Cisco - TABPI

Storage: OS upgrade
Bigger, better Linux
LINUX 2.6 TO HANDLE MORE MEMORY, THREADS, STORAGE OPTIONS
By Lisa Vaas
Users of linux databases are
drooling over the list of features
promised by the forthcoming
upgrade to the Linux kernel,
Version 2.6.
The Linux 2.6 production kernel,
expected to be released later this year, will
enable Linux to handle big, enterpriseclass
database applications. New features
integrated into the main kernel will spare
users the need to adopt
them as back-ported capabilities
in the 2.4 production
kernel. Such abilities
include support for much
larger amounts of memory,
support for a larger number
of threads, improved
networking performance,
increased storage and types
of storage, and better volume
management.
Tim Kuchlein, director
of IS at Clarity Payment
Solutions Inc., a developer
of prepaid electronic payment
systems, said the
ability for the kernel to support
extra memory will
enable his company to
work its database like
Google—running on all
memory, all the time.
Clarity will soon move
to the IBM DB2 8.1 database
running on Red Hat
Inc.’s version of Linux. To
get it all running with maximum
affordable memory, managers
plan to move to a 64-bit architecture and,
to that end, are checking out Advanced
Micro Devices Inc.’s 64-bit architecture.
The move could mean that Clarity
could kiss writing to disk goodbye.
“We want to have as much memory in
our systems as we can,” said Kuchlein,
in New York.
The ability to support 64 bits isn’t new
to the Linux kernel, but the affordability
of 64-bit boxes is, Kuchlein said. “Only
recently have you been able to buy
hardware without having to mortgage
your life to make use of [64 bits],” he said.
Kuchlein has priced IBM pSeries servers
with 16GB of memory at about $230,000,
compared with AMD boxes with two
CPUs and 8GB that sell for about $6,150.
But perhaps the most enticing lure
of the 2.6 kernel is its promise of better
volume management. “Sizing of partitions
and stuff is always a pain in the
[neck],” said Kuchlein. “You have what
you think will happen [with partitioning
needs], and you make plans, and two
NEWS&ANALYSIS
weeks later it changes. Just being able to
dynamically resize partitions is obviously
a very good thing.”
Officials at Aventis Behring—a company
that develops therapeutic proteins
to treat people with immune and
protein deficiencies, such as hemophiliacs—are
also itching to get their hands
on the 2.6 kernel. The reasons: better volume
management, asynchronous I/O
and better management of multiple
applications on one server.
Asynchronous I/O is appealing
because the company, based in King of
Prussia, Pa., is considering a project
deploying Web services on Linux that
requires scalability. “[Asynchronous I/O]
allows command queuing to improve
CPU utilization, which can result in performance
improvements for Web servers
and databases,” said Jesse Crew, manager
of global systems.
The ability to better manage multiple
applications on one server running
separate logical images
can help administration and
consolidation, as well as
reduce complexity and
lower costs. “From experience
with the Windows
environment, running two
applications on a single
server can cause coexistence
nightmares during future
upgrades of either one,”
Crew said. “With Linux,
we may be able to put an
end to these types of issues.
Running multiple applications
on the same server
knowing they are logically
partitioned makes things
easier to maintain.”
Vendors are just as excited
about the 2.6 kernel. For one,
Gary Ebersole, president of
ANTs Software Inc., maker
of a new high-performance
DBMS, said the company
will snap up 2.6 as soon as
possible. Motivating his decision
is, again, 64-bit address
space. Another draw is support for a large
number of threads, which will allow the
company to scale up on symmetric multiprocessing.
“We’ll grab as many threads
as there are microprocessors in the system,”
said Ebersole, in Burlingame, Calif.
“Good thread management in the kernel
is good.” ´
PAUL CONNOLLY
MAY 26, 2003 n eWEEK 39