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IBM iSeries or Windows server?

Posted by Cliff on from the which-would-you-choose dept.

Rabid Cougar asks: "I am the network administrator for a small manufacturing company. Our current ERP system has outlived its usefulness and we are in the process of selecting another package. Our present ERP system runs on an IBM AS/400, but there are those in the company who believe we should switch to something that only runs on Windows. My position is this: if we can find software that will meet our needs that runs on an IBM iSeries (new name for the AS/400) then we'd be certifiably crazy to move over to the Windows platform. A co-worker insists there are a ton of reasons to avoid the iSeries like the plague. I'm not trying to start a flamewar, but if you were to bet your career on this issue, which side would you choose and why?"

8 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. AS/400 by green+pizza · · Score: 4, Informative

    You'd be certifiably crazy to think that a Windows server would be as stable or as reliable as an AS/400 server. AS/400 (iSeries) systems are almost as hardcore as they come, and much less expensive than S/390 (zSeries) or Tandem->Compaq->HP NonStop Himalaya.

    However, if you have no AS/400 admins in house, but you have plenty of Windows Server gurus, well, then I think you would be better off with Windows. I've seen the same situation with Linux. Company decides to switch servers to Linux but the admins only know how to speak Windows, disaster ensues.

    1. Re:AS/400 by revmoo · · Score: 2, Informative

      Probably because 99.95% uptime isn't very impressive of a figure. I can(and have) accomplished this on various machines over the years, none of which were even in a production environment.

      Anyway, a windows server environment like you are describing is miles away from the type of ERP system that the OP is referring to. It's like comparing a Hummer to a A1 Tank.

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    2. Re:AS/400 by sydb · · Score: 2, Informative

      DASD (Direct Access Storage Device, pronounced "Dasdy") is just IBM speak for disk as distinct from tape, which is not direct access. I have worked in long-time IBM shops where even the Windows and Unix people call disks DASD. It's quite common.

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    3. Re:AS/400 by iSeriesGuy · · Score: 3, Informative

      You haven't checked in quite a while. Domino is very stable now. Patches are available via the web now. The Power 5 (soon to be 6) chips are much faster than the PC chips that are available. The product line was introduced in 1988 as a 48 bit processor. When the product line went to 64 bit and from CISC to RISC, the migrations were as simple as restoring your CISC programs and data files to the RISC box, and then running one command to convert the objects. How many Windows environments can say the same? When the 128 bit systems are available, the migrations will be just as simple.

  2. Re:don't paint yourself into a corner by Knetzar · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yup, if you buy an iSeries box you can run i5OS (the new OS/400), AIX, and Linux. In addition the virtualization allows you to set up multiple virtual machines that perform really well. As the parent said, this will allow you to (with a single piece of hardware) move from your current AS/400 solution to a Unix/Linux solution.
    What this will not get you is a simple way to move to a windows solution.

    I do want to know, are iSeries and Windows your only options?

    Oh yeah, another benefit of having an iSeries is that IBM will support both your hardware and software. With windows you'll often get vendors arguing whose fault it is when a problem occurs. But I suppose that's your choice, vender lock-in can have (some) benefits.

  3. Re:Downsides to 400s/iSeries by Bob+Cat+-+NYMPHS · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, commands on an AS/400 look like CRTUSRPRF, DLTPF, and so forth. If you can't figure out that's CreaTe USer PRoFile and DeLeTe Physical File, you need to study for maybe about 10 minutes.

    Need to do an action? GO VERB. Need to do it to some thing? GO SUBJECT. There is no system simpler to figure out than OS/400.

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  4. Our options by Rabid+Cougar · · Score: 2, Informative

    I do want to know, are iSeries and Windows your only options?

    Unfortunately, yes. About a year before I landed this job, our company started working with a consulting group whose purpose was to help us implement "lean" manufacturing. As a part of the process, it is quite clear our old "green screen" ERP software just won't cut it. Anyway, these guys only know Windows and that's all they recommend.

    When I got into the picture just before we sent RFI's out, I got to ask our consultants a few questions. One of them was whether we were considering anything other than Windows-centric solutions. When I asked why not anything AS/400 based, they responded that the only ERP software for the AS/400 was tier-1 solutions like JD Edwards. My boss and I called BS, and found an ERP package for the iSeries that looks to be every bit as good or better than any of Microsoft's offerings (and cheaper too!). So it got included in our RFI's.

    I guess what I would like to know then, is there any good reason not to go with an AS/400 based ERP system? I mean, according to everything I've seen in terms of stability and security, i5/OS makes even Linux look insecure and unstable. As this ERP system would consolidate several apps hosted on 3 different servers, downtime would mean a company-wide shutdown. I know you can cluster Windows, but what happens when you get a virus or worm in the network before the AV company updates the definitions? Can you clean it without any server downtime? If so, maybe Windows wouldn't be too bad. But then there's still the issue of 0wnership...

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  5. Re:Any downsides? by iSeriesGuy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Your co-worker is probably talking with younger folks with little or no exposure to the latest versions of the iSeries environment. She probably doesn't know that the administrator can manage the entire system through a graphical interface known as iSeries Navigator. When I mean the entire system, I am also referring to the hardware. In real time, the admin can allocate system resources to the various partitions, etc. The iSeries comes with Apache and Tomcat and is a fully robust web server. It is no longer necessary to use green screen terminals to use the applications, because of iSeries Access for the Web. Instead of a green screen, the users log on through a browser, and have full use the green screen application. With complete honesty, I can report that a friend of mine with zero knowledge of web servers, etc. sat down with the manual and had the server and iSeries Access for the Web up and running in less than 2 hours. If you contact me at pnelson88@comcast.net I can put you in touch with the right people at IBM. One friend there does nothing but assist companies in moving from Oracle to the iSeries.