Informix Which platform--Unix, NT, Linux?
A law firm asked which platform (NT, Linux, or a commercial Unix) to run their Informix-based time/billing system on, noting their vendor recommended a hefty 4-CPU, 1GB RAM NT box. Replies leaned toward Unix, arguing Informix originated there and performs best; one poster warned against NT and claimed IDS problems on 2.2-kernel Linux (Red Hat 6.0, Caldera 2.2), saying he had to hand-edit kernel limits (NR_FILE, NR_OPEN, __FD_SETSIZE). Alan Denney countered that no bugs exist on properly patched 2.2 kernels and that the web-site patches were for 2.0.36, so they'd likely been misapplied. No platform decision or definitive resolution is recorded.
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I work for a medium sized law firm (120 seats). We are buying a new time and blilling /accounting system, which uses Informix as its database. We currently have NT workstations, Novell servers, and a handful of Linux IP servers (DNS, LDAP, etc). I have tried to avoid becoming a Microsoft shop. We are going to have decide what to run Informix on,. The vendor tells me that for firms our size they recommend, for running it on NT, a 4 processor box with 1 GB or ram and 20Gb of disk in Raid. I sounds suspiciously high end to me, but that is their recommendation on NT. In any event we are going to have deicde whether to run it on Linux, NT, or a Unix, and buy the hardware and OS. Would you be so kind as to give me any thoughts on advanatges/disadvantages of any of the platroforms that relate speciifically to Informix. I know general plusses and minuses of each, but I don't know anything about Informix. I would be particularly interested in the thoughts of anyone who switched from one platform to another and why. Many thanks. John Lederer
Whatever you do - - do not run on NT! (there are problems with Informix on NT - I have had intermittent errors etc. on it) - do not run on Linux 2.2 kernels (there are problems with IDS on both Redhat 6.0 and Caldera 2.2 even with the patches etc.) Both 2.0.36 and SCO platforms work well though. My suggestion is to go with a Unix platform - Informix screams (really does well) on any of the Unix platforms. SCO has one advantage though - it comes with Veritas file system - no long fsck - logging-based file system John Lederer wrote: > I work for a medium sized law firm (120 seats). > > We are buying a new time and blilling /accounting system, which uses Informix as > its database. We currently have NT workstations, Novell servers, and a handful > of Linux IP servers (DNS, LDAP, etc). I have tried to avoid becoming a > Microsoft shop. > > We are going to have decide what to run Informix on,. The vendor tells me that > for firms our size they recommend, for running it on NT, a 4 processor box > with 1 GB or ram and 20Gb of disk in Raid. I sounds suspiciously high end to > me, but that is their recommendation on NT. > > In any event we are going to have deicde whether to run it on Linux, NT, or a > Unix, and buy the hardware and OS. > > Would you be so kind as to give me any thoughts on advanatges/disadvantages of any of the platroforms that relate speciifically to > Informix. I know general plusses and minuses of each, but I don't know anything about Informix. > I would be particularly interested in the thoughts of anyone who switched from > one platform to another and why. > > Many thanks. > > John Lederer
In article <3746F86D.6D5B9B3@gte.net>, Kumar Srinivas <kumarsri@gte.net> wrote: >- do not run on Linux 2.2 kernels (there are problems with IDS on both >Redhat 6.0 and Caldera 2.2 even with the patches etc.) Which are ... what? There are NO reported bugs that are specific to suitably-patched 2.2 kernels. -- Alan Denney yosemite at accesscom.com Not a spokesman for Yosemite Botanical Munitions Inc. or Access Compost Supply.
See the postings on informix.idn.linux - - it has a bunch of postings re: this problem. I've taken the liberty to post some at the end here: Also I've applied all the patches (filesystem etc.) that Informix has on their Web Site. Finally, I've been able to run it by manually editing the files in /usr/src/linux/include/linux and grepping for NR_FILE NR_OPEN __FD_SETSIZE. This does not make me feel comfortable with the testing that Informix has done on Linux. Colonel Panic wrote: > In article <3746F86D.6D5B9B3@gte.net>, > Kumar Srinivas <kumarsri@gte.net> wrote: > >- do not run on Linux 2.2 kernels (there are problems with IDS on both > >Redhat 6.0 and Caldera 2.2 even with the patches etc.) > > Which are ... what? > > There are NO reported bugs that are specific to suitably-patched > 2.2 kernels. > > -- > Alan Denney yosemite at accesscom.com > > Not a spokesman for Yosemite Botanical Munitions Inc. or Access Compost Supply.
>> I have tried to avoid becoming a Microsoft shop. You are wise. All religious wars aside, Informix databases evolved on UNIX operating systems. They should run better on UNIX for this fact alone. dk. > >
There is a book called Informix Basics by Glenn Miller (Prentice Hall, 1999) which would provide you with a general background on Informix and which has a "UNIX accent." If you are familiar with Redhat 5.2, then why not? I can think of $everal rea$on$ why you $hould prefer it to regular UNIX. -- Regards, Duncan C. Kinder dckinder@mountain.net "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world ; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." George Bernard Shaw Kumar Srinivas <kumarsri@gte.net> wrote in message news:3746F86D.6D5B9B3@gte.net... > Whatever you do - > - do not run on NT! (there are problems with Informix on NT - I have > had intermittent errors etc. on it) > - do not run on Linux 2.2 kernels (there are problems with IDS on both > Redhat 6.0 and Caldera 2.2 even with the patches etc.) > > Both 2.0.36 and SCO platforms work well though. > My suggestion is to go with a Unix platform - Informix screams (really > does well) on any of the Unix platforms. > SCO has one advantage though - it comes with Veritas file system > - no long fsck > - logging-based file system > > > > John Lederer wrote: > > > I work for a medium sized law firm (120 seats). > > > > We are buying a new time and blilling /accounting system, which uses Informix as > > its database. We currently have NT workstations, Novell servers, and a handful > > of Linux IP servers (DNS, LDAP, etc). I have tried to avoid becoming a > > Microsoft shop. > > > > We are going to have decide what to run Informix on,. The vendor tells me that > > for firms our size they recommend, for running it on NT, a 4 processor box > > with 1 GB or ram and 20Gb of disk in Raid. I sounds suspiciously high end to > > me, but that is their recommendation on NT. > > > > In any event we are going to have deicde whether to run it on Linux, NT, or a > > Unix, and buy the hardware and OS. > > > > Would you be so kind as to give me any thoughts on advanatges/disadvantages of any of the platroforms that relate speciifically to > > Informix. I know general plusses and minuses of each, but I don't know anything about Informix. > > I would be particularly interested in the thoughts of anyone who switched from > > one platform to another and why. > > > > Many thanks. > > > > John Lederer >
In article <3747DF32.719A3050@gte.net>, Kumar Srinivas <kumarsri@gte.net> wrote: >See the postings on informix.idn.linux - >- it has a bunch of postings re: this problem. I just checked -- there's not a single example on informix.idn.linux of people encountering this problem *with a properly patched kernel*. >I've taken the liberty to post some at the end here: >Also I've applied all the patches (filesystem etc.) that Informix has on their >Web Site. Why? I thought you said you were running a 2.2.* kernel -- the patches on the web site are for 2.0.36 kernels! If you really did apply these patches improperly, you could have any number of problems. >Finally, I've been able to run it by manually editing the files >in /usr/src/linux/include/linux and grepping for >NR_FILE >NR_OPEN >__FD_SETSIZE. This is distro-specific... but it sounds like you merely did the hard way what should have been accomplished by proper patching in the first place. >This does not make me feel comfortable with the testing that >Informix has done on Linux. Your comfort level is your own business... but IDS passed all the same tests on 2.2.5 (Red Hat 6.0) as it had under the patched 2.0.36 on which it was ported. >> There are NO reported bugs that are specific to suitably-patched >> 2.2 kernels. -- Alan Denney yosemite at accesscom.com The lyric for the Mozart piece ("Confutatis Maledictis", from his Requiem) used in the TV ad for Microsoft's Internet Explorer translates to: "The damned and the accursed are convicted to flames of hell."