DB2 Server Platform

[gwise]

We currently have an 8-way Itanium system running Red Hat Linux as our
primary production database server. The server is about 3 years old
and we're looking at a replacement. Due to the lack of user base,
we've decided to move away from Itanium.

The 2 top contenders for a replacement system are Intel/AMD 64-bit (non
Itanium) on Linux or IBM pSeries running AIX. I was hoping for advice
on how to make this decision. Cost is a factor but not necessarily the
primary driver.

If there are people out there with experience on both platforms, how do
they compare performance-wise running DB2? How would you compare the
reliability and supportability of the systems?

Can anyone offer any information in the way of how these 2 systems
would compare performance-wise with my Itanium 8-way (1.4 Ghz) system?
Will I need 8 cores on either of these systems to get equivalent
performance?

Does anyone have any good reference online in terms of performance
characteristics? I've visited TPC.org, but I'm having a hard time
finding apples vs. apples comparisons between 8 way systems.

Any advice or information would be appreciated.

Greig Wise
DBA, Press Ganey Associates

[Hemant Shah]

We are running DB2 on AIX and Linux (32-bit), although I have not run
production database on Linux, I like AIX more than Linux. I have found that
AIX on P-Series is more stable than Linux. In my exprience I have found that
DB2 on AIX has better performance then Linux. I am running 32-bit on both
systems.

You do not have to muck around with ekrnel parameters on AIX.
While stranded on information super highway gw***@pressganey.com wrote:

We currently have an 8-way Itanium system running Red Hat Linux as our
primary production database server. The server is about 3 years old
and we're looking at a replacement. Due to the lack of user base,
we've decided to move away from Itanium.

The 2 top contenders for a replacement system are Intel/AMD 64-bit (non
Itanium) on Linux or IBM pSeries running AIX. I was hoping for advice
on how to make this decision. Cost is a factor but not necessarily the
primary driver.

If there are people out there with experience on both platforms, how do
they compare performance-wise running DB2? How would you compare the
reliability and supportability of the systems?

Can anyone offer any information in the way of how these 2 systems
would compare performance-wise with my Itanium 8-way (1.4 Ghz) system?
Will I need 8 cores on either of these systems to get equivalent
performance?

Does anyone have any good reference online in terms of performance
characteristics? I've visited TPC.org, but I'm having a hard time
finding apples vs. apples comparisons between 8 way systems.

Any advice or information would be appreciated.

Greig Wise
DBA, Press Ganey Associates

--
Hemant Shah /"\ ASCII ribbon campaign
E-mail: No************@xnet.com \ / ---------------------
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TO REPLY, REMOVE NoJunkMail / \ and postings
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I haven't lost my mind, Above opinions are mine only.
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[gwise]

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping for a little more feedback from
others.

Anyway, you say that you have found that DB2 on AIX has "better
performance". I was wondering if you could quantify that a bit. Are
you comparing 2 systems with the same number of processor cores? Are
you utiizing the same disk on the back end? I realize this is a tough
question to answer, but generally how much faster would you say the AIX
system is? Twice as fast? 50% faster?

Thanks for your feedback.
Greig

Hemant Shah wrote:

We are running DB2 on AIX and Linux (32-bit), although I have not run
production database on Linux, I like AIX more than Linux. I have found that
AIX on P-Series is more stable than Linux. In my exprience I have found that
DB2 on AIX has better performance then Linux. I am running 32-bit on both
systems.

You do not have to muck around with ekrnel parameters on AIX.
While stranded on information super highway gw***@pressganey.com wrote:

We currently have an 8-way Itanium system running Red Hat Linux as our
primary production database server. The server is about 3 years old
and we're looking at a replacement. Due to the lack of user base,
we've decided to move away from Itanium.

The 2 top contenders for a replacement system are Intel/AMD 64-bit (non
Itanium) on Linux or IBM pSeries running AIX. I was hoping for advice
on how to make this decision. Cost is a factor but not necessarily the
primary driver.

If there are people out there with experience on both platforms, how do
they compare performance-wise running DB2? How would you compare the
reliability and supportability of the systems?

Can anyone offer any information in the way of how these 2 systems
would compare performance-wise with my Itanium 8-way (1.4 Ghz) system?
Will I need 8 cores on either of these systems to get equivalent
performance?

Does anyone have any good reference online in terms of performance
characteristics? I've visited TPC.org, but I'm having a hard time
finding apples vs. apples comparisons between 8 way systems.

Any advice or information would be appreciated.

Greig Wise
DBA, Press Ganey Associates

--
Hemant Shah /"\ ASCII ribbon campaign
E-mail: No************@xnet.com \ / ---------------------
X against HTML mail
TO REPLY, REMOVE NoJunkMail / \ and postings
FROM MY E-MAIL ADDRESS.
-----------------[DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED BULK E-MAIL]------------------
I haven't lost my mind, Above opinions are mine only.
it's backed up on tape somewhere. Others can have their own.