Re: 8 User DSS: Which platform best for Oracle??

John L Dunn <misioror_at_gas.uug.arizona.edu> wrote:

>I'm in the process of trying to figure out what platform is "best" for
>running a reporting/DSS database, and would be interested in
>hearing what configurations people would recommend.
 

>Our DB will have about 5 GB of data in 12 main tables, perhaps growing to
>15GB in 30 tables in 1-2 years. We won't have more than 4-8 users on the
>system at any one time, but those that are on the system will be doing
>pretty intensive queries. We will also batch off several hundred month-end
>reports.
 

>We are planning on purchasing a new machine for this system, and the
>options we are considering as of today are:
> o Upgrade or add an additional NetWare server (We have a small network)

Stay away from this option. It limits your scalability. Netware is a fine platform for file and print services but is limited as an Oracle server.

> o Alpha/NT or Alpha/Unix

Either would be a good choice. I would recommend Alpha/Unix rather than NT. NT is not a mature enough OS to be a good DBMS server.

> o RS6000/AIX

Avoid this like the PLAGUE. I have worked on 2 RS6000 systems with Oracle and had lots of trouble. No show stopping failures but lots of little aggravations that required lots of attention.

> o PC Server/NT

Same comment as Alpha/NT.

> o PC Server/Unix

My personal choice would be a PC server running Solaris x86 and Oracle Workgroup server. This is a stable platform, setup is straight forward. ( I just set one up in ~ 6 hours with 486/50 and 2x CD-ROM ). This also gives you the option of going to Sparc Solaris if you outgrow the PC server.

>Our criteria: The system should be reliable, have fast import/index
>times as we will refresh data weekly or monthly, and require as little
>maintenance as possible. We don't have much Unix experience, and no NT
>experience. Which of these alternatives are "tried and true?" We want a
>simple to install and maintain system with decent performance.
 

>Any ideas or suggestions will be greeted with suspicion... :-)
 

>TIA,
 
>John
Received on Thu Sep 14 1995 - 00:00:00 CEST