Re: AS/400 vs PC as a server

[DAsmussen@xxxxxxx]

Rich,

In a message dated 97-06-28 06:14:22 EDT, you write:

> I was talking to an associate yesterday on the life of midrange
>  computers.  His view was that the PCS will take over the
>  industry and there will be no use for Midrange or Mainframes.

Egad!  Where in the heck has your associate been, in a cave?  People have
been predicting the demise of both the mainframe and midrange computers since
the advent of the PC in the early 80's.  I've been making my living on
midrange systems for nearly 15 years since those initial pronouncements.
 Until PC's (and their associated networks) quit crashing at the drop of a
hat, they'll NEVER eliminate mainframes or midranges.  Some said (30 years
ago) that the midrange would eliminate the necessity of having a mainframe --
still not proven for large enterprises.

>  I tried to discuss the point with him, but my limited knowledge
>  of PC servers I was at a disadvantage.  My point to him was
>  that a PC Server could not handle the large volumes of data a
>  Midrange or a main frame could.  But without cold hard
>  numbers I was unable to argue my point.

Cold, hard numbers I don't have.  What I DO know is that my current client,
who runs several client/server apps in the plant, is considering eliminating
its Novell network in favor of a small AS/400 serving communications.  They
are SICK TO DEATH of the network crashing 1-3 times per day, thus eliminating
productivity.  When your friend can show you a Novell network with over 600
clients that doesn't crash for 30 days at a time, we'll possibly have
something to worry about...

>  I would like to open a discussion on this so that I can become
>  more knowledgeable.

Your "associate" is full of stuff.  Just another platform bigot, that cannot
realize that ALL platforms have their place.  Not too different from language
bigots.  Spending most of my time in large environments, I laugh at the idea
of PC's "taking over"!

Regards,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-Mail:  DAsmussen@AOL.COM

"Be like a postage stamp -- stick to one thing until you get there." --
Margaret Carty
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* This is the Midrange System Mailing List!  To submit a new message,   *
* send your mail to "MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com".  To unsubscribe from     *
* this list send email to MAJORDOMO@midrange.com and specify            *
* 'unsubscribe MIDRANGE-L' in the body of your message.  Questions      *
* should be directed to the list owner / operator: david@midrange.com   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *