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Year of the Mainframe? Not Quite, Say Linux Grids

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the big-iron-not-so-big dept.

OSS_ilation writes "IBM touted 2006 as a resurgence year for the mainframe, but not so fast. At R.L. Polk and Co., one of the oldest automobile analytics firms in the U.S., an aging mainframe couldn't cut it, so the IT staff looked elsewhere. Their search led to a grid computing environment — more specifically, a grid computing environment running Linux on more than 120 Dell servers. The mainframe's still there, apparently, but after an internal comparison showed the Linux grid outperforming the mainframe by 70% with a 65% reduction in hardware costs, Polk seemed content banishing the big box to a dark, lonely corner for more medial tasks."

5 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"medial" tasks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    'I'm gonna get medial on your ass' said the mainframe.

  2. Re:"medial" tasks? by NekoXP · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm an idiot, with my entire college time spent doing statistics, I should have sorted the numbers into order before picking the middle one.

    HOWEVER point remains!

  3. New grid bests 20 yo mainfraime. News at 11. by amyhughes · · Score: 1, Funny

    So a brand new grid beat out a 20 year old mainframe. At a computationally-intensive task. I'm shocked.

  4. Re:"medial" tasks? by Damastus+the+WizLiz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ok, I say pasghetti, but only because it is fun.

    --
    I often have trouble remembering which way is out of bed in the morning.
  5. Re:"medial" tasks? by bconway · · Score: 4, Funny

    Aw come on. Isn't this really all a mute point?

    --
    Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?