Hello,

We are currently considering replacing our current hardware with IBM kit. IBM offer a "performance guarantee". I would be particularly interested in hearing from any BaanBoard members that have a "performance guarantee" in place with IBM and their comments on the "guarantee".

Thanks in advance.

Hi Torwin,

the hack about any type of performance guarantee is how to define performance:

- duration of a batch job?
- duration of online transactions?

in the second case, how do you measure them?

However you define them, it will be easy for IBM (and also any other vendor) to avoid any payments in the future, by discussing the environment parameters of your system:

a) Did you add users in between?
b) Did the numbers of items/Sales orders/bom change?
c) Did anybody change any application parameters?
d) Did anybody install some third party sw?
e) who configured the system?

Legaly that is a lost case for you. My recommendation is to buy just a completely oversized server. Sorry :-)

If you still want to go for a performance guarantee (and I know that IBM is pretty easy going about it), than go for general descriptions and state your expected growth rate.

Regards

Markus

Alternatively to buying an 'oversized' box, how about acquiring a solution that allows capacity to be added on demand and for which you only pay when used. I don't know if IBM offers such a solution but certainly HP does: it's called ICOD: Instant Capacity On Demand.

First think about the storage (many physical disks in a logical volume), how much data we are talking of. Is a SAN a better solution then a local storage.
Second the network, this is mostly the premium problem. (10Mb/100Mb/1Gb or higher) are we talking about a LAN or a WAN
3) the concurrent users, what kind of processes are they doing.
4) What kind of a database(s)
5) two-tier or a three tier solution.
6) What kind of integration with third parties

In the past I have done more of these kind of migrations, please send me mail in private with your wishes. There are more roads to Rome then only IBM or HP