RE: iSeries TCO v NT server farm

I would like to mention a scenario I see that is sort of relevant. 

I have a client that has bought two midrange computers.  One in 1998, and
the other in 1982 or 1983.  He has a few users, less than 20.  He has no
maintenance contract on it, just on the line printer. He uses Windows
workstations.  His applications are A/P, A/R, payroll, manufacturing,
inventory costing, and a second set of similar applications for his trucking
business which runs 20 or 30 over the road tractor trailers.

His annual TCO for the iSeries is basically my charges, which are moderate. 
His Windows costs are modest too, but he does have greater costs with them
than with the iSeries. 
 
He and I have discussed costs and why he is using the iSeries.  His answer
is "I am busy,  I don't want to be listening to computer problems.  They
installed this software over 20 years ago and it doesn't owe me a thing, but
it does keep my business for me.  I listen to my competitors and I am happy
to be where I am."


---------------------------------
Booth Martin
http://www.martinvt.com
---------------------------------
-------Original Message-------
 
From: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Date: 09/03/05 17:45:27
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: RE: iSeries TCO v NT server farm
 
> From: Walden H. Leverich
>
> Now, before you reply with something like "bet you need more that two
> servers for performance reasons" or "but you need super big servers,
not
> small ones" I'll say this, you may indeed -- then again you may not.
And
> it's not really possible for us to debate that without knowing
specific
> details and specific requirements of specific applications.
 
Sorry, but that's EXACTLY the point, Walden.  We have to do this,
because Windows proponents tend to keep changing their story depending
on what they're trying to prove.  However, they ALWAYS fall into one of
several fallacies.
 
If they want to say Windows is inexpensive, they use the Single-CPU
Wintel Fallacy.  In this line of illogic, the arguer talks about
replacing an iSeries with a single-CPU Dell machine.  Of course, this is
absolutely ludicrous.  There is no single-CPU Wintel box can replace an
iSeries, or run a decent sized business.  You need eight, or ten, or in
your case, twelve.
 
Then there is the HA issue, in which a single machine provides HA to
multiple boxes.  This is the Holographic Redundancy Fallacy, which I
debunked in the previous message.
 
 
> Hopefully I've cleared up a thing or two about my mythical world. <G>
 
You haven't cleared up anything.  All you've said is that shops that can
run on a single inexpensive Wintel machine should run on one (well,
actually you said two, for HA).  That's fine with me.  But there isn't a
shop out there bigger than a lemonade stand that can run on a sub-$10000
Windows system after you price in a couple of boxes and $4500 worth of
software, and at that point you can buy a small iSeries and beat the
crap out of the Wintel box in the number of users you can run.
 
 
Am I overhyping?  Am I mischaracterizing the bait-and-switch tactics of
the Wintel advocates?  All you need to do is look at the title of this
thread: "iSeries TCO vs. NT server farm".  As long as the issue is
performance, Wintel zealots talk about server farms, but when it's price
they immediately talk about some theoretical box you can buy from Dell
that will run your business.  You didn't even point out a model, because
you want us to think it's one of those $2500 HOBO models when you know
darn well that serious servers cost nearly $4000 for a machine with no
RAID and no OS.
 
 
Anyway, I'm tired of this argument.  Really tired.  All I wanted to
point out was that there's no way one Windows box can provide HA to a
server farm.  I did that.  You want to argue about the existence of the
magical, mystical, mythical Dell machine, it makes a good bedtime story,
but that's about it.
 
 
Joe
 
--
This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing list
To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
 
.