I studied this in some detail as it obviously comes up often in my practice.  
If one reads the IBM documentation on the latest x3850/x3950 M2 one will 
observe that the data paths within that architecture are actually faster than 
in the latest pSeries hardware.  That said, Windows or Linux inefficiencies 
probably just balance out.

Shawn's comment about multiple $25K x3850 vs. one $100K p is valid. I think 
that clearly multiples of those will outperform on p.

I think this argument should morph to what OS is your shop using predominantly 
as you will have to support the OS while fooling with TSM.  And perhaps even 
more with V6.  The difference in relative performance is probably in the single 
digits and thus undetectable by most of us. 

Kelly Lipp
Chief Technical Officer
www.storserver.com
719-266-8777 x7105
STORServer solves your data backup challenges. 
Once and for all.

-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf Of 
Shawn Drew
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 8:58 AM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: Re: [ADSM-L] Performance and migration: AIX vs Linux

# IMNSHO, IBM pSeries hardware is the best there is for large I/O
# workloads. I've seen AIX do things that Linux wouldn't survive.

I've always wondered about this.  We have p570s and we can throw anything
at them, and they won't even breath hard.

But if you spent $100K on p-series, and $100K on multiple Intel machines,
which solution will get the better, cumulative I/O-Dollar ratio?


This message and any attachments (the "message") is intended solely for
the addressees and is confidential. If you receive this message in error,
please delete it and immediately notify the sender. Any use not in accord
with its purpose, any dissemination or disclosure, either whole or partial,
is prohibited except formal approval. The internet can not guarantee the
integrity of this message. BNP PARIBAS (and its subsidiaries) shall (will)
not therefore be liable for the message if modified. Please note that certain
functions and services for BNP Paribas may be performed by BNP Paribas RCC, Inc.