RE: Rebuttal to Web server The E-tech Zone -- MIDRANGE-L

Bob,

*** OUTSTANDING !!! ***  Now if 1 or 2 more people did this, Mr. Carayol
would, if nothing else, certainly know that iSeries customers *sure are
loyal*.  It might get him to wondering _why_ they are so loyal.

I've never tried anything like this before so I'll be curious to see if we
get any response.

FWIW, here's what I sent (in RTF).  I don't know, maybe it was too long.

--------------------

Dear Mr. Carayol,

First of all, I'm not sure this is the best way to contact you.  However I
wasn't sure the other address I had (rene_carayol@yahoo.co.uk) would be
appropriate either.  I thought this subject was important enough for me to
just take my best shot at it.

My wife and I have a Mom-and-Pop consulting business, and I am a customer of
IBM's "iSeries" or what used to be called the AS/400.  I saw the interview
with you (along with Frank Coyle and Chris Setz) on the show "Behind the
Headlines" for October 9, 2000.  I agree with what you said about the name
change not really signifying.  Many of IBM's customers feel pretty much the
same way.

However, there were some misstatements of fact about the scalability of the
iSeries (AS/400).  This is understandable since, in the opinion of myself
and many others, IBM does not do a very effective job broadcasting the facts
and features of the iSeries 400.  In fact, the reason I'm writing this is to
encourage you uncover the facts, and then broadcast them to anyone who wants
to hear about a truly superior computer.

The iSeries is arguably the fastest computer in the world.  Benchmarks don't
really tell the whole story, and seem to change daily, but the iSeries holds
the *number one* position in *four separate benchmarks:*

TPC-C for single server - tpmC of 163,775 (higher than 64-processor E10000)
SPECjbb2000 - 6 of top 15 positions _each with sub-second response time_
VolanoMark - first computer to get 100,000 messages per second
Notes Users - 75,000 concurrent mail users with .276 second response time

The main point I'm trying to make here is not that the iSeries 400 is THE
fastest machine on the planet.  (The pSeries, or RS/6000) will be mopping up
the competition in the near term.)  The point is that the 400 does well on a
wide range of types of processing - not just real fast in one area, but a
real dog in others.

I'm sure you saw that the S/390 (zSeries) now runs with a new 64-bit
super-processor.  You probably were not aware that, until this announcement,
the high-end iSeries 400 was *faster than the fastest mainframe.*  That's
pretty incredible, considering that the low-end of the platform starts
around $8000.

There is, in actual fact, no computer on this planet that is more scalable
than an iSeries 400.

In all the hub-bub, it was lost on the press that the 400 made their
(e)Server announcements last May.  In my opinion, it certainly was not a
good PR move.  But then again, the iSeries models are currently shipping (no
smoke and mirrors with the iSeries).

At that time, IBM announced that the iSeries 400 was the first computer in
the world to use SOI processors, which of course, are the most advanced
processors currently made.  That was *the substantive upgrade* to the
(e)Server hardware line (along with the zSeries hardware upgrade).

I have to mention that Frank Coyle seemed to be a little confused about the
difficulty scaling up through the iSeries product line.  Let's put it this
way:  Roughly 6 YEARS AGO, iSeries customers began upgrading from 32-bit
CISC to 64-bit RISC processors.  Most found it to be a weekend job (albeit
with _A LOT_ of planning).  And as soon as the processor (and OS) were
upgraded, the customers' software automatically ran at 64-bit efficiency
(i.e. no software re-writes).

I hope I've made an impression that the iSeries (and the AS/400) is not the
lame platform that many believe.  I believe that you got that impression at
your former shop, only because the technical people you had working on the
400 did not know what they were doing.  I'm sorry to have to say that, and
I'm sure that will be hard to swallow -- but those are the facts.  I had a
consultant from a (nameless) powerhouse firm study the computer systems I
managed.  He was a heavy hitter--_of national renown_.  He made the
statement that our S/38 (as the AS/400 was known back then) was a dead-end
and would not be upgradeable!  As I said, the company could have been
running on 64-bit super-charged processors for 6 years, it they so desired.
Not knowing all the particulars, I think that if you found the 400 was
limited, then the people working on it were most likely the limiting factor.

We have an old saying here in Ohio that goes something like:  it's a poor
workman who blames his tools.  The 400 is not perfect (nor close to it).
But if you get past the "conventional wisdom" (and the ignorance of those
who do not know it) you will find it is far closer to perfection than any
other computer on the market.  Hype notwithstanding.

I hope you get a chance to re-visit the iSeries.  I believe you will find it
has grown quite a bit (since your days at Pepsi or Pizza Hut).  There is a
good video at <http://www.iseries.ibm.com/extreme/benchmarks.htm> by Dr.
Frank Soltis, who was one of the architects of the S/38.

I'm afraid I've worn out my welcome with all this.  I have a gut instinct
that tells me you will recognize the value proposition of the iSeries.  You
certainly have a lot of influence.  I hope you decide to use that influence
to educate people as to what the iSeries is all about  (since IBM does not
seem anxious to do so).

jt
Ohio Computer Systems Co.
Columbus, OH  43230

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