For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Choosing A Strategic Systems Architecture

New Selection Criteria For Mission-Critical Unix Environments

by Brad Day, June 29, 2006

Most firms build their Unix server systems selection criteria based on the technology feature/functionality of the components — microprocessor type, micro-architecture design, and the server designs — applied against the optimization of select applications . . .

Unix Server Trends As Critical Selection Criteria

by Brad Day, March 22, 2004

Most of the product, pricing, and packaging trends for Unix servers — from late 2003 and through the first half of 2004 — are quickly becoming the new selection criteria metrics in choices for server platform technology. In-system self-healing functionality . . .

Unix Trends As Selection Criteria - What Should Make Your Short-List?

by Brad Day, September 29, 2003

Most of the product, pricing and packaging trends for Unix servers ¿ from late 2002 and throughout the first half of 2003 ¿ are fast becoming the new selection criteria metrics in choices for server platform technology.

Tru64 Unix To HP-UX/IPF Transition (Part 2) - When It Makes Sense To Stay-The-Course

by Brad Day, September 26, 2003

HP must show that the cost of acquisition, the cost of ongoing operation and the cost of technology change is compelling enough to make the transition from Tru64/Alphaserver justifiable.

Tru64 Unix To HP-UX/IPF Transition (Part 1) - Selection Criteria To Consider

by Brad Day, September 25, 2003

Even after HP has provided a scalable, production-class application migration, we would highly suggest companies stay the course with running their applications on Tru64 Unix and Alphaserver, unless certain conditions apply.

IBM pSeries Moving Forward (Part 1) — On RAS and Performance Scalability

by Brad Day, June 25, 2003

IBM's pSeries server technologies will be a contender for short-list consideration if the company can transfer the same feature and functionality advantages that made POWER4-based servers successful in its next-generation POWER5-based servers.

IBM pSeries Moving Forward (Part 2) — What's Driving pSeries Traction?

by Brad Day, June 25, 2003

As ISV and end customers consider the criteria selection for an overall server architecture, weigh in IBM's pSeries entry for workgroup applications workloads, entry midrange or high-end server alternatives.

Perspectives: The Future of Sun — Customer Choices and Impact on the Unix Ecosystem

by Richard Fichera, May 19, 2003

Sun's potential future is not as dark as the contemporary media portrays it. If Sun executes well it has the ability to recover, continue to participate as a major competitor and even see an increase in its Solaris market share.

Large Linux SMPs: Implications for Windows and Unix

February 4, 2003

Our qualitative assessment is that these Linux systems, and others in the pipeline from competing vendors, will rapidly gather market share and displace many high-end Unix opportunities during the next 24 months.

Should HP OpenView Service Assurance Be Unix- or Windows-Based?

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, December 5, 2002

While Unix is the traditional management server of choice, the OpenView implementation has now been certified by Microsoft on the Windows 2000 Datacenter operating system and is a valid alternative for enterprises deploying service assurance functions.

IBM's pSeries 650 — New Opportunities for the Entry Unix Customer

by Brad Day, November 13, 2002

The pSeries 650 offers much of the same enterprise-class functionality demanded by the selection criteria of the larger Unix mission-critical enterprise with the cost-efficient affordability of the small and midsize enterprises.

IT Trends 2003: Unix Servers

by Brad Day, October 16, 2002

Most of the trends for Unix servers in the next 12 months will focus on continued technology breakthroughs, as well as a response to customer requirements already well under way in late 2002.

IBM pSeries Express Configurations — Challenge To Sun, Implications for Customers

by Brad Day, October 4, 2002

It is clear that IBM's Express Configuration can start to match Sun's V Series strategy of preconfigured offerings with aggressive low price alternatives for customers that are satisfied with the "good enough Unix server."

HP 05 Series Servers — New Selection Criteria in Unix Workgroup and Entry Midrange

by Brad Day, September 4, 2002

While both Sun and IBM have similar strategies in lower-priced preconfigured server alternatives (e.g., Sun's Volume Systems Products and IBM's pSeries Express configurations), Giga believes HP has soundly addressed customer requirements.

Server Workload Consolidation, Part 2— Evaluating Unix Workload Management

by Brad Day, August 21, 2002

Workload management provides effective management of multiple, diverse workloads to efficiently share a single copy of the operating system and a common pool of resources.

Trends in Unix Clusters — Now, Next and IBM as One Example

by Brad Day, August 6, 2002

Clustered server architectures will continue to provide the benefits of both high availability as well as performance scalability, but will play a new and increasing role as a server virtualization host.

Server Workload Consolidation — Evaluation of Unix Systems Partitioning

by Brad Day, July 5, 2002

The dual demands of reducing the proliferating overhead cost associated with computing infrastructures and increasing application resource efficiency continue to encourage consolidating multiple applications onto larger Unix servers.

IBM's pSeries 630 — Implications of POWER 4 for Unix Entry Customers

by Brad Day, June 27, 2002

For the existing RS/6000 44P Model 270 and pSeries 640-B80 customers, the pSeries 630 provides a compelling upgrade incentive for both tower and rack-mount upgrades.

HP-UX/Itanium: Customer Implications Now, What's Needed Next

by Brad Day, June 17, 2002

HP-UX 11i version 1.6 is an important milestone in HP's ongoing commitment as the only Unix OS environment to currently offer a clear transition path to Itanium, bringing 100 percent source, binary and data compatibility between PA-RISC and IPF.

Comparing Performance, Scalability and Cost of Unix vs. Windows Servers

by Adria Ferguson, November 14, 2001

Windows-based servers are more suitable for noncritical, front-end and small-to-midsize applications, while Unix servers are the preferred platform for larger, complex back-end applications.

IBM s pSeries 690: Game-Changer in Unix High End

by Brad Day, October 11, 2001

The pSeries 690 should be considered a game-changing technology not just from a hardware design perspective, but also how its hardware and operating system design significantly change the economics of high-end enterprise applications workloads.

HP s rp8400 Server: Proposition for Customers, Protection From Competitors

by Brad Day, September 19, 2001

The introduction of HP's rp8400 (code-named Keystone) is the company's first intent to answer the four-fold requirements of its installed midrange server customer base (both predecessor K- and N-class customers).

Entry-Level S/390 Systems Offer Improved Pricing For Unix/NT Server Farm Consolidations

by David Mastrobattista, June 20, 2001

IBM is providing IT professionals with substantially improved pricing in the under 700-MIPS computing range precisely the target for enterprises considering mid to large-scale Unix and NT server farm consolidations.

Giga Survey: Windows and Unix Server Distribution

by Adria Ferguson, June 13, 2001

Neither Unix- nor Windows-based servers will be disappearing any time soon, but the increased complexity of operating a heterogeneous environment has lead to a greater need for interoperable management tools.

Compaq Tru64 Unix Business Looking Back, Looking Forward

by Brad Day, April 17, 2001

While Compaq is not being readily short-listed as a general-purpose Unix vendor, Giga would maintain that Compaq's Tru64 Unix will continue to garner interest within select horizontal applications segments in specific vertical markets.