Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!mtxinu!sybase!phobos!tim
From: tim@phobos.sybase.com (Tim Wood)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Ingres User's Association Meeting
Message-ID: <4186@sybase.sybase.com>
Date: 10 May 89 17:55:34 GMT
References: <509@daitc.daitc.mil> <258@indri.primate.wisc.edu> <512@daitc.daitc.mil>
Sender: news@sybase.sybase.com
Reply-To: tim@phobos.UUCP (Tim Wood)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Sybase, Inc.
Lines: 45

In article <512@daitc.daitc.mil> jkrueger@daitc.daitc.mil (Jonathan Krueger) writes:
>In article <258@indri.primate.wisc.edu>, bin@primate (Paul DuBois) writes:
>>[a heterogeneous network] helps a lot if your only machine or machines
>>are BSD machines, doesn't it?
>
>Of course, you're SOL.  Or, to be more precise, your options are (in
>rough order of increasing cost and pain):
>
>	1. convert one of your vaxen to Ultrix
>	2. move to some other DBMS (that supports BSD)
>	3. buy a non vax processor, and add it to your network
>	4. add system V style shared memory to BSD Unix
>
>Lots of tradeoffs here.  [...]
>Although option 4 is easily the most expensive (figuring in support costs), it
>also is the only option with profit potential, 

Oh, great.  Yet another UNIX variant.  
Disclaimed by AT&T, OSF and UCB alike! :-)
Fulfills the dream of most DBMS-application users 
to get into the ever-fun, ever-changing software business! :-)

>from selling it to RTI and others, presumably.  

Yes, profiting from customer confusion has been demonstrated.

>In fact, you might call option 3 "net
>retrofit" and option 4 "net profit".

Option 4 is ludicrous (unless you like penny-stock ventures :-)
Option 1 is likely the only economical alternative
for most DBMS users.  Ultrix contains most of the BSD UNIX interfaces,
supports shared memory and is available out of the box from DEC.  No
rewriting DBMS applications, no new command sets/system call sets to learn.
Heck, you can probably run the BSD filesystems unchanged after installing
Ultrix (that was our experience going from MORE/BSD 4.3 to Ultrix).

>
>-- Jon


Sybase, Inc. / 6475 Christie Ave. / Emeryville, CA / 94608	  415-596-3500
tim@sybase.com          {pacbell,pyramid,sun,{uunet,ucbvax}!mtxinu}!sybase!tim
Voluntary disclaimer: This message is solely my personal opinion.
		      It is not a representation of Sybase, Inc.  OK.