"Linux is commonly used for a wide range of technical and commercial reasons today. Linux runs on a tremendous range of supported architectures, processors, buses, and devices, and combines the power of inherent multi-tasking with the attractive notion of an open, royalty-free operating system. At the high and medium ends, Linux systems support enterprise infrastructure such as file, mail, and web servers, and business-unit infrastructure such as firewalls, VPN servers, routers, and gateways. In its smallest incarnations, Linux is commonly used in embedded systems such as process control systems, PDAs, home gateways, and set-top boxes.
"Linux systems used for enterprise and business-unit infrastructure are often very similar to desktop Linux systems from a startup and system administration point of view. They typically also use the same startup mechanism to determine the processes that should be started at boot time, as described in the next section. The previous whitepaper in this series, 'Using the 2.6 Kernel with Your Current System,' provided an overview of the types of changes you might need to make to the command files (scripts) that are executed when booting 2.6-based systems of these types..."
