Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 20:34:34 -0700 (MST) From: Wes Peters <softweyr@xmission.com> To: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: hardware Message-ID: <199711070334.UAA24403@obie.softweyr.ml.org> In-Reply-To: <63spq5$6j7$1@schenectady.netmonger.net> References: <199711060445.VAA23332@obie.softweyr.ml.org> <199711060503.PAA01281@word.smith.net.au> <63spq5$6j7$1@schenectady.netmonger.net>
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Christopher Masto writes:
> Dunno, I tend to agree with the SCSI advice for a couple of reasons.
> Having a FreeBSD box at home (from 2.0 through 3.0) with IDE, and
> several SCSI-based machines at work, it seems to me that the IDE is
> slowing my system down quite a bit. The drive seems to just run a lot
> more, particularly when doing something like a CVS checkout. IIRC,
> IDE was basically a coupling of the ISA bus to a hard drive, and
> doesn't have nearly as much brains in the drive or controller as SCSI.
>
> The other reason I think SCSI is a good idea is that you can get a
> SCSI tape or Jaz drive or something. I'm currently struggling with
> the decision to dig into the kernel and get my Exabyte Eagle TR-3
> "floppy tape" working under FreeBSD, or to just go SCSI and "get a
> real tape drive". I wish I hadn't tried to save a few bucks in the
> first place - the money I've wasted in upgrading and replacing IDE
> drives would easily cover the cost difference of having gone with SCSI
> in the first place.
>
> Your mileage may vary (and apparently does).
Hear hear! This is what I meant in the first place. Plus, a good
PCI-based SCSI controller is like investing in a good monitor: you don't
need to buy another one for a while, if you're upgrading a machine in
place. When that next, really fast motherboard/chip/ram combination
comes along, you can just move your SCSI controller to the new machine.
It's more like a tool investment than a disposable one.
I prefer SCSI for the flexbility and reliability as much as
performance. I've built plenty of systems, FreeBSD and not, using IDE,
and generally they work just fine. None of them get the regular upgrade
schedule (i.e. adding disks and other goodies) that my FreeBSD system
does, partly because you don't just "throw another disk on."
I've also been bitten quite a bit by interoperability problems with IDE
disks, even recently.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com
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