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On Thu, 4 May 1995, Tom Boyer wrote:

> Penned by R Ballard:
> > On Tue, 25 Apr 1995, I wrote:
> > > A couple of weeks ago I asked y'all whether anybody was connecting PC
> > > databases to the Web. 
> > 
> > Suggestion.  There are several SQL Front-ends  and WAIS front-ends under
> > http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/web-index.html
> > that can be run as HTTPD front-ends on Unix systems.  There are several 
> > SQL database vendors offering datases with Linux (They sell you the 
> > database and throw Linux in Free).  If your database gets "Hot", you
> > can upgrade to Oracle or Sybase (or whatever) on a bigger Unix box.
I literally pointed to free "most up to date" implimentations of exactly 
what you asked for.  Did you look?

> I think we're going to try this without (Omigod!) Unix. There are a
> half-dozen Windows NT internet servers coming out this spring, ranging in
> price from free to $15,000.
Don't forget the price of the "Unlimited user licenses" for NT, FoxPro, 
and NetScape Server.  You'll need to double that for redundancy, total 
bill, about $100,000, to get started.

My main reason for proposing UNIX was that you have economic scalability 
from under $100 (linux, httpd, cgi, and SQL server) which will support a 
a few dozen queries/hour to $250,000 Pyramids and SMP engines with RAID 
arrays to support a few hundred queries/second.  I've had some experience 
with NTs on Pentiums(HoHum) up to Alpha's (WOW)!  I actually had to run 
certification testing of server engine performance. (numbers are under 
nondisclosure with previous employer, don't ask).

NT on an Alpha or an RS-6000 SMP engine is planned (right after Win95 
comes out?)  And it you can't get source code for your apps.
If your server goes down, you're out of business.

I seem to have no trouble finding professional UNIX guys, but WindowsNT 
people are being heavily protected (Microsoft often recruits them).
I remember being one of the first OS/2 2.0 programmers, with promises of 
"Name your price".  I do, as a Unix guy.

> I'm going to try WebSite from O'Reilly &
> Assocs., which is a cousin of windows httpd 1.4 by Robert Denny. List $499;
Is that for unlimited user license?  On any platform? If so, sign me up!

> if you get the beta you can buy it for $275. You can run it on a 90 mhz
> Pentium and supposedly get comparable performance to a unix box for a
> fraction of the cost, and with less development. 
Linux (Unix to anyone but a kernal hacker) runs $69, httpd for Linux is 
free (binary and source), and NetScape browser for Linux is $35.
Even the SQL-server database only bumps the package up to $200.

Yes, it's a loss-leader.  If your server gets too hot, you pay real money
when you upgrade to the SMP Sun or RS-6000, or Pyramid or ...

> You can connect other Windows applications, such as FoxPro or Excel, via CGI
> and DDE. You can write your CGI scripts as Visual Basic executables and
I thought you wanted a web Server.  The server talks to the client, why 
would the server try to push dde up through cgi?  The question goes for 
Visual Basic.  You want your server to be pumping data out of those disks 
as efficiently as it can, not paging VB resources.

> access data directly, which sounds to me like a lot more flexibility than
> perl.
Perl is just a nice friendly way to quickly turn a bunch of SQL fields 
into pretty HTML in very few cycles and no disk swaps.  You do want to 
send standard content through the net don't you?

> WebSite in its first iteration also offers the ability to restrict
> access by domain or password. 
Yes, most httpd servers (1.4) do.  In fact, the source code makes it 
possible to incorporate "toll collection" mechanisms as well
(see http://www.infohouse.com/).

> If you're interested in Windows NT internet servers, check out the the
> current issue of PC Magazine. There's no mention of WebSite, but there's a
> pretty thorough discussion of other NT servers and their advantages and
> disadvantages vs. unix.

	Rex Ballard
	Standard & Poor's/McGraw-Hill
	Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect
	the Management of the McGraw-Hill Companies.




From rballard@cnj.digex.net Tue May  9 23:25:01 1995