Stephen,
Interesting bit of info. Gives me more things to think about :)
>IBM has also been working in the open source arena to improve the Linux OS
>to help make it robust for corporate use.
The greatest thing they have done here (in my opinion) is putting Linux
on the mainframe. I am really excited about this... I have never felt
totally comfortable with USS on MVS. A native Unixy partition? I like it.
> In the past, a key advantage for AIX would have been the filesystem.
> That is less true today since IBM has been contributing to Linux.
Yip, I noticed my SuSE 8 has JFS in there. I am not sure if it was in
previous releases... I switched to ReiserFS with 6.3 and am sticking to
it (ReiserFS - not SuSE 6.3) for now...
> Yet, there are other features in AIX that makes it the unix OS of
> choice for critical mission solutions. There is a LOT of servicability
> and scalability in AIX that is not found in Linux.
But if this Linux was in the Mainframe... granted, I was talking Intel
platforms, but I was just wondering what else entered into the equation.
Things are never as simple as they first appear, are they?
>Is your NetView mission critical? For a service provider, probably yes.
Oh yes. But we also have partial overlap of monitoring with other departments
using BMC, CISCO and HP products. This is why we are still on AIX boxes. Some
products only integrate on AIX (or HP OR Solaris), but not on Linux. We need
SNA monitoring too (donw with CiscoWorks Blue). As long as we still have an
SNA network, we will stay with AIX.
> If you are integrating 3rd party software with NetView,
> then you may want to stay with a 4-way.
Yip, this is why we have a 4 way... but I always find memory is the
bottleneck, not the CPUs.
> If you are thinking of using a non-IBM Intel box, then I suggest you do a
> very close inspection of the hardware features between the p-Series and the
> other one before you make a switch.
Yes, very good point.
> Also, compare the "service" options that you have. Do you need to be able
> to call service 24x7 or can you afford to have your NetView server down for
> a few days or even a week?
Also valid. Other companies also claim they can handle 24/7 service agreements.
Here is a situation: A few years ago I was working my shift as an operator on
MVS / VM / TPF systems. I get a call from IBM Mainz saying they are sending
an engineer to us to change some card on one of the mainframes. This was at
03:00 in the morning. I thought someone was having me on. Well, they weren't.
The machine had automatically sent a "failure imminent report", which was
then acted appon rather quickly. Within an hour after the call, the engineer
was onsite changing hardware. All this without having to do a thing. That
is what I like about the mainframe and good support. I was totally impressed.
How many other companies can do this?
> For a really good price/performance ratio on a p-Series box check on the
> new P610 boxes. If those machines had wings, they would fly. :-)
Ahhh... but what about levels 8 and 9 of the OSI model? Budget and politics! :)
Our ultimate plan though is to put NetView on the mainframe under Linux. Now
that is another box that can fly. And they don't need wings to do it either. :)
> -- Time to step off my soap box. :-)
It was interesting to hear / read your thoughts on this. Step up on that
soapbox more often. A person passionate about something on a soapbox
is not so bad. :)
--
Kevin Gow
CREDIT SUISSE FINANCIAL SERVICES
Technology and Operations
Network Management (KTSO 4)
Dorfmattweg 8a, CH-3110 Münsingen, Switzerland
Tel: +41 31 358 81 61
Fax: +41 31 358 79 80
E-mail: Kevin.Gow@csfs.com
http://www.csfs.com
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