Re: Are most DBA jobs on UNIX or Mainframe, not NT?

> The question of better is subjective. It depends on what
> you want to do with it. Solaris for Intel is exactly the
> same as the Sparc version (excluding the obvious hardware
> differences). It does support less hardware than Linux
> does. Its also more demanding than Linux. But then it is
> commercial grade server software. SCO Unix is another
> commercial gade Unix for Intel. There are also some
> BSD based flavours around. For those who want to learn it
> with the future prospect of gainful employment, Solaris
> would be the best bet.

I'd say linux is fairly commercial grade, and would run better than SCO any day. I worked briefly at SCO, and it's a good bet that linux supports more hardware and is easier to install and manage. Installation and sysadmin are easier on Linux (at least RedHat, the one I'm most familiar with). I'm not over certain of SCO's future as a company, either.  

> > I would advocate linux over solaris. I don't have much experience with
> > solarisx86, but linux is likely to be better documented, and there's a
>
> You must be using 'better' in a sense I am unfamiliar with.

I could be wrong about this, as people are telling me I am. I've never been lacking documentation on Linux, but on solaris I've been consistantly lacking. Maybe it's because I don't have the hard copy manuals. And yes, I can use man pages.  

> Actually, Solaris had been around longer. With lxrun you can
> run Linux programs on Solaris x86. I don't know if there is a
> reverse capability yet. You needn't build the most popular or
> common tools. Start with http://www.sunfreeware.com

I realize solaris has been around longer. However, it has not been around for the x86 platform longer, as I understand it. Didn't solarisx86 only come out with rev 2.4 or 2.5? Correct me if I'm wrong. Linux has the extra added benefit of being free. I think you can get a free copy of solaris for x86 for personal use, though.

I think the premise was that someone wanted to learn unix. I think Linux would be the easiest starting point, especially if installing it on a home pc. Oracle is also giving away it's database free for personal use for Linux. Oracle is available for SCO and solaris, I know, but BSD derivatives (correct me if I'm wrong) don't. Linux (RedHat) also comes with a bunch of software like PostgreSQL (database) and other useful stuff.

Erik Received on Wed Jun 09 1999 - 12:27:35 CDT