Re: iSeries specific benefit - Disk IO performance

[Jerry Adams <jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Haven't done any kind of cost comparison (neither TCO nor just 
hardware/software).  We have a very simple set up here, but it is also 
critical to our business.  When the mail server craps out, everybody 
gets irritable, but they survive.  When the Windows file server goes 
south, people get belligerent, but no one dies.  When the System i5 goes 
south, people get - hell, I don't know what they get; it's never died.  
But I do know that the mission critical applications are on the System 
i5 because of its reliability; my boss just laughs when a Windows vendor 
tries to sell him a Windows solution to replace our i5 apps (and he's a 
Windows guy!).


I'm a fairly good programmer, though from what I read on the lists not 
in the same class with many of you, but I'm a lame-o as a system admin.  
But what little admin there is on the i5 is pretty easy.  Part of that 
may be our simple set up here, but once you get things (system values, 
etc.) defined, the i5 takes care of itself.  It even calls home when 
it's not feeling well - I had a voice mail from IBM one morning telling 
me that my disk cache batteries were low before I could check error 
messages.  Ease of use counts for something, but I'd be hard pressed to 
quantify it.


I have had to interface with disparate systems and never had a problem.  
I'm working on one right now for which I'll need to use OpenSSH for the 
first time.  With all of the things in the archives here and the manual, 
looks like I'll be busy for a little while (but should be fun learning 
something new).  There was a brief (real brief) discussion about putting 
the data from the vendor on the Windows file server; however, because 
it's mission critical data and apps, my boss (and his boss, the COO) 
nixed that idea. 


I could go on, but my point is that the i5 is for critical data and 
apps.  I guess other servers have or could be configured to run as 
reliably; I'll admit my ignorance there.  But the few shops that I have 
seen that claim to have reliable set ups had a full-time staff to baby 
sit it. 

        * Jerry C. Adams
*IBM System i5/iSeries Programmer/Analyst
B&W Wholesale Distributors, Inc.* *
voice
        615.995.7024
fax
        615.995.1201
email
        jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



Peter Dow (ML) wrote:
> Hi Steve,
>
> Does your statement below mean that it's simpler to take a Windows app 
> and put it on a Linux box than it is to take an AIX app and put it in 
> PASE on an iSeries box?
>
> Peter Dow
> Dow Software Services, Inc.
> 909 793-9050
>
> Steve Richter wrote:
>   
> > as far as migrating apps and in which direction, my speculation is the
> > important thing is for a package vendor to be able to drop its package
> > on a system and have it both run well and integrate well with other
> > applications on the system.  Just my guess, but the integrated
> > database model of the i5 probably makes that harder to do than
> > otherwise.
> >
> > -Steve
> >   
> >     
>
>