Hi folks

First, let me apologize in advance for the long message. I know this will sound like a typical "newbie" message but I am really working to understand the technology in order to make informed decisions.

I am currently in the process of evaluating Unix hardware and OS platforms for an upcoming Oracle implementation. This will be a very large scale project requiring extensive vendor support.

We are an Intel shop presently so, unfortunately, I'm not very well versed in the pros and cons of the Unix world.

I've narrowed the choices down to IBM pSeries and Sun due to hardware and OS integration, single vendor support, market share and compatibility with our space requirements.

Both vendors appear to have strong product offerings and solid operating systems. What I want to do is take price off the table and evaluate the technical side of things. That being said, I can't find any unbiased evaluations of either platform or direct comparisons between them.

I'm looking at the lower end Enterprise level offerings from each vendor.

Anyone have any good sources of information that will break through the marketing hype and help me determine the best platform to build a large data warehouse on? Opinions and experiences (good and bad) are welcome as well.

Comments on LPAR vs Domaining?

Finally, I've heard that Oracle Enterprise licensing differs between IBM and Sun (with IBM being cheaper for some reason). Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any info.