RE: 57##SS1 option 42 Journal caching

["Dennis Lovelady" <iseries@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> We threw tons of money at the wrong problem and purchased SSD's to
> speed
> up our month end.  Turns out the real enhancement is supposed to come
> with
> journal caching.  I have coworkers who believe that it should just be
> part
> of the OS and you shouldn't have to pay extra for it.

IBM has been in that game for a very long time.  When I first got started in
this bidness, IBM had a machine (401 Tab machine I think) that had a jumper
which limited the speed of its processes.  There were actually two models,
and difference between them was the presence or absence of that jumper!
(And the price, of course.)  When you'd call a CE for some sort of
maintenance help, he would invariably unplug this jumper (to finish the job
more quickly), and of course replace it at end of the job.

Of course, it didn't take long for the customers to catch on and pull the
plug themselves.  This got into a legal contest, and the US Government ruled
at the time that it wasn't reasonable for an organization to charge more
money for a machine with less components.  (IANAL; I don't know the exact
wording, but that's the general idea.)

It's interesting to see IBM finding new and interesting ways to charge for
stuff that should be natural components of the machine or (in this case) its
OS.  But it is nothing new.  Recall also the CPW for Interactive.

Dennis Lovelady
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dennislovelady
--
"It is the difference of opinion that makes horse races."
        -- Mark Twain