=概述=

Largo 市是最早的高级别政府管理部门迁移到 Linux 平台的例子。这个美国佛罗里达的小城市的信息系统为800名市政工作人员提供支持，包括当地的公共安全和卫生服务。项目在2000年开始实施，后来的几年中 Linux 给予了他们很好的体验。

=迁移到 Linux 平台的动机=

2000年，因为当时的 OpenServer 和 UnixWare 在 Santa Cruz 计划中不断带来问题，Largo 市的信息技术部门正在对升级方案进行评估。评审的几种方案包括微软的 Windows 系统。但是，因为原有的系统是基于 Unix 的瘦客户机架构，迁移到 Windows 的硬件和软件费用将无法承受。此外，信息技术工作人员也不愿意进入两三年就要升级的循环中，他们在这样的循环中将被迫为不必要的升级支付费用。

最终的决定是保留现有的瘦客户机架构，而把系统换为基于 Red Hat 发行版的 Linux 系统。

=实施方式=

经过测试的解决方案在2000年开始部署，并在2001年中期完成。两台高性能（在当时来说）的双处理器康柏服务器提供了大部分用户需要的服务。一系列的自由／开源和非自由／开源应用软件被搭配使用，包括 Netscape （浏览器），Evolution （email 客户端）和 WordPerfect 8 （字处理软件）。高负荷的数据库服务由私有的甲骨文数据库提供，而通过使用 Windows NT 和 Citrix Metaframe 服务，Linux 用户也可以使用微软的 Excel 和 PowerPoint。总共有20台运行着 Linux，Windows 和 Unix 操作系统的不同的服务器协同工作。

而桌面计算机的部分比较简单。瘦客户机模式只需要最简单的桌面硬件，因此购买硬件的成本可以降低。有些桌面系统每台只花费了信息技术人员5美元。这些桌面系统有十年的预期寿命，活动部件很少，因此它们很少损坏，而且寿命比一般的个人电脑桌面系统更长。

=结果=

迁移到 Linux 平台仅在第一年就为该市节省了多达一百万美元。Largo 目前的信息技术预算只有其他相似规模城市的 40％。这样的城市一般需要把预算的3-4％用于信息技术，而 Largo 的信息技术部门只需要城市预算的1.3％就绰绰有余。Linux 使用硬件的效率也大大减少了开销。信息技术部门估计他们直到2007年才需要升级桌面系统。

人力需求的削减也是显著的。对于有800名用户的单位，只需要2-3人提供支持服务。这样低的比例归功于系统的可靠性、稳定性和可预测性。这个城市由10人组成的信息技术部门的其他成员因此可以腾出手来进行其他工作，包括对信息系统架构进行进一步的完善。

1. Haber, Lynn, "City saves with Linux, thin clients", 10 April 2002, ZDNet; available from
http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2860180,00.h...
Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
2. Harris, Stephen E., "City of Largo Completes Desktop Transition", 27 August 2001,
ConsultingTimes; available from http://www.consultingtimes.com/articles/desktop/
largo.html; Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
3. Miller, Robin, "Largo loves Linux more than ever", 9 December 2002,
Newsforge.com; available from http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/12/04/
2346215&mode=thread&tid=19; Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
4. The Dravis Group, "Open Source Software: Case Studies Examining Its Use", April
2003; available from http://www.dravis.net/reports.html; Internet; accessed on
November 7, 2003.

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Introduction

The city of Largo is one of the earliest high-profile cases of a government administration migrating over to Linux. The IT system of this small city in the state of Florida, USA, supports 800 city workers, including local safety and health services. Implementation began in 2000 and their experience with Linux in the years since then have been nothing but positive.

Motivation for migrating to Linux

In 2000, the IT department of Largo was evaluating upgrade options as problems were being encountered with existing OpenServer and UnixWare products from the Santa Cruz Operation. Various options were evaluated, including Microsoft Windows on personal computers. However, since they were already on a Unix-based thin-client infrastructure, the combination of hardware and software costs involved in such a migration was deemed prohibitively expensive. Additionally, the IT team did not want to be locked into a 2-3-year upgrade cycle, where they would be forced to pay upgrade costs even when upgrades were not necessary.

Ultimately, the decision was made to keep the existing thin-client infrastructure but migrate systems to a Linux system based on Red Hat's distribution.

Implementation approach

A solution was tested and implemented starting in 2000 and completed by mid-2001. Two powerful (for that time) dual-processor Compaq servers delivered the services needed by most users. A variety of FOSS and non-FOSS applications were combined, including Netscape (web browser), Evolution (email client) and WordPerfect 8 (word processor). Heavy-duty database needs were run on a proprietary Oracle database while Microsoft's Excel and PowerPoint were made available to Linux users via a combination of Windows NT and the Citrix Metaframe server. In total, there were about 20 different servers working together, running a mix of Linux, Windows and Unix operating systems.

On the desktop side, things were simpler. The thin-client model requires only the barest minimum from desktop units. Hence, desktop units could be obtained at a relatively low cost. In some cases, the IT team managed to obtain desktop systems for as little as US$5 per unit. With 10-year lifespans and few moving parts, these desktop units rarely broke down and had a longer useful lifespan than normal PC desktops.

Results

The migration to Linux was estimated to have saved the city as much as US$1 million in the first year alone. Largo currently has an IT budget that is only about 40 percent the size of comparable cities. Where cities of a comparable size normally spend 3-4 percent of their city budget on IT, the Largo team gets along quite comfortably with only 1.3 percent of the city budget. The efficiency with which Linux uses hardware has also reaped enormous savings. The IT team estimates that they will not need to upgrade their desktops until 2007.

The reduction in number of personnel required is also significant. The end-user help desk requires only two to three people to support a user base of 800 workers. This low ratio is attributed to the reliability, stability and predictability of the system. The remaining staff members of the city's 10-member IT department are then freed for other tasks, including making additional improvements to the IT infrastructure.

For further reading:
1.Haber, Lynn, “City saves with Linux, thin clients”, 10 April 2002, ZDNet; available from
http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2860180,00.h... Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
2.Harris, Stephen E., “City of Largo Completes Desktop Transition”, 27 August 2001, ConsultingTimes; available from http://www.consultingtimes.com/articles/desktop/largo.html; Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
3.Miller, Robin, “Largo loves Linux more than ever”, 9 December 2002, Newsforge.com; available from http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/12/04/2346215&mode=thread&tid=19; Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.
4.The Dravis Group, “Open Source Software: Case Studies Examining Its Use”, April 2003; available from http://www.dravis.net/reports.html; Internet; accessed on November 7, 2003.