Re: Upgrade from linux: AIX or Solaris?

From: Michael Vilain (vilain_at_spamcop.net)
Date: 08/09/04 

Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 20:22:07 -0700

In article <hRARc.11477$rb2.9106@fe2.texas.rr.com>,
 "A. Fuentes" <alvarof2@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I am will be upgrading one of my systems from Linux to either
> AIX or Solaris (both hardware and Software)
> (I plan to run a mayor database either DB2 or Oracle, after
> the upgrade)
>
> I know this topic is very controversial, and depends of many other
> particular setup, budged, etc conditions/constrains, but
> I would like to hear any general facts and/or opinions.

If you're 'upgrading' one of your systems to AIX or Solaris, I'd be
curious as to _how_ you're doing this. AIX runs on IBM hardware and
Solaris can run on Intel or SUN hardware. Seems more like a porting
project than an upgrade. But I quibble.

You mention a DBMS like DB2 or Oracle. Is the application already
written or does it need to be ported from the Linux box? If there isn't
one, has a selection of the application been made yet?

What do you expect in terms of growth for this product's usage (users,
disk utilization, memory, CPU) in the 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 5th
year? Sometimes, buying a system that can grow incrementally with your
usage is key.

What will you need to support the application in terms of programming,
DBA, and sysadmin (BACKUPS, maintenance, day-to-day administration).
What will the personnel costs be? Are you the doing all the work or
will you need to hire a DBA and sysadmin (many times they aren't the
same person).

The typical way techies seem to buy computers is looking at what system
has cool features or fastest. Business people buy computers by deciding
what they want to do with them, how they're going to do it, and how much
it will cost to do it. Unless it's just you making the decision, you'll
probably have to present a business case for whatever choice you make.
So you better start thinking about it in those terms. 

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