IBM AIX at it's best
We do use the IBM AIX Operating system to divide the memory and CPU between various jobs and provide support to the customers. This …
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What is IBM AIX?
IBM AIX (for Advanced Interactive eXecutive) is a Unix operating system, developed, offered and supported by IBM.
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What is IBM AIX?
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Reviews
(1-3 of 3)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
September 12, 2019
Stable platform but limited new features
We currently use IBM AIX as the compute power behind our main legacy ERP system, D3. AIX provides a very stable platform for D3 and allows hundreds of internal customers to connect to our centralized software without batting an eye.
- IBM AIX is a very stable server product, and I can't recall a time when the server has crashed due to a hardware fault.
- If you have legacy software that can't run on the new-fangled Linux flavors, AIX might be the way to go.
- AIX has a host of built-in management tools that makes system configuration easy for a novice.
- 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!
- The server is expensive, so hardware upgrades aren't taken lightly.
- Because of the requirements for our ERP system, the software cannot be virtualized. This is not the AIX's fault, however, we are forced to purchase what feels like an expensive dinosaur.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Like AIX, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a very stable operating and designed for companies who don't want to be on the bleeding edge of Linux technology.
July 07, 2019
IBM AIX in a healthcare enterprise
IBM AIX has been used to support the core, enterprise systems here at Tucson Medical Center for more than 14 years. AIX runs our mission-critical applications such as Epic Electronic medical record, Sunquest Lab, Oracle databases, Intersystems Cache Databases, and PeopleSoft. These systems support the enterprise at both the departmental and enterprise levels.
- 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.
- Staying current with open source software such as MySQL, Apache, Python, Perl, PHP, etc. These packages are usually only available from third parties and are often very out dated and difficult to implement.
- Software maintenance is cryptic, difficult to manage, and fragmented. There are Service packs, Technical Levels, APARS, RPM updates, CPAN updates, and each has its own way of being managed and applied.
- IBM AIX could be more security conscious. By default, insecure protocols such as Telnet and FTP are enabled and are the expected interface.
- 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
- Ubuntu Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Oracle Linux
The only real comparable competitors to IBM AIX come from the Linux world. Linux is beginning to approach the reliability and stability of IBM AIX and is often a better choice. Linux also has a shorter update cycle with more significant leaps in functionality and feature sets. Linux also integrates much more tightly with open sourced programs by making them easily installed, maintained and updated through simple command line tools such as apt and yum.
While IBM AIX has a great deal in its favor, given a choice between Linux and IBM AIX I would choose Linux for all but the most critical applications, and even then I would probably still choose Linux.
January 17, 2019
AIX decline in usage
IBM AIX is used on hardware supporting both database and middleware and applications. It is used across the enterprise, supporting applications generally provided by IBM such as Websphere. Used by all business segments, its usage has decreased over the years as we drive to use more open source options. It is very powerful but quite expensive.
- Very high performance; handles load very well
- Very stable, not a lot of OS issues with this system
- Solid vendor support
- Very Expensive
- Doesn't always handle non-IBM offerings very well
- Seems to be shrinking, as we find it difficult to find AIX resources
- Negative ROI vs other offerings
- Hard to find qualified employees
- Solid offering when used in its sweet spot
When compared against Red Hat Linux or Microsoft Windows, IBM AIX is much more expensive. The flexibility of the Microsoft and Red Hat offerings give them an extreme advantage over IBM AIX. The TCO for IBM AIX is considerably higher than the other two. The ability to find qualified support personnel with experience in Linux or Windows is much easier as well.