32 or 64 bit OS for big database
 

hi there,

getting a new server in to deal with our disk space issue ( current db size is ~30 gigs, running on fc4 with mysql ). our new server looks like it can handle a 64 bit OS ( Intel xeon dual core 5110 with 4 Gigs' of ram ). my burning question is whether i should go for a 64 bit os or stay with a 32 bit? i plan on running rhel5 or centos 5 with mysql (32 or 64 bit, depending on which way i go). I'm pretty sure the main improvement with 64 bit is how much ram it can address. any thoughts or questions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

This is my first post, hopefully i'm not repeating a post from somewhere...

Marcel

IMO, unless you're real tight on RAM, or a needed application is not supported, you should just go ahead and run 64-bit.

Thanks Dox,

I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by going 32 bit, only to require 32 gigs of ram in the future. it's foreseeable this database will crack the TB mark in the next year. If anyone else has any input I'd greatly appreciate it.

Marcel

At this point, the only reason not to choose 64-bit is the need for multimedia codecs that may not yet be available in 64-bit releases.

On a server or production database system, that should not be an issue.