On Monday 15 July 2019 16:15:23 Greg Wooledge wrote: > On Mon, Jul 15, 2019 at 03:09:28PM -0500, Kent West wrote: > > Well, in this particular case, the Quest SMA is a Systems Management > > Appliance, which provides management and data-collection > > capabilities of devices on a network. When a sysadmin wants to use > > the SMA to find out about PCs on the network, particularly Linux > > PCs, particularly Debian PCs, particularly Debian PCs of a certain > > version, that SMA itself must first know that information. That's > > part of what the SMA does; it goes and and collects information > > about the devices. > > And yet it can't even figure out how to see the version number of a > Debian GNU/Linux system. Are you sure you want to continue using this > product? It doesn't sound very capable.
My between the lines interpretation is that it was born from an edict from someone on high, probably a freshly minted MBA, that demands you do your job with M$ software, so when it all goes south, he's got somebody to blame and/or sue. Those folks on the second floor doing the sales, are aghast to learn that the cash cow on the ground floor doing all the work, is running on linux, and has been for 20 years. BSOD's cost money, and can bankrupt good services. Just ask TWC. When digital occurred in 2008, they built out a system that put then in every market in the USA. But they demanded total control to the extent we weren't allowed keys to the little building they put up in the back yard. Then they filled the building up with windows boxes. And if one BSOD'd, it took them at least a day to arrive and reboot it. So we had a BSOD on the air at least 10% of the time on our second channel. Needless to say, when that contract ran out, it was not renewed. Do they even have a web page today? Yes, but no radar images for the unwashed. Cheers, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable. - Louis D. Brandeis Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
