RE: Cooked files vs. raw partitions

I know you can use RAW disk space for Informix on a UNIX box, but is it also possible to use RAW disk space for Informix on a Windows box? Ron Schwingel Technical Support NDS Solutions 303.755.4411(phone) 303.755.4545(fax) rschwing@ndsltd.com -----Original Message----- From: Larry Beckley [mailto:larry_beckley@cuc.claremont.edu] Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 5:14 PM To: ids@iiug.org Subject: RE: Cooked files vs. raw partitions [2710] Brian, Here is a very heart felt if somewhat less fervent response to your inquiry. I must agree with both Ravi, Christine and Greg that raw is the way to go. When you build your database using cooked files, you rely upon the operating system for all file storage/access/maintenance needs. While on the surface, this would appear to provide ease of use benefits, there are certain more critical areas left unmentioned. One of these is performance. When you use cooked files with your Informix engine you are inserting one or more additional layers of software in between the engine and the data. When you use raw volumes, the engine can access the data directly, or at least more so than otherwise. There is another aspect of the performance issue, but it only pertains to installations without RAID or under RAID 5. In the past, with either RAID-less or sub-5 RAID, I have had the opportunity to take a severely swap-happy configuration and turn it into a real performer buy redesigning the physical distribution of the raw volumes across the separate hard drives. While this sort of thing may be possible with cooked files, I'm not aware if it. I hope this helps. Larry -----Original Message----- From: BRIAN MCLAU.... [mailto:bmclaugh@georgefox.edu] Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:59 AM To: ids@iiug.org Subject: Cooked files vs. raw partitions [2705] We're preparing to update our application software which requires some database structure changes. Our plan is to copy our current database, and let the vendor update the copy. This brings up the question of cooked-files vs. raw-partitions. When we first installed IDS, Informix' recommendation was to use raw disk partitions. When I took a couple classes from Informix, I seem to recall that they changed their recommendation to cooked files. What is the general consensus on this amongst users? Thanks, Brian McLaughlin Administrative Computing George Fox University (503) 554-2587