IBM's blue bigness: A heftier systems bulge than you'd expect How big is IBM's systems business? Based on my own model of revenues for the company, the answer is that IBM's systems sales each quarter – including servers, storage, operating systems, and maintenance – is considerably larger than its quarterly stats for server sales. A lot larger, in fact, and the business is a lot more …
According to IBM executives. They have publicly said that AIX will be killed off, in favour of Linux. In light of what IBM executives said, I guess AIX will be killed off some time after x86 has surpassed POWER cpus. Right now POWER is faster, but x86 is catching up fast (releases new generations more often than any other cpu vendor). I guess that when next gen POWER cpus come out, x86 will be faster. What do you guess about x86 vs POWER performance?
Although your conclusions are dead wrong there is, as with many myths there is a grain of truth inside the fairy tale you are trying push.
The executive(s) in question is IBM Software groups Steve Mills, who in january in 2003 (8 years ago), said that he saw LINUX as the natural successor to UNIX, and thus also AIX, simply cause the sheer amount of developers behind LINUX would mean that it in time would overtake the UNIX'es. At that time IBM was involved in porting for example the OS/2 Logical volume manager to LInux. Now I don't think there were many AIX admins back then that didn't see LINUX enhanced with AIX technology as a really really good thing. I did.
What then happened was that a company called SCO, funded by SUN money and later Microsoft also, launched an attack on LINUX by dragging IBM to court, causing a potential marriage between UNIX and LINUX to be put on ice.
The Steve Mills statements and the whole SCO court case, have been a story that SUN marketing and sales have been brewing and brewing on for the last 8 years. And to be honest as an old Aix/Linux admin I've been tired of that story for 8 years.
AIX version 7 have just been launched, and as normally there is a 10+ year lifespan of an AIX version. So at least 20 years after Steve Mills statement, there will still be an AIX version. Now would I today think that an unification between UNIX and Linux would be a great idea ?
Hell Yes, and I imagine the majority of Unix and Linux admins would agree with me. It would make my job a lot easier, I could simply choose the best HW to run software stack upon.
Now regards the story about the death of AIX and attack on Linux, then just follow the money. SUN and Microsoft in an unholy marriage.
// Jesper
According to Oracle executives. They have publicly said that Solaris will be killed off, in favour of Linux. In light of what Oracle executives said, I guess Solaris will be killed off some time after x86 has surpassed SPARC cpus. Right now SPARC is faster, but x86 is catching up fast (releases new generations more often than any other cpu vendor). I guess that when next gen SPARC cpus come out, x86 will be faster. What do you guess about x86 vs SPARC performance?
There. That was easy to fix ;)
Seriously, do you have any sources to back up your IBM claim?
"....Seriously, do you have any sources to back up your IBM claim?...."
Of course I can backup my claims. I wouldnt want to lie nor say untrue things, would I? That would just be plain FUD, and I dont do that. I dont post anonymously "I heard that AIX is going to be killed, said IBM executives" nor do I write "I heard that SPARC/Itanium is dead" or other FUD that IBMers like to spread. Here is the proof that you asked of. IBM senior vice president says that AIX is going to be killed off and replaced with Linux. Just as I wrote. I dont make things up.
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-982512.html
"Steve Mills, senior vice president of IBM's Software Group, told CNET News.com at last week's LinuxWorld trade show.
Asked whether IBM's eventual goal is to replace AIX with Linux, Mills responded, "It's fairly obvious we're fine with that idea...It's the logical successor."
A replacement "won't happen overnight," Mills said, but years of experience designing operating systems at IBM and other companies means developers know just where Linux needs to go. "The road map is clear. It's an eight-lane highway."
No one believes replacing AIX with Linux could happen quickly, or that IBM will leave its AIX customers in a lurch. But the degree of Mills' Linux support surprised some."
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
