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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?"

4 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 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.

    --
    The latest Slashdot meme.