RE: Help me Justify iSeries

Hey!

Don't go taking my name in vain here, Jim.  I really hate when people
try to slot me when I offer alternatives.  If I say Java isn't good for
everything, I get labeled anti-Java.  If I say RPG isn't good for some
things, I get labeled anti-RPG.  I mention that Wintel might be cheaper
for some things, and (you could've predicted it) someone starts labeling
me as anti-iSeries.

I think I was pretty clear about how this was a business decision.
Before you start throwing out buzzwords like "security" and "critical
update and maint time", exactly how much time do you think you need to
spend on securing and maintaining a file server, even if the files are
HTTP accessible?  It's nowhere near what's needed for a web application
server.

"joe's cheap pc" is still WAY less expensive than the corresponding
iSeries disk.  If you need high availability, then great, you need
another PC.  And at that point (and only at that point) the
administration begins to become an issue, primarily because I don't know
of a good way to fail over from one PC to another, although I'm sure
there's a network appliance that would do it.

In any case, "joe's cheap pc" is still cheap, and is still a viable
alternative to expensive iSeries disk when storing static binary data.
It may not be the right alternative for a given business, but it has to
be looked at, especially when you're trying to keep the overall price of
your iSeries solution to a minimum.

Joe
 

> From: Jim Franz
> 
> (just like joe's cheap pc that suddenly
> got more expensive when you add reliability requirements...and no
mention
> of security, HA, the critical update & maint time, & on & on).