Good info
Thanks
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lukas Beeler
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 6:18 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: Adding a partition to our 270
On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 00:06, John Allen <jallen@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I wish it were that simple.
Trying to have only a couple of boxes instead of 5 or 6
Less maintenance, support etc. etc.
Less room, less expense, the list goes on an on
I work for an ISV too, and we need multiple machines to develop, QA
and test on V5R4, V6R1 and now V7R1.
Our first intention was to buy a Quadcore machine, then make 3 LPARs.
Assume that cost 100%, across a 3 year lifecycle, including all
maintenance, including software. We needed at least one real LPAR to
run V5R4 on it, we could've guested the two V6R1 LPARs, but opted to
configure three full LPARs, including a three drive TS3200.
However, we then priced three entry-level Power 520s, maxed out (16GB
RAM, 6x 147GB, RAID enabler, built-in LTO4). This was a cost of
roughly 60% (for three machines!), across a 3 year lifecycle,
including all maintenance, including software.
So make sure to explore all options. Having three single-core machines
is _not_ as nice and good as a single quadcore machine, you can't
share resources, you can't move resources. LPARing is the technically
better approach, but buying more entry machines may be cheaper.
If you decide to go that route, do not order stripped down machines. A
8304-E4A maxed out has okay performance today for a few developers/qa
users, but it will likely suck in three years.
If you need it really cheap, look about old Power 5 520s going back.
They can run V7R1 and V6R1, which the 270 can't.
[ Insert three page long rant about IBMs pricing policies ]
midrange.com
