Ed,

The last time I priced SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2 for a 2 CPU Dell box they
all costed out at about $15,000. Sure the price of Oracle and DB2 can get
high but only when the number of nodes and CPUs increases in order to
achieve performance that SQL Server simply cannot attain.

If an RDBMS cannot run a terabyte instance/database out of the box, I would
say it is a "toy" RDBMS. Both Oracle and DB2 can do this out the box on any
platform they support with any DBA of average skill. That cannot be said, I
think, for SQL Server, Postgress, MySql, etc. With companies buying storage
in petabyte chunks these days, DB2 and Oracle will only increase their lead.

Both IBM and Oracle (and Sun and HP) are Linux proponents, but only because
it does not cost them anything. When it comes to being a proponent of an
open source database, it will be a different story. Without the support of
the BIG DOGS open source anything won't go anywhere. Competition beats
collaboration almost every time. Back before the bubble popped, Geeks used
whatever they could get their hands on to get the company / site up and
running. Now it is a brave new world once again and Executives don't risk
their careers on toys, they choose industrial strength software and support
from reputable companies.

Things change fast in our business and I could be all wet in 18 months. It
would not be the first time.


Frank Dodgers
Evergreen Information Systems
Oracle/DB2/Linux/AIX Certified
303-810-6625


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