Re: NT vs Unix Performance HELP!

Randy Klindt wrote: > > Anyone have any experience running Online Workgroup Server on both NT > and Unix (on Intel) and have any comparisons they would like to share? > I have several customers running Informix SE on AIX and would like to > move them to a PC platform (I don't necessarily think this is the best > route but everyone is convinced that they can run everything on PC's and > if I don't move them to PC's someone will come in and do it for me.) > I'm talking large databases of 200-300 tables some as big as 17-20 > million records of 300-400 bytes per record with 9-10 indexes. Largest > customer only has 30 users. > > I would like to get some good responses with pros and cons from either > solution. Does anyone else feel the same way that I do that PC's and NT > are not necessarily the best way to go (I'm not knocking NT, I like the > product, I have an NT Server and 2 IBM RS/6000's) but as an industry are > being forced into it based upon what executives read in magazines and > hear from their neighbors? Why does everything have to be graphical > when a character based app runs well and does the job perfectly and > fast? > > I still like my AIX boxes that run for 100-200 days without being > rebooted and never require maintainance. I feel this is a great > solution for my small-medium size customers that do not have a sysadmin > on staff and I administer their system remotely including their > databases. > > My easiest solution would be to load SCO on a big multiprocessor Pentium > II machine and move my 4GL code over. The customer thinks the best > thing to do is run NT and have a graphical front end running on a > Windows based PC. Is the customer always right. > > Any comments and ideas would be great, I would love to share some of > this information with current customers and (maybe) some future ones. > > Thanks, > > Randy If the customer is prepared to pay less for the hardware and a lot more for the development of a GUI front end to run on a complex and flaky client, then fine. Just price it up and let them decide. How much is a GUI appearance worth? Seriously, though, users do find *well-designed* GUI a lot easier to learn than character-based. GUIified character is probably a disaster, although I haven't tried it. Users expect the mouse to do everthing. -- Peter Lancashire Information Systems Specialist, Bayer plc Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 7AH, UK Tel: +44-1635-562258, Fax: +44-1635-562281 Mail: Peter.Lancashire.PL1@bayer.co.uk --- My Internet plumbing does not allow me to mail and post news together. Sorry. All opinions are my own and not those of Bayer plc. --- Join Infuse, the UK Informix User Group at http://www.infuse.co.uk/