[rescue] ss2 under load

[Jochen Kunz]

On Thu, Feb 14, 2002 at 03:07:49PM -0500, Dave McGuire wrote:

>   OH yes.  It's not that SPARCs are particularly good at this, it's that
> x86 machines are particularly BAD at this.  A VAX is the epitome of
> graceful load handling.  Take a lowly MicroVAX-II for example.  
Hmm. I think it was Ragge (NetBSD-VAX portmaster) himself who
explained some time ago that a 0.9 VUPs (=0.9 MIPS) MV II can do 
a context switch faster than a SS20, because the VAX has special 
assembler instructions for this. Only one ore two instructions
are needed to do the whole thing. 
At least that is what I can remember. Someone with more intimate
knowledge of the innards of the VAX architecture may correct this. 

>   This is another reason why I scoff at morons who refer to PeeCee in a
> big chassis as a "server".
I see, we are in phase once again. ;-)
-- 



tsch|_,
         Jochen

Homepage: http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/