RE: Servers Spreading Like Rabbits...

Just for the sake of debate :-)

> Even a gigabyte Ethernet is nowhere near as fast as internal memory 
paths of an integrated server.
= So, if I put several of these servers on IXS cards and run them on the 
same iSeries will that allay that?  We've discovered that the 
communications down the back plane were much faster than our gigabit 
ethernet.

> They can share atomic locks (that is, locks that don't require some sort 
of two-phased commitment) and thus easily
synchronize with one another.
= Yes, but the jobs on these servers were so disparate that I fail to see 
a need for locks between active directory, CRM and Exchange

> You can easily back up all the resources for a single AS/400 onto a 
single backup medium, with zero downtime.
= No you can't.  There are numerous items which require a dedicated 
system.  And that which doesn't, if done 'right' with save while active 
requires that you quiesce your system.  And there are resources which do 
not backup, like spool files and contents of data queues.  And the thought 
of doing an unload/reload of our lpared iseries onto a new box, and having 
all partitions work doesn't really stoke me with confidence.  I've done 
unloads/reloads before with unlpared 400's and didn't bat an eye.

> There are no issues of having incompatible operating system upgrades
= See LPAR

> You only need to train an operator to learn one set of system commands.
= I don't see them using the same system commands to manage active 
directory as they would to run the CRM, much as I don't see the same 
commands being used to edit user profiles on the iSeries as would operate 
an iSeries based CRM.

You had some strong arguments about splitting the database over different 
servers that make a lot of sense.  However, I didn't see that applying in 
Chuck's case.  I got the impression that the CRM was all on one server. 
It's just that he needed the other servers to support a W2K environment.

Rob Berendt
-- 
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 
Benjamin Franklin