Hi,
I guess I disapeared for a while, writer's block, actually we've been very busy deploying a Storage Area Network, which we
call the MA8000 but its realy an EMA1200-S12 with 2.5 terrabytes of raw storage. We are also ramping up the front ends of
our UNIX server farm for Gigabit ethernet too, 1000baseSX.
Currently, this last Saturday, we tried to migrate the personality and memories of four Windows NT servers from their
local storage to SANS storage: two of which were regular NT servers and the other two were clustered NT servers. The boot
devices for these servers will eventually reside on the MA8000 Sans. We were not successfull but will re-try on another
date. The migration path involves mirroring up the local drives with the SANS drives and then breaking the mirrors, but
we had problems with the boot devices.
O.K. Thursday we were deploying Single Point of Operations Unisys mainframe type managibility software agents on another
NT server, workforce2.dwd.state.in.us, and it filled up the C: drive or something weird happened and anyways it put that
server into an infinite boot loop. It just kept booting and booting. Well we had to FDISK the drive, repartition the
drive, reload WINDOWS NT on it, bring it up to service pack, get I.E. 4.0 on it, load the Legato client, reload the E:
data drive, and the reload the C: drive and then finally the system state. After doing all that we rebooted the server
and it came back to life complete with its original personality and memories. Thank you Legato. :)
We may try the Legato route for the NT-Sans migration path but the mirroring trick I spoke of still shows promise.
On top of all that I've been put on a platform selection comittee where the only thing given is Oracle. We have a
$20,000,000 dollar mainframe application system, by 1980 dollars, which is going to be rewritten, the RFP, request for
proposals is about to hit the street but we have not selected a platform to run it on yet. Like I said the only thing
given is Oracle. Our management needs some plug-and-play verbage for the platform section of the RFP which of course has
not been written yet.
I think a new Unisys mainframe with a screen-scrapping face-list would be the cheapest way to go, but instead we are
planning to do a complete re-write of our #1 application hence I am bugging you about our platform selection decision.
For your information, I don't think a new Exec type Unisys mainframe is being considered as a candidate by the committee.
We need a technology roadmap for our Agency, today we are part Novell, part UNIX, part Windows 95, and part NT. I think
we are leaning in the direction of Windows 2000 as the standard for the future though. This means the Exec Unisys
mainframe which currently runs the $20,000,000 #1 application will probably be retired. The #2 app which runs on a Tru64
UNIX server farm may also be on the chopping block too depending on the decisions we make in this committe.
We are even directed to consider 32-bit Wintel for the Enterprise too. Wow!
Our committee is suppose to make sense out of what we got and where we are going. O.K. That means our scale-out stuff
will most likely be Windows 2000 type workstations and servers however our scale-up stuff the back-end and possibly the
front-end, i.e. the Enterprise database back-end and the Enterprise Web front-end choices do not necessarily have to be on
Windows 2000. I think our criteria for the Enterprise stuff will focus on performance, reliability, and technical
support. Price is a major coniseration too though.
We are a Compaq shop, both NT and UNIX so I am happy with the reliabiltiy and technical support already. We do like the
UNISYS's Windows NT mainframe-class NT server though. What's that called the Enterprise E-action E7000? I forget.
Now I have to factor in this Hewlett-Packard/Compaq merger thing plus I have to take into consideration the Alpha/Intell
chip thing cogitating all this information into a platform recomendation decision. We plan on buying the proposed new
enterprise platforms sometime in the next two years. So timing this turmoil is a hard thing for me to deal with
especially since I don't read the Wall Street Journal. Where are you going for sure Compaq? I need to know, but right
now I can't see because there is a cloud of dust that doesn't appear to settle. A bit dramatic no doubt but seriously I
am lacking in the warm and fuzzy department. Got any reassurances for me?
We have access to think tanks like the Gartner Group but I also prefer to use the best think tank in the World this
mailing list. I am hopping you can shed some light on the following question. I have spent a lot of time at
http://www.tpc.org which gives a lot of benchmarks but here is the question I need answered really quick.
Where will Oracle run fastest in the next two to five years? Oracle on Alpha, Oracle on Windows, and when will the
promised Oracle on IA64 Tru64 UNIX stuff be available? I allready told my committee that Oracle runs faster on UNIX than
it does on Windows and now they want me to pony up with some facts. Am I right or am I wrong, and could you help me with
some intellectual type property blurbs that I could paraphrase for the committee to digest?
I would really appreciate it especially by 1:00pm Indiana Eastern time Tuesday which is our next meeting. :)
Seriously though we have a couple of weeks before we have to make any recommendations.
Sincerely
Kevin Criss
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IC 5-14-1.5 Indiana's open door to state government law.
http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title5/ar14/ch1.5.html
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Received on Mon Feb 18 2002 - 23:47:21 NZDT