IBM AIX vs. Oracle Solaris

IBM AIX is well suited for mission-critical applications, especially the ones that need to run on well-performing hardware and need less downtime. It is also perfect for applications that need a lot of CPU, because AIX scales well on the IBM POWER hardware, so adding additional CPU almost always generates higher performance/throughput. IBM AIX runs unmodified from the smallest IBM POWER machine (S1022, with 12 Power10 cores) to the biggest machine (E1080, with 240 Power10 cores). Because IBM POWER systems have very fast CPU’s, you typically need a lower number of CPU’s when compared to alternatives. This may bring a reduction in cost for software licensed per core. Unfortunately, not all software vendors port their software to IBM AIX, so sometimes you may have to run Linux on POWER, or skip the POWER platform altogether. But many vendors happily support AIX and POWER.

It's good for environments that need to operate 24/7 due to its stability, as I mentioned before. It's also very good for enterprise applications that can't afford unscheduled downtime, for truly high-priority environments. I don't think it would be recommended for small companies with people who have no prior knowledge of the tool, as the learning curve is quite steep.

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• Stability. In the 14 years that I have used the product, I cannot think of a single time that we had an OS level failure. It is rock solid. We have had systems that have been booted and run for literally years without interruption.
• Virtualization. We run IBM AIX as LPARS on Power infrastructure. All of our AIX infrastructure is virtualized making it easy to scale as needed.
• Their logical volume manager makes the task of managing storage very simple. It is feature complete and they have mitigated much of the complexity that usually is inherent in LVM implementations.
• I have a love/hate relationship with Smit. It is their administrative interface. It is very powerful and very complete which is why I marked it as a pro. It is also a bit clunky and somewhat arcane in its interface but still usable.

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• Preferred Operating System to run Oracle Databases
• Performs well with Java and Oracle applications
• Great for Virtualizations.

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• A lot of the built-in commands have not been updated in years. If you're used to some fancy CLI options in Linux, you may be out of luck with AIX.
• Out of the box, you cannot run open-source Linux utilities on AIX. There is a toolbox you can install, however, it's not the same versions as you would get in different Linux flavors.
• Tab completion for files and Up arrow to re-run previous commands don't work out of the box without running a Korn shell. A small annoyance, but one that catches me every time!

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• It seems that Solaris is becoming an afterthought at Oracle.
• Oracle should be more vocal in their commitment to Solaris
• Support Costs

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AIX is robust, helps the systems administrator, is built to prevent easily made mistakes. If you are used to other variants of Unix (in particularly Linux) there is no steep learning curve to get started with AIX. You need to learn the intricacies of the operating system, but that is true for any new operating system. AIX has built-in tools for almost anything you want and has the AIX Toolbox (on the web) for tools that are not included with AIX by default, but can be installed. Installation of AIX is modular, you can select with components and features you want to have installed. Installation of additional components (and usually also removal of installed components) is easy and straight-forward.

You need to take the time to learn it. It is a massive product.

There is lots of documentation out there for AIX. On the times I've had to address a hardware issue, IBM's support has been great.

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The support teams are well trained and responsive. Patches are rolled out regularly and are easy to deploy and backout.

Stress testing and timing is key. You need test systems that mirror the live environments. User testing must be reflected in peak loads.

IBM AIX operating system is advanced with most features and also it's more reliable unlike Redhat Linux, Sun solaris, HP-UX and also we will have well support from the vendor if we run into any issues. IBM AIX is more user-friendly when compared to linux and easy to use so i would prefer the customers to have their operating system as IBM AIX for companies who has more customers.

We used Windows Server quite a bit because of the ease of use for the team, file sharing, Active Directory, and systems integrated with Windows; learning was easier, and the interface was more user-friendly. On the other hand, Oracle stood out for its stability because we provide services that keep environments up and running 24/7.

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• IBM AIX on Power hardware has been the backbone of our most critical applications.
• The versatility of IBM AIX virtualization has been extremely useful, scalable, and provided configuration with redundant dual VIO servers.
• IBM AIX is not Linux so special skill sets are needed to actually manage the systems. Finding qualified engineers can often be a challenge

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• Possibility to migrate old servers protecting previous inversions
• reduces implementation times and accelerates time to obtain value in the market.

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