Re: Informix (raw or cooked)? -Reply

Malcolm Weallans states: >As Ian Goddard, a sef-confessed UNIX and INFORMIX GURU, something >I would never admit to being, has stated, the COOKED option is really >only there for testing and emergency use. The impact of using >COOKED is slower performance, problems with recovery if UNIX >crashes, and the fact that although the coked files are backed up by >standard UNIX back-up regimes they cannot effectively be used. This may be true for informix but it is not true in general. Some systems using Journaled File Systems (notably HP) have much better performance using cooked files. Again this also depends on the type of transaction. JFS excels in serial read and write transaction. But you do have more potential problems as you have stated. In fact I having just completed a side by side decision support benchmark using Sybase Oracle and Informix and I can state that using JFS with Sybase resulted in a significant increase in load and query performance. Your generalization about cooked files being slower is not true, and different installations should consider all the options because some lesser options may be better given unique circumstances. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Phil Mead Healthcare Association of New York State