> If I can convince a company to switch from W2K server to linux for
> their
> database server platform what sort of performance change should they
> see with
> their database.
>
> (Assuming the same hardware and demand)
>
> I thought at least 2x but I'd like opinions, or better yet, experiences
>

it depends on your app. If you have to import many records, and you can
copy the data to the database server, you could connect locally to the
database file to import the data via c-api.

This would speed up insertion of data more than 2x (you don't need that
network stuff there).

Eg 100.000 records with local connection take

real 0m11.800s

vs.

real 0m38.811s

with Network connection (both classic server - same OS (MacOS X), local
data and local server).

You can't do that with Windows super server.

Another performace bonus might be using gentoo linux - so your system
is optimised to your hardware. But I doubt that there will a
performance boost by 2 with a single select.

What you should keep in mind:
What is the prefered OS of your admin? Is it linux - take linux. If it
is Windows - take Windows.

Chris