Given the media hype
surrounding the public-domain Linux operating system, many
managers want to consider Linux as an option when they make the
decision to move to a large 64-bit Intel-based server.
An unaltered supermarket photo!
Each Operating system has
particular features which might be either an advantage or a
disadvantage, depending on the configuration of your Oracle
database and the skills of your staff:
Provides High Availability
Contains in-depth system utilities and open-source code
Highly respected by Oracle personnel
Requires far less IT training
Simple interface to Microsoft tools such as ODBC and
.NET.
In my personal opinion,
here are some specific disadvantages to Linux and Windows:
Required highly-technical Systems Administrators and DBA
Contains in-depth system utilities and open-source code
Security Holes (if mis-configured)
Susceptible to root kit attacks
Less glamorous for the SA and DBA
History of poor reliability (bad reputation)
Security Holes (if mis-configured)
Susceptible to Internet viruses
The main disadvantage is
regarding the requirements for a technical staff that is
proficient in shell scripting, the vi editor and the cryptic
UNIX command syntax.
Unlike the easy-to-use
Windows GUI, Linux and proprietary UNIX often require cryptic
shell scripts to perform basic Oracle functions. Given the
vast differences in administration, begin with looking at
porting from UNIX to Windows.
The core difference is
that in UNIX the OS controls the operations, while in Windows
the Oracle database controls the operations.
There is also the issue of
the expense of licensing the proprietary UNIX software such as
Solaris, AIX, and HP UNIX, which can be tens of thousands of
dollars. This has led many companies to consider the
public-domain Linux option. To understand the benefits and
shortcomings of Linux, you must take a closer look at Linux
technology.
With the increasing popularity of Intel-based database servers, Oracle shops
are struggling to make the choice between Linux and Windows for their
Oracle databases. As we may know, Windows has suffered from a
history of unreliability and Linux suffers because of it's nascent
technology and lack of support.
Benchmark of Linux and Windows performance
Roby Sherman performed an exhaustive study of the speed of Oracle on Linux
and MS-Windows using identical hardware. Sherman currently works for
Qwest Communications in the Data Technologies group of IT Architecture and
Transversal Services, and is a recognized expert in designing, delivering,
tuning, and troubleshooting n-tier systems and technology architecture
components of various size and complexity based on Oracle RDBMS technology.
When you read the full text of the paper, it is clear that Linux has
significant advantages over MS-Windows, not just in performance, but in
flexibility of administration and management.
Sherman concludes "From perspective of performance, RedHat Linux 7.2
demonstrated an average performance advantage of 38.4% higher RDBMS
throughput than a similarly configured Windows 2000 Server in a variety of
operational scenarios. "
Sherman notes "Another point of contention was Window's lack of consistency
between many database administrative functions (automated startup, shutdown,
service creation, scripting, etc.) compared to what DBAs are already used to
in many mainstream UNIX environments (Solaris and HP-UX)."
In my opinion, this is one of the best benchmark studies to-date. It
is objective, through and comprehensive, and shops the relative areas of
Oracle performance on both OS platforms. Even better, this landmark
article show the full spectrum of DBA responsibilities on each platform,
along with a complete description of each.
and include the URL for the page.
