[CLUE-Talk] Truth stranger than fiction

[Jeffery Cann]

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Greetings.

Last year at S&P, we developers proposed a Linux cluster to solve a 
processing problem.  We had a bunch of parallel java processes that the magic 
Sun boxes (4 and 8 way Sun ES servers) could not handle.

So, we took the java processes and ran them on 8 NT developer workstations.  
The piddly 8 NT boxes (mix of P2 and P3 boxes with avg of 128 MB of RAM 
(compared to the 2 GB for the Sun box) trashed the performance of the Sun 
box.  We didn't want a cluster of NT boxes, due to the obvious problems of 
constant reboots, so we suggested Linux.

Being a 'Solaris Shop' (our parent company, McGraw-Hill has a 'strategic 
partnership' with Sun), our proposal was dismissed for the following reasons:

1.  Linux is not supported. -- i.e., whom would we call when Linux would fail.
2.  We have a heavy investment in Solaris
3.  We would have to retrain our SAs to Linux

We gave examples of massively parallel Linux clusters (mostly Beowulf) like 
in Sandia National Labs (New Mexico) and still no sway.  Mind you, the ES box 
we run costs over 100K (I don't know how much we pay for 24x7x365 'support') 
and we could have built an 8 node Beowulf cluster on Linux for about 1/4 of 
the price.

Now, I read that Google.com, our favorite internet search engine, uses about 
8000 RHAT Linux boxes to serve up web pages.  Interesting approach to 
scalability:

http://www.internetweek.com/shared/printableArticle?doc_id=INW20010427S0010

I guess we developers aren't so insane, after all.  Google's use of Linux 
would not have changed the decision at S&P -- there is way too much money 
changing hands between S&P and Sun, but it adds to the legitimacy of Linux as 
an 'enterprize' solution.

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Jeff
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