Animal and wildlife charity the RSPCA is extending its investment in open source technology to reduce costs and improve back-up processes.

The organisation is using Linux open source software to upgrade data backup facilities and allow it to move 15 animal and four wildlife centres onto its central network.

‘One of the main problems we identified was backups,’ said Chris Rolfe, the RSPCA’s network manager.

‘We were relying very heavily on non-technical staff at remote sites to administer the backup solution. We wanted to look at ways of circumventing the need to involve these staff.’

The organisation is using Linux-based Novell servers at each site with in-built R-Sync technology, which allows files to be streamed from remote sites back to a central repository during the night.

‘We get all the functionality of the existing server technology, but as far as the user is concerned the server is just a box running in the background,’ said Rolfe.

The first site is due to go live this week, and conversion will continue at a rate of one site each month into the middle of next year.  The RSPCA hopes the technology will cut IT costs.

‘We expect to have a return on our investment this year, and to make bigger savings in the long term, given that we no longer have to buy tape storage,’ said Rolfe.

Although the RSPCA is ploughing ahead with Linux at the back end of its IT infrastructure,  the organisation has decided to delay plans to move to an open source desktop environment. The plans date back three years, when the charity started examining Linux  (Computing, 16 September 2003).

‘The evaluation of Linux on the desktop is still under way,’ said Rolfe.

‘Like a lot of other companies we recognise that although the Linux desktop is getting stronger, it is still not quite there yet in terms of out-of-the-box functionality and user friendliness.’

Rolfe says that the organisation is likely to make a decision about the desktop environment later this year.