the Pragmatics

• NT is better positioned than Unix to take advantage of Intel x86 platforms
• Microsoft is a reassuringly safe bet for the future because its dominance of the computer industry appears to be unshakable
• Intel-based servers that deliver more bang for the buck are driving the growth of Windows NT
• Three other architecture bases : the Mips Rx000, the Digital Alpha, and the IBM/Motorola PowerPC - the most popular is x86-based systems
• a price/performance value that's hard to beat
• However ! - NT's ascendancy does not mean Unix is on the rocks!!
• When managing large databases - there is NO MATCH to unix - when comparing Unix/Oracle, or Unix/Sybase or Unix/Informix
• IS managers maintaining both : NT (as low end machines) - or with symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) server (four processors or less)
• Unix servers for more intensive applications (with more processors perhaps)
• Microsoft continues to work with Sequent and other SMP vendors to improve NT's scalability, but Unix will retain this advantage for some time to come
• Scalability problems arise from both the hardware limitations of PC-based servers and inherent limitations of NT itself- limitations that Microsoft naturally disputes