[hardware] Equivalent of Windows platform

Question

Actually, I am really new to unix. And I don't know where else to post my question.
We are currently developing an application whose minimum hardware requirements are:
Pentium III 800MHz Quad Processor
40 or more GB hard disk space
2 GB Memory
That is running on Windows 2000.
We will need to transfer the application to a UNIX environment. But my problem is I do not know the hardware equivalent of the above specifications that has UNIX.
Could you recommend a Compaq or HP hardware that might be appropriate for our requirements.
And also, in your opinion, how difficult or easy would it take a non-unix person like me to move the application from the windows environment to unix.
Thanks. =)

Answer 1

My experience is that a quad PIII is equivalent (perhaps slightly faster) to a quad Ultra Sparc II (I have no Ultra Sparc III experience) from the standpoint raw CPU speed. Solaris boxes tend to give you better I/O speed than typical Intel server boxes, but if you get the right parts (caching raid controllers with 64-bit PCI buses) you can get quite close. The price difference is about 1.5X to 2X, depending on many factors.
Linux or Solaris on Intel may also be a good choice, depending on the hardware vendor support options. Look at IBM hardware as well based on Intel or Power PC architectures running linux or AIX.
Chuck