But Ryan, I think you are correct that hardware is now cheaper than hiring folks. But going the RAC way may end up costing more, compared to upgrading a single server with a stronger CPU or adding more memory. I would never suggest RAC until I hear that it is better than upgrading the server. Right now, it sounds like RAC is more expensive than the other approach (harder to maintain, need better and smarter DBA's and SysAdmins, and the whole question of how much do you gain when you start clustering servers). Tom Mercadante Oracle Certified Professional -----Original Message----- From: ryan_gaffuri@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ryan_gaffuri@xxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 9:31 AM To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: So how big is your buffer cache ? I didn't read the whole article. However, one of the arguments appears to be to tell a client to just buy more hardware. Is this always bad? Given the relative costs of hardware vs. personnel? In many cases it might be alot cheaper to just add hardware than it would be to hire alot of developers to re-write an application. It takes alot of 3GL developers to accomplish much of anything. Typical government rates are $60/hour billed to the federail government. That comes to about $115,000/year. Lets say you can get RAC and add another server for $75,000. Just bringing up a point for discussion. I would think that as hardware gets more and more advanced, it will become cheaper and cheaper to throw hardware at something... any comments? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html -----------------------------------------------------------------