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On Monday 20 September 2004 10:31, Patrick Kimber wrote:
I think the main reason for the change to Open Source software is that it gives us more control. At the moment we are forced to upgrade our customers to a new version of the database every couple of years. If we do not we end up with an unsupported version of the database. Switching to Linux and an open source database will allow us to upgrade when we want to - probably combining this with a major upgrade to our software. We should see increased reliability because we will supply the Linux servers (as a black box). We will no longer have software installed by other suppliers - should avoid software conflicts. The whole solution should be easier to maintain. Configuration in Linux is normally based on simple text files which should be easily updated. I am worried that we will lose some customers because we will not be supporting the Microsoft "server suite" i.e. SQL Server, Exchange, Sharepoint etc. Some of our competitors will build solutions based these products.
sounds like you've got some selling / education to do.... the "but it won't run MSSQL!" argument is a valid one, we get it too, and "but what about all my asp/vbs?" sometimes it seems that the answer is the client has become so embedded in their proprietary solution that it has become symbiotic, and killing the entity and creating a new one is the quickest / fastest / cheapest / best way out of it... in business terms of course this means walk away from that job / client, because you'll never win. new jobs are easy of course so you're left with where you appear to be, in the middle ground... looking at your website, which BTW is seriously broken under linux/mozilla firebird/uxga, I would guess that while your coders have built up libraries of reusable snippets each client effectively gets treated as a bespoke job, which perhaps periodically get major rewrites of the majority of the code (I'm trying to guess your coder / hours / client here in an effort to say things that might bear some relevance rather than being totally inapplicable) so perhaps an approach might be to select a pet client and do not change anything, but instead also install a mirror of the database data, but on a linux/postgreqsl box running alongside the winders one, and thus generate REAL data about the comparative strengths and weaknesses, costs, server admin hours, etc etc etc, and for gods sake don't forget the one step removed stuff like antivirus software, not just cost and cpu overhead, but this last week alone there have been 3 instances of mcafee updates completely breaking 3rd party userland apps such as yours, one of which I believe involved permanent data loss when the a/v software deleted files..... I must ask, why postgresql and not mysql? -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.