Re: No future for DB2

> When you really get down to it both AIX and Linux are just different
> versions of UNIX. Our AIX machines are every bit as powerful as the
> mainframe we migrated off of a decade ago. So Linux on a mainframe
> makes perfect sense if you want to run a UNIX style system and the cost
> of Linux is less than other available operating systems.
>

The issue is more of the cost of mainframe rather than the cost of Linux. Would anyone want to run Linux on mainframe when they can run it on x86 or RISC? I am not talking about those who are unfortunately locked into mainframe. The price/performance difference is just out of this world.

> IBM is now trying to sell by service units and Java is expensive to run
> under this pricing method; however, IBM sells for a very reasonable sum
> Java co-processing units that remove the Java processing from the
> billing. Since the underlying concept of Java is write once run
> anywhere the ability to run Java on a mainframe makes perfect sense.
> Whether it is the best tool for the job at hand is a different question
> since most code written on a mainframe will ever run anywhere but on
> the mainframe. But then again if your shop has mainframes, midrange
> servers, and PC's to support the ability to have the programmers write
> in Java on all three platforms instead of Visual Basic on the PC, C on
> the Unix servers, and COBOL on the mainframe can be a real benefit.
>

I am only talking in terms of price/performance. Have you ever priced that Java co-processor? I bet most people will get sticker shocks. Java is "supposely" write once run anywhere, but that doesn't mean we have to run it everywhere. It makes no sense to run it on mainframe when you can run it much faster on x86 or RISC at a fraction of the price. Received on Tue Jul 26 2005 - 22:05:08 CDT