RE: Oracle on AS/400?

[Pete Hall <pbhall@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 18:36 07/01/1999 , Debbie Gallagher wrote:
>     Since the vendor knows that the client likes AS/400, they have 
>     responded to the RFI with a recommendation that the client run their 
>     industry-specific software on Oracle on the AS/400. They don't have 
>     any client that have done it but say it can certainly be done. I 
>     checked out the Oracle and IBM web sites and they say it can be done 
>     too, but they don't get specific. 

I'm sticking my neck out a little here, but IBM has maintained for several
years that the AS/400 is an open system. They have provided low level
interfaces so that database providers could port their products. I am not
in a position to say that nobody has done this. All I can tell you is that
I haven't heard of it (I live in a windowless room, and only get let out
twice a month). Since DB2/400 comes more or less for free with the box,
there hasn't been much incentive to install other databases, and that has
been a discouraging factor for vendors also. It is certainly possible that
Oracle could run natively on the AS/400 (as opposed to on the {whatever the
wintel addon card is called this week} card). However, I've found that the
bleeding edge is not a comfortable place to be unless you are in the
software business and have lots of time on your hands. I would not
recommend running mission critical applications on the  {whatever the
wintel addon card is called this week} card either. It's too small, SMP is
not an option, and apparently only NT will be supported down the road. 

Sorry about the wintel card thing. IBM has renamed it so often, I honestly
don't know what they call it anymore. They like to constantly rename things
like (UDB/400) to prevent (shudder) brand recognition from setting in. I
think the policy was institutionalized as part of the old consent decree.


Pete Hall
pbhall@execpc.com
http://www.execpc.com/~pbhall
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