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LiMux

LiMux was a project by the city of Munich in Germany to migrate local


LiMux
government software systems from closed-source, proprietary Microsoft products
to free and open-source software. The project ran from 2005 to 2013, migrating
over 18,000 personal computers and laptops of public employees to a Linux-based
software solution. LiMux is also the name of the Linux distribution used for the
project as the operating system includingLibreOffice and WollMux as the primary
productivity software.[1] The project initially had used OpenOffice.org, but
switched to LibreOffice.[2] The city reported that it gained freedom in software
decisions and increased security and saved €11.7 million (US$16 million).[3] In
November 2017 Munich City Council (Stadtrat) resolved to reverse the migration
and return to Microsoft Windows-based software by 2020.[4][5]

LiMux is the first Linux desktop distribution certified for industry use (ISO 9241) Developer LiMux Project
by the Technical Inspection Association (German: Technischer OS family Unix-like
Überwachungsverein).[6] It was first based on Debian, and later changed to Working state Current
Ubuntu, the most popular Debian derivative. Version 3 available from December
Source model Combination
2010 is based on Ubuntu 8.10, version 4 available from August 2011 is based on
of open
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS,[7] although using KDE Desktop 3.5[8] and version 4.1
source and
available from August 2012 is also based on Ubuntu 10.04 T
LS.
closed
source
Initial release 2006
Contents Latest release 5.0 / 2014-11
History Available in German
Objectives and implementation
Switching to OpenOffice.org Package manager dpkg

Timeline Kernel type Monolithic


Limux client software (Linux)

Current status Default user interface KDE SC 4.12


See also License Various free
References software
External links licenses, plus
proprietary
Official website Project Site
History
In 2003 the impending end of Microsoft's support for Windows NT 4 led Munich City Council to commission a report on choices for
a successor operating system to use on its office computers. The report yielded two main alternatives, either migration to Windows
XP or a move to a free, open source operating system based on Linux with an accompanying emphasis on web browsers as OS-
neutral application clients.

A majority of Council members voted for the Linux-based solution, which was dubbed LiMux, referencing the M on Munich vehicle
registrations and MUC, the code of International Air T
ransport Association (IATA) for Munich airport.
On 16 May 2007, the TÜV confirmed by a comprehensive certification process, the usability of the LiMux-based client as a user
interface for interactive computer systems according to the ISO standard 9241-1
10.

Objectives and implementation


The migration project in Munich is ongoing and not an overnight switch to free software on every desktop. The main goal is to
achieve more independence from software distributors, concerning client/server and native client software. The decision in 2003 had
two components, on the one hand to get free software running on most of the desktops, and on the other hand to buy and develop
web-based and platform independent (e.g. Java-based) business applications. A core goal of the project is to reduce reliance of
[9]
Microsoft-based software stacks and fund local developers to write replacement software.

In October 2013, the city of Munich had migrated over 15,000 desktop PCs (of about 18,000 desktops) from Windows NT 4.0 or
Windows 2000, and Microsoft Office to the Linux operating system andOpenOffice.org.

The migration was interrupted in the summer of 2004, because the city would investigate the legal implications of software patents.
In late 2006, the actual migration of desktops began.

In May 2009, 1800 workstations were converted to Linux, 12,000 took advantage of Open Of
fice.

The AG usability of the project group interviewed the users regularly to achieve a good fit to the needs of employees. The plan is to
make the software as simple as possible to use.

The conversion will be monitored carefully. A successful migration might cause other cities and communities to transform their IT
infrastructure from Windows to Linux.

Switching to OpenOffice.org
A tool called Wollmux was developed to extend the OpenOffice suite's capabilities in areas required by Munich Council, including
managing consistent letterheads, form templates, saved blocks of standard text, document versioning and merging. Wollmux was
released in May 2008.

Timeline
28 May 2003: The city council of Munich votes to go ahead with planning.[10][11]

16 June 2004 – The city council votes 50-29 in favor of migrating and to start an open competitive bidding within
months.[12][13]
software patents.[14][15]
5 August 2004 – The project is temporarily halted, due to legal uncertainties concerning
28 April 2005 – Debian is selected as a platform.[16]
6 September 2005 – It is decided that the project needs an additional one-year pilot test, and migration slips one
year.[17]
[18]
22 September 2006 – The "soft" [migration begins, one year behind original schedule.
November 2008 – 1200 out of 14,000 have migrated to the LiMux environment (9%; March 2008: 1000=7%), in
addition 12000 workstations useOpenOffice.org 2 installed on Windows (March 2008: 6000) and more 100% use
Mozilla Firefox 1.5 and Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5 (March 2008: 90%). 18,000 of 21,000 macros, templates and forms
are changed into Linux-enabled.[19]
29 May 2008 – The related WollMux-software, developed in-house to support personalised templates and forms in
office textprocessing, is declared Open Source[20]
31 December 2009 – The first step, the complete switch to OpenOffice.org enabling the Open Document Format as
standard format is done[21]
. Further 2000 shall migrate in 2010.[22]
June 2010 – "More than 3000" are LiMux-workplaces by now
In February 2011 – More than 5000 workplaces were based on LiMux.
In June 2011 –More than 6500 workplaces were based on LiMux.
17 December 2011 – "9000" PCs are LiMux-workplaces now . With this they are 500 workplaces ahead of their goal
for 2011.[23][24]
28 March 2012 – In response to a request from the CSU the City reported that it has already saved about 4 million
[25]
euros in licensing costs as well as reduced the number of support calls
[26]
March 2012: The number of monthly complaints dropped from 70 to a maximum of 46 due to the LiMux migration
[27]
July 2012 – About 10,500 LiMux PC-workstations
23 November 2012 – Report shows that the savings brought in using LiMux environment are over 10 million
euros[28]
[29]
January 2013 – About 13,000 LiMux PC-workstations
October 2013 – Over 15,000 LiMux PC-workstations (of about 18,000 workstations)
December 2013 – Munich open-source switch "completed successfully" [30]

August 2014 – Munich deputy mayor, Josef Schmid, and mayor, Dieter Reiter, considering going back to Windows
due to productivity problems. Munich city council spokesman Stefan Hauf explained that the majority of issues stem
from compatibility issues inOpenOffice, something a switch toLibreOffice could solve.[31] In addition, the city council
and Karl-Heinz Schneider, head of municipal IT services, said that most things are fine, they saved €10 million (more
than US$13 million), and there is no serious reason to come back. He added that the number of complaints and
[32] Microsoft wants to move
malfunctions would not exceed the usual number for an administration of this size.
German headquarters to Munich in 2016, helped by Reiter who describes himself as a "Microsoft fan". [33][34][35][36]

October 2014 – In response to inquiries by the Green Party , mayor Dieter Reiter revealed that a transition back to
Microsoft Windows would cost millions of euros.[37]

August/September 2015 – Jan-Marek Glogowski of LiMux presents about the project status during the "Debian
Success Stories" track of the Debian conference [38] and at the LibreOffice conference.[39]

February 2017 - Politicians discuss proposals to replace the Linux-based OS used across the council with a
Windows 10-based client.[40]
October 2017 - Once seen as a stalwart supporter of open source, the city council last week said that running a
Linux-based operating system on its PCs would not be cost ef ficient in the long run.[41]
November 2017 - The city council decided that LiMux will be replaced by a Windows-based infrastructure by the end
of 2020. The costs for the migration are estimated to be around 90 million Euro. [42]

Limux client software


The LiMux Client 4.0 was based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS with KDE desktop 3.5. It included OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Thunderbird and
Mozilla Firefox and other free software products.

Version 5.0 of the LiMux Client was released in November 2014, based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with KDE SC 4.12 as the desktop. The
default office suite is LibreOffice 4.1. Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird are included in their Extended Support Release
versions.

Current status
In November 2017 Munich city council decided to revert to Windows by 2020 with all systems being replaced by Windows 10
counterparts.[43] Reasons cited were adoption and users being unhappy with the lack of software available for Linux. A report
[41]
commissioned by Munich and undertaken by Accenture found the most important issues were ganizational.
or

In 2018, journalistic group Investigate Europe released a video documentary via German public television network ARD, wherein it
is claimed that the majority of city workers were satisfied with the operating system, with council members insinuating that the
reversal was a personally motivated decision by lord mayor Dieter Reiter. Reiter denied that he had initiated the reversal in gratitude
for Microsoft moving its German headquarters fromUnterschleißheim back to Munich.[44]

See also
Canaima (operating system)
GendBuntu
Inspur
Linux adoption
Nova (operating system)
Ubuntu Kylin
VIT, C.A.

References
1. "Switching to Linux saves Munich over €11 million"(http://www.itworld.com/operating-systems/321474/switching-linu
x-saves-munich-over-11-million). IT World. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
2. "Libre Office für München" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131214123013/http://www .it-muenchen-blog.de/2012/10/li
bre-office-fur-munchen/). Münchner IT-Blog. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original (http://www.it-muenchen-bl
og.de/2012/10/libre-office-fur-munchen/) on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
3. "Linux: City of Munich ditches Microsoft moves to Linux and open source" (http://www.giraffedog.com/blog/ubuntu-lin
ux-hints-tips/city-munich-successfully-ditches-microsoft-favour-linux-open-source/)
. GiraffeDog IT support services.
23 December 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
4. Krempl, Stefan (23 November 2017)."Endgültiges Aus für LiMux: Münchener Stadtrat setzt den Pinguin vor die Tür"
(https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Endgueltiges-Aus-fuer-LiMux-Muenchener-Stadtrat-setzt-den-Pinguin-vor
-die-Tuer-3900439.html). Heise Online (in German). Heise Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
5. Heath, Nick (8 November 2017)."Linux pioneer Munich supports Windows 10 rollout from 2020 in key vote"(https://
www.techrepublic.com/article/linux-pioneer-munich-supports-windows-10-rollout-from-2020-in-key-vote/)
.
TechRepublic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
6. "TÜV zertifiziert Münchens LiMUX-Client"(http://www.linux-magazin.de/NEWS/TUeV-zertifiziert-Muenchens-LiMUX-
Client) (in German). linux-magazin.de. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
7. "LiMux Desktop Retrospective"(https://www.desktopsummit.org/sites/www.desktopsummit.org/files/DS2011_LiMux_
Desktop_Retrospective_2011-08-08.pdf)(PDF). 8 August 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
8. "München bringt neues Release 4.0 des LiMux Clients heraus"(https://web.archive.org/web/20120709173918/http://
www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2011/08/munchen-bringt-neues-release-4-0-des-limux-clients-heraus/) . 18 August 2011.
Archived from the original (http://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2011/08/munchen-bringt-neues-release-4-0-des-limux-cli
ents-heraus) on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
9. http://www.linuxvoice.com/the-big-switch/
10. "Munich breaks with Windows for Linux"(http://www.news.com/2100-1016-1010740.html). News.com. Retrieved
16 January 2008.
11. "Munich to Use Linux" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071011233526/http://www .centerdigitalgov.com/international/s
tory.php?docid=54099). Center for Digital Government. Archived fromthe original (http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/in
ternational/story.php?docid=54099) on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2008. "Until spring 2004, a detailed
concept of implementation and migration will be developed. Based on the results of this evaluation, the city council
will decide how the migration to Linux will take place.
"
12. "Limux – the IT-Evolution" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071216172024/http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/322
3/470). IDABC. Archived fromthe original (http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/3223/470)on 16 December 2007.
13. Encz, Philipp; Bass, Dina."Microsoft Loses Munich Contract for 14,000 PCs to Linux Program"(https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20140903160359/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYjHOozAjHAE&refer=europ
e). Bloomberg. Archived from the original (https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYjHOozAj
HAE&refer=europe) on 3 September 2014.
14. "Munich halts biggest-ever Linux migration"(http://www.news.com/Munich-halts-biggest-ever-Linux-migration/2100-7
344_3-5298060.html?tag=st.nl). News.com. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
15. "Patent fears halt Munich Linux migration"(https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/04/munich_linux_patent_fears/)
.
The Register. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
16. "Debian wins Munich Linux deal"(http://www.news.com/2100-7344_3-5689003.html). News.com. Retrieved
16 January 2008.
17. "Munich's Linux migration slips to 2006"(http://www.news.com/Munichs-Linux-migration-slips-to-2006/2100-7344_3-
5850633.html?tag=st.nl). News.com. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
18. "Munich fires up Linux at last"(http://www.news.com/Munich-fires-up-Linux-at-last/2100-7344_3-6119153.html?tag=
news.3). News.com. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
19. Florian Schießl; deputy project manager (22 April 2008)."Zwei Jahre freie Software in München"(http://www.muenc
hen.de/cms/prod2/mde/_de/rubriken/Rathaus/40_dir/limux/01_ueberblick/OCA_LiMux_2008_11_12.pdf) (PDF).(in
German)
20. "Munich's WollMux will be free software"(http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/dir/limux/wollmux/229499/p_e.html). 29
May 2008.
21. Florian Schießl; Communications manager free software; open standards (30 December 2009). "LiMux review 2009"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20100110023254/http://www .floschi.info/2009/12/limux-review-2009/). Archived from
the original (http://www.floschi.info/2009/12/limux-review-2009/) on 10 January 2010.
22. "Projekt LiMux: Die IT-Evolution geht weiter" (http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/dir/limux/publikationen/418948/2010
_VPA.html). 30 June 2010.
23. Kirsten Böge (17 December 2011)."München hat den 9.000. PC-Arbeitsplatz auf den LiMux Client migriert" (https://
web.archive.org/web/20120113205716/http://www .it-muenchen-blog.de/2011/12/munchen-hat-den-9-000-pc-arbeits
platz-auf-den-limux-client-migriert/). Archived from the original (http://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2011/12/munchen-h
at-den-9-000-pc-arbeitsplatz-auf-den-limux-client-migriert/)on 13 January 2012.
24. Reed, Michael (2 January 2012)."Munich Linux Migration Project LiMux Reports Success"(http://www.linuxjournal.c
om/content/limux-munich-linux-migration-project-reports-success)
. Linux Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
25. Jörg Thoma (28 March 2012)."München spart mit Limux Geld und hat weniger Störungen"(http://www.golem.de/ne
ws/ob-christian-ude-muenchen-spart-mit-limux-geld-und-hat-weniger-stoerungen-1203-90821.html)
.
26. Loek Essers (2 April 2012)."Munich mayor says switch to Linux is much cheaper and has reduced complaints" (htt
p://www.computerworlduk.com/news/public-sector/3348475/munich-mayor-says-switch-linux-is-much-cheaper-reduc
ed-complaints/). "The maximum number of complaints was 70 per month before the beginning of the switch to
LiMux. After the number of LiMux workplaces increased from 1,500 to 9,500, the maximum number of complaints
per month dropped to 46. This leaves Ude to conclude that the decline in complaints was due to the migration to
LiMux."
27. Jutta Kreyss, IT Architect, LiMux (Munich, Germany) (10 June 2012)."LiMux - the IT-Evolution, Status of Migration"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20140903082028/http://www .muenchen.de/rathaus/dms/Home/Stadtverwaltung/Direkto
rium/Strategische-IT-Projekte/LiMux/Dokumente/2012_Juli_London20120709.pdf)(PDF). Archived from the original
(http://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/dms/Home/Stadtverwaltung/Direktorium/Strategische-IT -Projekte/LiMux/Dokument
e/2012_Juli_London20120709.pdf)(PDF) on 3 September 2014.
28. Anika Kehrer (23 November 2012)."Linux brings over €10 million savings for Munich"(https://web.archive.org/web/2
0131207064653/http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Linux-brings-over-EUR10-million-savings-for-Munich-1755
802.html). Archived from the original (http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Linux-brings-over-EUR10-million-savi
ngs-for-Munich-1755802.html)on 7 December 2013.
29. Presse- und Informationsamt der Landeshauptstadt München (22 January 2013). "Rathaus Umschau - HP-Studie
untersucht im Auftrag von Microsoft LiMux-Umstellung"(http://www.muenchen.info/pia/RSS/015.pdf)(PDF).
30. Loek Essers (13 December 2013)."Munich open-source switch 'completed successfully ' " (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20141013085745/http://www.cio.co.uk/news/change-management/munich-open-source-completed-successfully/) .
Archived from the original (http://www.cio.co.uk/news/change-management/munich-open-source-completed-success
fully/) on 13 October 2014.
31. Joey-Elijah Sneddon (22 August 2014)."Munich Council: LiMux Demise Has Been Greatly Exaggerated"(http://ww
w.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/08/munich-council-say-talk-limux-demise-greatly-exaggerated). "Hauf also confirms that
council staff have, and do, complain about LiMux, but that the majority of issues stem from compatibility issues in
OpenOffice, something a potential switch to LibreOffice could solve."
32. LiMux: Linux in München unter politischem Beschuss(http://www.heise.de/open/meldung/LiMux-Linux-in-Muenchen-
unter-politischem-Beschuss-2260806.html), Heise online, 2014-07-15
33. Nick Heath (19 August 2014)."Ditching Linux for Windows? The truth isn't that simple, says Munich"(http://www.tech
republic.com/article/no-munich-isnt-about-to-ditch-free-software-and-move-back-to-windows/). "Suggestions the
council has decided to back away from Linux are wrong, according to council spokesman Stefan Hauf. "
34. Silviu Stahie (19 August 2014)."Munich Switching to Windows from Linux Is Proof That Microsoft Is Still an Evil
Company" (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Munich-Switching-to-Windows-from-Linux-Is-Proof-that-Microsoft-Is-Still-
an-Evil-Company-455510.shtml). "He said that people were unhappy with Linux, but he didn't actually provide any
kind of proof to this matter."
35. Simon Sharwood (19 August 2014)."Munich considers dumping Linux for ... GULP ... Windows!"(https://www.thereg
ister.co.uk/2014/08/19/munich_dumping_linux_for_windows/).
36. Peter Bright (18 August 2014)."Linux-on-the-desktop pioneer Munich now considering a switch back to Windows"
(h
ttps://arstechnica.com/business/2014/08/linux-on-the-desktop-pioneer-munich-now-considering-a-switch-back-to-win
dows/).
37. Nick Heath (15 October 2014)."Munich sheds light on the cost of dropping Linux and returning to Windows" (http://w
ww.zdnet.com/munich-sheds-light-on-the-cost-of-dropping-linux-and-returning-to-windows-7000034718/) . "The
mayor of Munich has revealed the cost of reversing its move to Linux from Windows will run into millions of euros in
hardware alone."
38. "Debian Success Stories"(https://summit.debconf.org/debconf15/track/successstories/)
.
39. "LibreOffice conference 2015, schedule, Sept. 24th. Thursday" (http://conference.libreoffice.org/2015/the-program/se
pt-24th-thursday/).
40. Heath, Nick (10 February 2017)."Linux pioneer Munich poised to ditch open source and return to Windows"(http://w
ww.techrepublic.com/article/linux-pioneer-munich-poised-to-ditch-open-source-and-return-to-windows)
. Tech
Republic. Retrieved 12 February 2017 – via http://www.techrepublic.com/.
41. "Ditching Windows for Linux led to 'major difficulties' says open-source champion Munich"(http://www.techrepublic.c
om/article/ditching-windows-for-linux-led-to-major-dif ficulties-says-open-source-champion-munich/?ftag=TRE475558
a&bhid=23124162725615626537083707093141) . TechRepublic. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
42. "Linux pioneer confirms switch to Windows 10"(https://www.techrepublic.com/article/end-of-an-open-source-era-linu
x-pioneer-munich-confirms-switch-to-windows-10/) .
43. "Munich council: To hell with Linux, we're going full Windows in 2020"(https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/13/muni
ch_committee_says_all_windows_2020/). The Register. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
44. "Das Microsoft-Dilemma"(https://web.archive.org/web/20180410183411/https://www .ardmediathek.de/tv/Dokumenta
tion-und-Reportage/Das-Microsoft-Dilemma/rbb-Fernsehen/V ideo?bcastId=3822114&documentId=51465916)(in
German). ARD Mediathek. 8 April 2018. Archived fromthe original (https://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/Dokumentation-
und-Reportage/Das-Microsoft-Dilemma/rbb-Fernsehen/V ideo?bcastId=3822114&documentId=51465916)on 10 April
2018.

External links
Declaration of Independence: The LiMux Project in Munich
GOsa - Administrative LDAP back-end used in the project

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