/yü-nikz/
[In the authors' words, "A weak pun on Multics"]
n. (also Unix) An interactive time-sharing system originally invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left the Multics project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged PDP-7. Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of C, is considered a co-author of the system. The turning point in UNIX's history came when it was reimplemented almost entirely in C during 1972--1974, making it the first source-portable OS. UNIX subsequently underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and developer-friendly environment. In 1991, UNIX is the most widely used multiuser general-purpose operating system in the world. Many people consider this the most important victory yet of hackerdom over industry opposition (but see UNIX weenie and UNIX conspiracy for an opposing point of view).
- Private Sector: UNIX-based operating systems are commonly found in industries that require reliable, scalable, and secure systems. These range from small businesses using Unix for web hosting to large enterprises relying on Unix for database management, ERP systems, and networking.
- Public Sector: UNIX systems are often used in government, defense, education, and research sectors where stability, security, and flexibility across various hardware platforms are essential.
1. macOS
Developed by Apple Inc., macOS is a Unix-based operating system designed for personal computers.
- Private Sector: Used primarily by professionals in creative industries (graphic design, video production, and music production), software development, and business professionals who prefer Apple's ecosystem.
- Public Sector: Less common in government agencies, but still used in specific areas such as education and public broadcasting.
2. AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive)
Available from IBM.
A Unix-based OS designed for enterprise servers, particularly for IBM's POWER and PowerPC architecture.
- Private Sector: Used by large enterprises in finance, healthcare, and retail industries that require high availability and scalability for applications like ERP systems, databases, and web services.
- Public Sector: Commonly used in government agencies and large educational institutions to manage critical systems like financial services, databases, and security infrastructures.
3. Solaris
Available from Oracle Corporation (formerly Sun Microsystems).
Solaris is known for its scalability, especially on SPARC systems, and is widely used in enterprise environments for running high-performance applications.
- Private Sector: Frequently used in industries requiring powerful computing systems, such as telecommunications, finance, and data centers, to handle large-scale databases and heavy network workloads.
- Public Sector: Popular in large research institutions and government agencies that rely on its robustness and security, especially in sectors like defense, space research, and infrastructure management.
4. HP-UX
Available from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
HP-UX is a Unix OS designed for HP's enterprise servers (typically on PA-RISC and Itanium hardware).
- Private Sector: Used in large corporations for mission-critical environments like banking, telecommunications, and manufacturing industries that need highly reliable systems.
- Public Sector: Deployed in large government institutions and utility companies for running ERP systems, databases, and secure infrastructure management.
5. FreeBSD
Available as free, open-source software from FreeBSD.org.
FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like OS used primarily for networking, security, and storage applications.
- Private Sector: Popular in web hosting, data centers, cloud computing, and internet service providers (ISPs) because of its excellent networking and security capabilities. Used by companies like Netflix, Yahoo, and Apache for their servers.
- Public Sector: Widely adopted by educational institutions, research centers, and some government agencies for developing secure servers, network management, and storage systems.
6. OpenBSD
Available as free, open-source software from OpenBSD.org.
A Unix-like OS focused on security, correctness, and code simplicity. It is known for its proactive security features.
- Private Sector: Used in industries where security is paramount, such as financial services, cybersecurity firms, and secure communications providers.
- Public Sector: Adopted by some government agencies and defense organizations for use in secure servers, firewalls, and VPN systems because of its focus on security.
7. NetBSD
Available as free, open-source software from NetBSD.org.
A highly portable Unix-like OS known for running on a wide variety of hardware platforms, including embedded systems.
- Private Sector: Used by manufacturers, hardware developers, and embedded system designers. Also used in IoT (Internet of Things) devices due to its portability.
- Public Sector: Used by research institutions, educational organizations, and even some government agencies for projects requiring flexibility across different hardware architectures.
8. DragonFly BSD
Available as free, open-source software from DragonFlyBSD.org.
A Unix-like OS derived from FreeBSD, focused on performance and stability, particularly for multi-threading and parallel computing tasks.
- Private Sector: Used in research environments, data centers, and businesses looking for high-performance computing solutions for parallel and cloud-based applications.
- Public Sector: Some educational and research institutions use it for scientific computing and parallel processing tasks.
9. Tru64 UNIX
Originally developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and now owned by HPE.
Designed for high-performance, 64-bit computing systems, primarily used on Alpha-based systems.
- Private Sector: Historically used in industries like aerospace, energy, and manufacturing, where high-performance scientific computing was needed.
- Public Sector: Often found in government research labs and universities with a focus on scientific research and data-intensive computing.
10. SCO UnixWare
Available from Xinuos (previously known as SCO Group).
A Unix OS designed for Intel x86 systems, focused on small to medium-sized business environments and enterprise-level scalability.
- Private Sector: Primarily used in industries such as retail, healthcare, and telecommunications for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point-of-sale (POS) systems.
- Public Sector: Some government agencies and local authorities used UnixWare for enterprise-level database management, network services, and application servers.
These operating systems cater to diverse applications ranging from personal use to highly specialized enterprise environments. Depending on your specific needs, you can choose a system based on factors like security, scalability, or hardware compatibility.