From owner-freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Jul 23 04:41:18 2005 Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG> X-Original-To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E00B516A41F for <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org>; Sat, 23 Jul 2005 04:41:18 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from vinny@tellurian.com) Received: from mail1.tellurian.net (mail1.tellurian.net [216.182.1.23]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 684BD43D48 for <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org>; Sat, 23 Jul 2005 04:41:18 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from vinny@tellurian.com) Received: from leviathon.tellurian.com (leviathon.tellurian.net [216.182.41.250]) by mail1.tellurian.net ([216.182.1.23] Tellurian Networks Mail Server version 3.0d-2) with ESMTP id 247639775 for multiple; Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:41:17 -0400 Message-Id: <6.2.3.4.2.20050723003957.05d7a938@pop3.tellurian.com> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.2.3.4 Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:42:17 -0400 To: Frank Mayhar <frank@exit.com> From: Vinny Abello <vinny@tellurian.com> In-Reply-To: <42E156B2.1070004@exit.com> References: <42E151B4.7030500@bfoz.net> <42E156B2.1070004@exit.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Authenticated-User: vinny@tellurian.com X-Ultimate-Internet-Connection: Tellurian Networks Cc: Brandon Fosdick <bfoz@bfoz.net>, freebsd-stable@freebsd.org Subject: Re: SMP support maturity? AMD64x2 or FX-57? X-BeenThere: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Production branch of FreeBSD source code <freebsd-stable.freebsd.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-stable>, <mailto:freebsd-stable-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable> List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-stable@freebsd.org> List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-stable-request@freebsd.org?subject=help> List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-stable>, <mailto:freebsd-stable-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe> X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2005 04:41:19 -0000 At 04:27 PM 7/22/2005, Frank Mayhar wrote: >Brandon Fosdick wrote: >>SMP support in FreeBSD seems to be a perpetually favorite feature >>to gripe about, but every release seems to say that its getting >>better. I'm about to build a new server and am trying to determine >>if I should go with dual procs or just a single. The AMD64x2 is >>slightly cheaper than the FX-57 so I'm leaning that way, but it >>would be a rather pointless savings if SMP isn't well supported. >>So, is SMP in -STABLE ready for primetime? Can it really make use >>of two processors? > >Sigh. You know, I've been running with two processors since 4.1 or >thereabouts. Sure, the BGL scheme is inefficient as far as the >kernel itself is concerned, but for compute-bound user processes it >worked just fine. Naturally I avoided 5.0/1/2 for my production >boxen, waiting for the complete overhaul of SMP to stabilize, but >when I booted 5.3, everything was fine and I haven't looked back. > >Personally I don't have the first clue what people have found to >gripe about. It has been good, it got a _lot_ better in 5.x, and >it's continuing to improve. > >Ports to new processor families are an entirely different kettle of >fish and have their own sets of problems, virtually all of which >have to do with the new architecture and not with the general SMP >support itself. >-- >Frank Mayhar frank@exit.com http://www.exit.com/ >Exit Consulting http://www.gpsclock.com/ > http://www.exit.com/blog/frank/ I agree. I'm not a FreeBSD expert by any means, but I do enjoy using it very much. I've learned a lot about it over the past year or so that I've been running it. I have both a 4.11 and 5.4 box that have dual processors and are running like champs. The 5.4 box is doing a lot more work actually, and it never has a problem. It's been all good for me, but then again, I probably don't delve quite as deeply into some of the complex heavy loaded things other do. Vinny Abello Network Engineer Server Management vinny@tellurian.com (973)300-9211 x 125 (973)940-6125 (Direct) PGP Key Fingerprint: 3BC5 9A48 FC78 03D3 82E0 E935 5325 FBCB 0100 977A Tellurian Networks - The Ultimate Internet Connection http://www.tellurian.com (888)TELLURIAN "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear" -- Mark Twain