/article/1,3555,10493_1477911,00.html

    The study, by the Robert Frances Group, in Westport, Conn., looked
    at production deployments of Web servers running on the three
    operating systems at 14 Global 2000 enterprises. 

    Linux cost [USD]$74,475 over three years, while a Windows deployment
    cost [$190,662 and one on Solaris [USD]$561,520.

    ...

    One of the companies in the study had deployed more than 10,000
    Linux nodes.

    ...

    The average Windows administrator in the study earned [USD]$68,500 a
    year, while Linux sys admins took home [USD]$71,400, and those with
    Solaris skills were paid [USD]$85,844. The Windows technicians,
    however, only managed an average of 10 machines each, while Linux or
    Solaris admins can generally handle several times that. 

Y'know, if I earned USD$71,400 a year (AUD$130,305 at today's rates) for what 
I do, I'd never miss the extra USD$14,444 (AUD$26,361) that I'd rake in as a 
Solaris sysop. (-:

    The study revealed that Windows administrators spent twice as much
    time patching systems and dealing with other security-related issues
    than did Solaris or Linux admins.

Cheers; Leon