On the other hand, the Windows line of thinking is that administration through the GUI is the most convenient, efficient way to go, and that admin tools do not present many problems.

For systems administrators, the decision on whether to use the GUI or the command line likely will depend on the specific computing scenario. Most admins -- even Windows admins -- will use a combination of the two.

Admin Need

Because Linux operating systems contain several components from various sources and open interfaces that interact with each other, the need for efficient administration is acute.

Many tasks often can be executed quickly with command line or shell interfaces, but require deep knowledge of the system , noted Chris Schlaeger, vice president of engineering at Novell.

"GUIs are generally easier to use as they provide workflow that don't require in-depth knowledge to perform the same task," he said.

Getting GUI

But GUIs also are more complex, Schlaeger added. In addition, they use more system resources and have a higher potential for security problems.

Despite these drawbacks, Schlaeger believes that GUIs are a significant step forward in the administration of computers. "It is certainly possible to design administration software that uses appropriate resources and is fast and flexible without inherent security problems," he said.

Novell has worked to cater to administrators with different requirements, with tools that take on tasks in different ways. For example, YaST, the company's primary administration and system-management tool for SuSE Linux, provides a command-line interface and a GUI interface.

Tool Time

Thanks to efforts like those at Novell to provide multiple types of interfaces for administration, more admins are able to see how GUI tools might fit into their work.

"The only time GUI tools are not used here is when copying configurations from a local test-server or to change settings in bulk for all those Web sites we run," said Thomas Zander, a developer at KDE.

"Both are points that eliminate tedious manual labor and the systems admins here wish Windows and IIS did allow this to be done to avoid errors," he added. (continued...)

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