In October 2003, Randy Lastinger, director of network=20
operations for National=
Background Data, made himself so valuable to the company that it had t=
o quit=20
using Linux.

That's right. His bosses hired Lastinger, a seasoned open source veteran=
, to=20
rescue them from the typical security woes associated with Microsoft produc=
ts.=20
They wanted out of the closed source environment. Lastinger fixed them up -=
- but=20
then the company realized that if Lastinger went away there was no one ther=
e who=20
could do anything with the Linux configuration.=20

No expertise, so back to Windows=20

So they said, "Whoa! Put us back on Windows, mate." But only for a littl=
e=20
while.=20

National Background Data, located in Ocala, Fla., sells criminal backgro=
und=20
information to affiliates who run background checks for companies looking t=
o=20
hire or bring on volunteers. Their clients log on to the information databa=
se=20
via the Web.=20

Web-based, centrally located software is cost-efficient for consumers be=
cause=20
they don't have to install it locally. It can be accessed from anywhere, an=
d=20
there are few technical support issues. But Web-based software brings with =
it=20
all the security risks you'd imagine in an Internet Explorer-dominated=20
environment.=20

Forget Nimda and Code Red. Viruses are bad enough, but when Lastinger ca=
me on=20
board, National Background Data was trying to recover from a Chinese hack j=
ob on=20
the server. "The only way to fix it was to rebuild it," said Lastinger. He =
got=20
there just in time to save them. "They hired me because they didn't know=20
anything about Linux. They wanted to get out of the Microsoft issues."=20

Valiantly, the previously Microsoft-only shop had attempted to do some U=
nix=20
stuff before Lastinger appeared. Alas, "default install is not the best way=
to=20
build a Web site," he said.=20

Server rebuilt, then locked down=20

Lastinger rebuilt the server and locked it down using ipchains and iptab=
les.=20
Ahhhh -- big sigh of relief. But wait a minute! What if Lastinger gets hit =
by a=20
bus tomorrow and we're stuck here with this ... this thing?=20

Dutifully, Lastinger put the Microsoft servers back up and made them as=
secure as he could. Undeterred from his mission, however, he gradually=20
surrounded himself with other "open source people," as he calls them. Last=
November, National Background finally felt comfortable enough with its IT =
staff=20
to allow them to re-migrate.=20

"The hardest part was for me to justify the move," Lastinger said. But a=
little prophecy he made sealed the deal. "A lot of the things that were go=
ing on=20
with Microsoft viruses I saw coming, and told them. Strangely enough, it al=
l=20
happened.=20

"So they asked me, what can we do to defend against it? Go to Linux, I s=
aid.=20
What can we do in Linux? Well, it's open source, so we can take it and make=
it=20
look like Windows as much as possible." Except of course, that Windows viru=
ses=20
don't work on Linux.=20

With a team of two other "Linux-savvy" (Lastinger's words) guys, he fina=
lly=20
got clearance to turn National Background Data into an open source shop, on=
ce=20
and for all.=20

Mono and PostgresSQL fit right in place=20

"Our data normalization will be using Mono, and we'll be using PostgreSQ=
L=20
instead of SQL Server or Oracle. The mail system is already converted to Li=
nux."=20

And Lastinger has moved from the custom ipchains configuration to href=3D"http://www.astaro.com/">Astaro Security Linux. He loves it.=20

"If you ask our accounting department why it's good, they'll tell you pr=
ice.=20
If you ask me, it's because of the functionality. I think they were one of =
the=20
first all-in-one solutions," he said.=20

For Lastinger, the load-balancing support was a big issue. Astaro elimin=
ated=20
the need for a separate load-balancing switch, using a built-in round-robin=
system instead.=20

Not only that, but it took him about five minutes to get everything up a=
nd=20
going. OK, but Lastinger, you're a Linux genius. What about the rest of us?=
He=20
assures us that the interface is straightforward, and the manual is so easy=
to=20
read, that even someone who's not as much an expert could do it. "It's kind=
of=20
written for dummies," he said. Right, thanks.=20

Lastinger says Astaro really helped when the company didn't have a whole=
lot=20
of good cash flow. "Within three months after we installed it, we became=20
profitable, because we were able to get rid of a lot of stuff in the=20
datacenter," Lastinger said.

1. "National Background Data" - http://www.nationalbackgrounddata.com/=
   
2. "Astaro Security Linux" - http://www.astaro.com/