I said: "While a 4x125MHz SS20 has more raw horsepower than an Ultra 170,
the MP config would only really be helpful with multiple users.
For a single user, the Ultra's CPU will be much more efficiently
used."
This comment regarding multiprocessor systems is not entirely correct,
particularly with "late" versions of Solaris (2.5 and later). The system
runtime libraries are multi-threaded, and thus single processes benefit
from multiple processors. Additionally, in a modern workstation, a single
user generally is running many processes concurrently, and thus there
again is significant benefit from having more than one cpu in the system.
A lot still does depend on the precise applications you are running, BUT
the changes to the OS and particularly its runtime libraries helps Sun's
multiprocessors produce real benefit even during "simple" usage.
I also said: "Going PCI, if possible, would be a good idea as apparently
Sun is going to phase out SBus over the next few years."
I agree that with Sun moving away from SBus and toward PCI, it is
desirable to wait for the PCI systems, BUT, we haven't seen what those PCI
based systems can do, so it's premature to judge whether they will indeed
replace SBus when they are both in the market. Thus, I would shy away
from choosing right now if you have the ability to wait and see what
happens. Other vendors already use PCI (Digital uses PCI in some Alpha
Models), and they continue to support their propriatary bus(es) on
non-entry system for good performance reasons. It remains to be seen if
Sun ends up with a similar approach or if they solve the performance
bottlenecks other have encountered.
And a final comment on SunPC:
SunPC has its uses. The latest accelerator card is not bad, and allows
the workstation's CPU(s) to do other work while your PC application is
running. It does have its problems, but it is running on hardware rather
than in emulation, so speed is NOT one of them. Softwindows is straight
emulation and while the speed of the Ultra hardware cushions the hit, you
are still taking a huge performance hit in exchange for its higher quality
emulation mode and somewhat fewer glitches. I've used both with my
current customer and at this point in time lean toward SunPC due to the
hardware speed and compatibility it provides.
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Scott McDermott - SysAdmin \ "Always make it reversible."
King County Library System \ - A wise SysAdmin
PGP key in the usual places... \
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