RE: NOAAPort data server x86 configuration (fwd)

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Robb Kambic                                Unidata Program Center
Software Engineer III                      Univ. Corp for Atmospheric Research
address@hidden             WWW: http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 16:34:25 -0500 (CDT)
From: Gilbert Sebenste <address@hidden>
To: Robert Mullenax <address@hidden>
     'Jessica Thomale' <address@hidden>,
     address@hidden
Subject: RE: NOAAPort data server x86 configuration

Hi Robert and everyone,

> Gilbert, I think you are completely dismissing Solaris/Intel
> here, which people frequently do..and Sun doesn't help matters
> much.  BTW Sun hardware prices have comes way down as well.. an EDU
> promo Ultra 10 can be had for $2595(440Mhz Sparc 256MB RAM) and has
> great application performance, even though raw CPU benchmarks,
> aren't that impressive.  

That's fine, but if there's a problem with my machines, I can go out and
get help from anyone, buy a hard drive from anywhere and stick it
in. That's an oversimplification, of course, but you know what I am
saying. You can't do that with custom equipment from Sun.

 > Actually, you were one I thinking of, when I said I thought
> there would be opposing opinions on Solaris!

I can't imagine why! :-D

> But the fact is
> you can take that same $4,000 Linux machine (with judicious
> hardware choices) and run Solaris Intel. Solaris 7 was much improved
> over 2.6, and 8 has the potential to be even better than 7.

Much improved? Anything was better than Solaris 2.X. Granted, I have heard
the same thing (it's a great improvement), but I still have had reports
here at NIU of problems with it.

That said, if you know your OS by heart and it works well, you don't know
any other Unix versions, and your labs are all Solaris, you'd be crazy to
take my suggestion and go to Linux or vice versa. If it works for you,
stick with what you have. If you are getting a whole new lab system and
don't know which OS to choose, my vote, of course, is for Linux.
 
> Well, anyway, at least Jessica has a choice, there are too many
> who would like to see Windows and Linux as the only OS choices..
> period..which is sad.  

I am not against Solaris. I am against inferior products and customer
service from a company. For our dial-up modem pool at NIU this fall, they
excitedly told us that we had gotten all new fast dial-up servers, all
running Solaris 7. 3 months later, after every IT guy in the school was
wearing paper bags over their heads when everyone either couldn't connect
or got booted off and two patches didn't help at all, they junked it and
went with a Linux system (don't know what they were running in either
case, I just know the OS). Since then, it has worked well, and everyone is
happy. Maybe this school is the Anti-Solaris. I dunno. I wouldn't be 
surprised. :-)

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Gilbert Sebenste                                                     ********
Internet: address@hidden    (My opinions only!)                     ******
Staff Meteorologist, Northern Illinois University                      ****
E-mail: address@hidden                                 ***
web: http://weather.admin.niu.edu                                      **
Work phone: 815-753-5492                                                *
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