LiMux

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LiMux - The IT evolution is a project of the Munich city administration to operate the around 15,000 workstation computers of the city employees with free software . The portmanteau LiMux consists of Li n ux and M unich together. The addition "The IT evolution" is intended to emphasize the contrast to the "revolution", which would have meant a sharp cut. “LiMux - The IT Evolution” is supposed to be a slow but continuous development with the goal of a more modern IT landscape that is better adapted to the requirements of the workstation computer.

All workplaces have been using OpenOffice.org and WollMux since 2009 . The second goal was to convert the operating system to the LiMux client on over 80% of the management PCs by 2013. Due to the new orientation of software procurement towards open source for the public sector , LiMux is sporadically present in the media around the world and is observed by the proprietary software industry and the advocates of free software alike.

By the beginning of 2012, the city of Munich said it had saved around 25% of the costs with the LiMux project compared to a Windows installation, and the number of errors had also decreased. A comparison calculation published in November 2012 indicated a saving of more than 10 million euros compared to a comparable Microsoft solution. The conversion was successfully completed in December 2013. In addition to the cost savings of over 11 million euros, the city was also able to gain more freedom in software selection.

In 2014, a review of the entire IT infrastructure was initiated to determine which software largely met the city's criteria. The trigger was the e-mail connection of a smartphone . The LiMux project hit the headlines after the city of Munich's Linux-based e-mail system was paralyzed for a whole weekend by a single e-mail with an overly long subject line. The cause of the failure is suspected to be an error in the commercial spam protection software used, UCEPROTECT, which the manufacturer UCEPROTECT-Orga vehemently denied.

At the end of November 2017, the city council decided to end the project and convert all computers to Windows by 2020.

history

The reason for the migration was the end of support for Windows NT 4 by Microsoft at the end of 2003; this made it necessary to replace the Windows NT 4 previously used. Against this background, Munich had five possible configurations of the administration desktops examined under three aspects (economic efficiency, technology, strategy) in a preliminary study (client study), from pure Microsoft-based solutions to pure open source solutions.

The study ultimately found that two alternatives were tied. The majority of the Munich city council then opted for the solution that is more advantageous in the area of ​​"strategy" in order to support the city administration's IT strategy, which is based on manufacturer independence, and to be able to determine the outflow of funds itself in the long term (= cost reduction). The decision did not mean that from now on only open source software would be used, only that it would be preferred. As a key point, the resolution contained the stipulation that future technical processes to be developed or publicly advertised should be implemented on a web basis. This is precisely to prevent an excessive coupling of the operating system, office suite and specialist software.

In the winter of 2003, Steve Ballmer , head of Microsoft, traveled to Munich to talk to Lord Mayor Christian Ude about his company's offer of 36.6 million US dollars and the disadvantages of parting with Microsoft's operating system. He lowered the price to 31.9 million and then to 23.7 million, but his offer was rejected.

The initial test phase of LiMux ended in September 2006, after which from September 19, 2006, the Windows workstations in the core area of ​​the city administration began to be replaced by an adapted Debian with K Desktop Environment 3 and OpenOffice.org. The multiple Linux installation runs automatically through the free software FAI and is configured through the free software GOsa² .

On May 16, 2007, Mayor Christine Strobl received the certificate "Usable Basic Client" for the IT project from TÜV IT . After an extensive certification process, the TÜV confirmed the usability of the LiMux basic client as a user interface for interactive computer systems according to ISO standard 9241–110 . "The decisive factor for this assessment was that the newly designed KDE 3- based user interface and the additional programs it contains (including [...]) enable the city administration employees to work effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily."

A study by HP from January 2013, which was only published in its summary and therefore not verifiable , and which was commissioned by Microsoft, on the other hand, comes to additional costs of 43.7 million euros due to the system change away from Windows. However, this study was criticized by the specialist press due to incorrect assumptions and a lack of comprehensibility. The city of Munich itself contradicts the study and points to numerous shortcomings that can already be read in the summary without knowing the details of the study. The city rates the study as not scientifically founded.

At LinuxTag in May 2013, around ten years after the start of the project, the LiMux project manager announced the completion.

In February 2014, LiMux became an issue in the Munich local elections. Sabine Nallinger, the Green candidate for the mayoral election, spoke out against the use of Linux in Munich's city administration. She claimed that the migration to Linux had caused many problems in the city administration, which is why she now wanted "a solution that works, no matter what software". One day later, the candidate put her own statements into perspective again.

Mayor Dieter Reiter , who has been in office since May 1, 2014, is a Microsoft fan and was involved as an economic advisor when Microsoft Germany decided in 2013 to move its headquarters from Unterschleißheim to Munich in the future (2016). In August 2014, Reiter commissioned an investigation into the city administration's IT infrastructure. The second mayor, Josef Schmid , also stated that a return to Microsoft could not be ruled out. Karl-Heinz Schneider, head of the internal IT service provider it @ M, stated that he was not aware of any complaints or malfunctions that went beyond what would normally be expected in an administration of this size.

At the end of July 2015, the city councilor and computer scientist Sabine Pfeiler ( CSU ) and the city councilor Otto Seidl (CSU), who has been independent since 1982 with a focus on software development and IT consulting , criticized in a joint application to the Munich city council the inadequate suitability for everyday use of the notebooks newly acquired for the city councils in 2014 with pre-installed LiMux. Cumbersome operation, incompatibilities and missing user rights are the reason why these can only be used to a very limited extent. Specifically, it is criticized that programs such as Skype cannot be installed by yourself, which prevents “normal use”, which is why a large part of the purchased devices age “unused”. The two city councilors applied for Windows licenses and office packages to be purchased for the notebooks and "to equip the city councils with the necessary user rights".

In February 2017, the city council decided to develop a Windows base client with “standard products available on the market” instead of the open source solution by the end of 2020. On the one hand, the open source solution lags behind the commercial products from Microsoft in terms of functionality. On the other hand, it is not compatible with systems outside the administration to the extent desired.

At the end of September 2017, the information on LiMux was withdrawn from the Munich website, although the Munich city council had not yet officially decided to end LiMux. In a self-criticism , the FSFE warned against unilaterally blaming free software or the business practices of Microsoft for the failure. The problem in Munich was rather the strong fragmentation of the IT and poor project management as well as insufficient internal communication within the Bavarian government landscape.

At the end of November 2017, the city council decided, with the votes of the grand coalition , to switch to Windows by 2020; “standard products available on the market” should be used for office work and Internet applications. The opposition criticized the “complete roll-back to Microsoft” and described it as a “great example of a waste of money”. It has not yet been decided whether LibreOffice should also be converted to Microsoft Office .

implementation

From 2003 to 2004 a detailed concept for the migration was worked out, which began in June 2004 and would have costs in the same range as a Microsoft solution. Migration was halted in summer 2004 because the city wanted to investigate the legal implications of software patents . The actual migration of desktops started at the end of 2006.

In May 2009, 1,800 workstations were converted to Linux, and 12,000 used OpenOffice. In November 2010 4,000 jobs had been converted, by the end of 2010 there were 5,000. In mid-April 2011, half of the planned 12,000 were in mid-April 2011, 7600 in mid-August, three-quarters in mid-December 2011, April 2012 more than 10,000, June 2012 more than 11,000 and November 2012 11,700 PCs switched. By October 2013, the city of Munich had switched over 15,000 desktop PCs (from approx. 18,000 desktops) from Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office to the Linux and OpenOffice.org operating systems.

The usability working group of the project group regularly questioned the users in order to achieve a good adaptation to the needs of the employees. It is planned to use the software as simply as possible.

Existing hardware

According to an article in the German-language Linux magazine from 2014, which in turn quotes the Munich city administration itself, 10 years earlier (around 2004) 50% of workstation computers had CPUs with less than 500 MHz and only a few machines had more than 256 MB Random access memory. This hardware would therefore not meet the requirements of the current Microsoft Windows 7 operating system with 1 GHz CPUs and 1 GB of RAM.

Changeover to OpenOffice.org

The changeover to OpenOffice.org , in some cases already under Windows, is flanked by a specially developed tool, the Egg Laying WollMux (or WollMux for short). This application, written in Java, communicates with OpenOffice.org via the UNO interface. The WollMux replaces some of the applications used in Munich together with Microsoft Office . Its main functions are:

Letterhead system
Fill letterhead templates automatically, maintain city-wide appearance, anteroom function
Form system
Support for clerks in creating documents based on templates that require certain inputs, template selection, automatic printing of different copies, automatic calculation of values ​​from the inputs and insertion at the appropriate places
Text module system
Support of the clerks in creating documents from text modules
Help for factual directives
automatic creation and printing of different document versions with the corresponding factual directives
Mail merge
Own mail merge module, since the OpenOffice.org mail merge does not adequately cover the needs of the city of Munich in many areas.

In 2007, over 8,000 users were equipped with the OpenOffice.org program. According to a spokesman for the LiMux project, users were very satisfied with it. From mid-2010 all office workplaces used OpenOffice.

WollMux has been publicly available as free software since the end of May 2008.

Base client

LiMux basic client
LiMux 6-0-0 Valhalla
developer State capital Munich
License (s) various free software licenses
Current  version 6.0 (2019)
Kernel Monolithic ( Linux )
ancestry GNU / Linux
↳ Debian
↳ Ubuntu
↳ LiMux client
Architecture (s) x86
Languages) German
About the LiMux project (now switched off)

The distribution for the installation of LiMux on a workstation computer is called the basic client (BC).

The base client 4.1, from August 2012, is based like the LiMux client 4.0 on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and KDE desktop 3.5 . In addition to OpenOffice.org , Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox, it includes other free software products.

Version 5.0, which was completed in November 2014, is based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and the desktop KDE SC 4.12 . LibreOffice version 4.1 is supplied as an office application . This version has been updated with over 300 patches. Many of these patches have also been incorporated into newer LibreOffice versions. In addition, Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird are delivered in the ESR version. Both programs were equipped with KDE integration modules.

The base client 5.5 is based on Ubuntu 14.04 and KDE 4.14.3a, and offers LibreOffice 4.1.6.23.0 and Firefox 24.8.1 (optional 45.5.1).

The base client 6.0 is based on Kubuntu 18.04 and offers KDE 5 .44.0, GIMP 2.10.18, LibreOffice 5.2.8, WollMux 18.0.12, Chrome 80.0 and Firefox 60 ESR and 68; As a PDF viewer, Okular is used instead of Adobe Reader (which is no longer being developed for Linux) . Like the previous versions , it is not multi-session capable . The rollout has been running in the various departments since April 2019 and should be completed in 2020.

See also

literature

  • Leonhard Dobusch: Windows versus Linux: Market - Organization - Path , VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-531-16242-3

Web links

Commons : LiMux  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Florian Schießl "Microsoft is not enough for our purpose!" Retrieved on September 30, 2011 .
  2. ↑ LiMux: The project at a glance: facts and figures. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015 ; Retrieved September 30, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Press and Information Office of the City of Munich: Rathausumschau - Issue 054 (PDF) pp. 12–13. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved on October 18, 2012: “ The current budgetary costs for the LiMux project are 11.7 million (as of the end of December 2011). In the decision of the VPA of June 16, 2010 (template no. 08-14 / V 04284), an alternative calculation of the expenses for an operational maintenance of Windows systems comparable to the scope of services of the LiMux project at that time is presented. […] A Windows-based expansion comparable to the scope of services of the LiMux project would have resulted in costs of at least 15.52 million euros. "
  4. ↑ Mirko Dölle: LiMux: Cheaper and more robust than Windows. In: Heise online . March 28, 2012 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  5. ↑ Anika Kehrer: Linux in Munich: Saved over 10 million euros. In: Heise online . November 22, 2012 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: Linux in Munich: All computers have been migrated. In: Heise online . December 13, 2013 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  7. ↑ Loek Essers: Switching to Linux saves Munich over € 11 million . ITworld. November 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ Jörg Thoma: Munich is checking the status of its IT . Golem.de . August 25, 2014. Accessed on September 2, 2014: “ A switch from Linux to Windows is not under scrutiny. Rather, the entire IT infrastructure of the city of Munich will be analyzed, said press spokesman Stefan Hauf of Tech Republic. "
  9. ↑ Johannes Boie: Software dispute in the Munich town hall: A question of attitude . Süddeutsche.de . August 19, 2014. Accessed on September 2, 2014: “ Munich's Lord Mayor Reiter and his deputy Schmid had to wait weeks for their new work cell phones. The Linux operating system is to blame for this. "
  10. ^ Stefan Krempl: LiMux: New fuss about Linux in Munich. In: Heise online . December 10, 2014 . Retrieved March 5, 2017 .; Quote: “A failure of the city mail server over the weekend upset the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter ( SPD ). The boulevard sees LiMux on the verge of collapse. A spokeswoman for the town hall chief rejects this. "
  11. ↑ UCEPROTECT-Orga: UCEPROTECT: Current notice . In: uceprotect.com . Admins WebSecurity. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ Stefan Krempl: Final end for LiMux: Munich city council puts the penguin in front of the door . Heise Online . November 23, 2017. Accessed February 21, 2018.
  13. ↑ LiMux - The IT evolution of free software in Munich - preliminary study. City of Munich, 2003, archived from the original on September 19, 2008 ; Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
  14. ↑ UNILOG Integrata: Project - Client Study of the City of Munich (PDF; 1.7 MB) osalliance.com. July 2, 2003. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved on April 2, 2012.
  15. ↑ a b Byron Acohid: Linux took on Microsoft, and won big in Munich ( English ) USA Today . July 17, 2003. Retrieved October 18, 2011: " [...] Microsoft subsequently lowered its pricing to $ 31.9 million and then to $ 23.7 million - an overall 35% price cut. […] On May 28, the city council approved a more expensive proposal - $ 35.7 million - from German Linux distributor SuSE and IBM, a big Linux backer. "
  16. ↑ FAI - Fully Automatic Installation .
  17. ↑ "GOsa". In: Homepage. GONICUS GmbH, August 10, 2014, archived from the original on July 25, 2014 ; accessed on August 10, 2014 .
  18. ↑ demon@pro-linux.de: "LiMux receives TÜV certificate". In: News. Pro-Linux, May 15, 2007, accessed July 4, 2008 .
  19. ↑ TÜViT certifies usability of the LiMux basic client of the city of Munich. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009 ; accessed on May 13, 2015 .
  20. ↑ Jan-Jürgen Eden: Study on the Open Source Software Strategy of the City of Munich - Summary. Hewlett-Packard GmbH, January 25, 2013, accessed March 5, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Michael Franke: Software dispute at the city of Munich Did Udes IT experts calculate incorrectly? . Focus . January 13, 2013. Accessed on February 18, 2013: “ New study shows significantly higher costs for the introduction of the Linus operating system in the city administration than previously known. "
  22. ↑ Sebastian Grüner: Microsoft publishes details on the Limux study . Golem.de. January 28, 2013. Accessed on February 16, 2013: “ The Limux project is significantly more expensive than the city of Munich claims, according to an HP study. Now the client Microsoft has published details of the study, which in some cases reveals major differences "
  23. ↑ Jörg Thoma: HP study contradicts savings in Linux relocation . Golem.de. January 13, 2013. Accessed on February 16, 2013: “ The city of Munich spent 60.7 million euros on the move from Windows to Linux, HP calculates in a study. If the city had stayed with Windows, it would only have had to spend 17 million euros. "
  24. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: Microsoft publishes study on Linux migration in Munich - partially. In: Heise online . January 28, 2013 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  25. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: City of Munich contradicts HP study on Linux migration. In: Heise online . 4th February 2013 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  26. ↑ Markus Feilner: To the point 10 years: Limux "is ready" . linux-magazin.de. May 28, 2013. Accessed on June 29, 2013: "10 years of Linux and free software at the Munich city administration - and the project manager explains:" Limux is ready "."
  27. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: Linux in Munich becomes an election issue. In: Heise online . February 14, 2014 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  28. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: Linux in Munich: Green OB candidate rows back - a little. In: Heise online . 15th February 2014 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  29. ↑ Markus Feilner: "Microsoft fan": Munich's new mayor rider wants to "find a new solution" for Limux . Linux magazine.
  30. ↑ Katja Riedel: New German headquarters: Microsoft moves to Schwabing . Süddeutsche.de. 1. November 2013.
  31. ↑ Stefan Krempl: LiMux: Münchner Stadtspitze puts all IT and Linux to the test. In: Heise online . 23rd August 2014 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  32. ^ Stefan Krempl: LiMux: Linux in Munich under political attack. In: Heise online . 2014-07-115 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  33. ^ RIS Munich - City Council area - City Council members: Pfeiler, Sabine. State capital Munich, accessed on March 5, 2017 .
  34. ↑ Otto Seidl: CSU Otto Seidl - About the person. In: seil-muenchen.de. Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  35. ↑ City Councilor Sabine Pfeiler, City Councilor Otto Seidl: Making notebooks and tablets suitable for everyday use! (PDF) In: CSU parliamentary group in the Munich city council . RIS Munich. July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  36. ↑ Stefan Krempl: Out for LiMux: Munich City Council says hello to the penguin. In: Heise online . 15th February 2017 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  37. ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/LiMux-Linux-in-Muenchen-unter-politischem-Beschuss-2260806.html
  38. ↑ Stefan Krempl: Return to Microsoft: City of Munich bans LiMux from their website. In: heise News. Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG, September 28, 2017, accessed on November 7, 2017 .
  39. ↑ Nick Heath: From Linux to Windows 10: Why did Munich switch and why does it matter? , Tech Republic, November 23, 2017,
  40. ↑ Stefan Krempl: Final end for LiMux: Munich city council puts the penguin in front of the door. In: heise News. Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG, November 23, 2017, accessed on November 28, 2017 .
  41. ^ Portal München Betriebs-GmbH & Co. KG: Status of the Linux migration in Munich . In: muenchen.de . Portal Munich Betriebs-GmbH & Co. KG. May 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  42. ↑ The city of Munich wants to accelerate the migration to the Linux desktop and complete it by 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2011 .
  43. ↑ Last press release in the Rathausumschau from January 28, 2011. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011 ; Retrieved August 27, 2011 .
  44. ↑ Oliver Diedrich: Linux in Munich celebrates mountain festival. In: Heise online . April 15, 2011 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  45. ↑ Munich brings out new Release 4.0 of the LiMux Client. August 18, 2011, accessed March 5, 2017 .
  46. ↑ Andrea Müller: LiMux project exceeds annual target. In: Heise online . December 16, 2011 . Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  47. ↑ > https://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/index.php/10-000-limux-clients-sind-nun-in-betrieb/. April 27, 2012, archived from the original on May 12, 2014 ; Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  48. ^ Project LiMux - current figures. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015 ; Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  49. ^ Resolution in the IT committee of the city of Munich, draft November 21, 2012, meeting draft 08-14 / V 10463
  50. ↑ https://plus.google.com/105201437130417639658/posts : The Limux project is complete »Linux magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2017 .
  51. ↑ Windows 7 system requirements. Microsoft, accessed April 12, 2015 .
  52. ↑ Anja Schütz: Balance: The first year Linux client in Munich. In: silicon.de. CNET Networks Deutschland GmbH, October 26, 2007, accessed July 4, 2008 .
  53. ↑ LiMux project: The IT evolution continues. Press and Information Office Munich, June 23, 2010, archived from the original on August 4, 2012 ; Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  54. ↑ Munich's WollMux becomes free software. City of Munich, May 29, 2008, archived from the original on June 1, 2008 ; Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
  55. ↑ Limux Client 4.0 is based on Ubuntu 10.04. Retrieved August 27, 2011 .
  56. ↑ Munich brings out new Release 4.0 of the LiMux Client. August 18, 2011, accessed March 20, 2017 .
  57. ↑ LiMux project> Facts and figures> Solutions used. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015 ; Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  58. ↑ Lecture on the current status of LiMux from DebConf15. ( WebM ) August 27, 2015, accessed March 5, 2017 .