Path: utzoo!attcan!lsuc!maccs!beame
From: beame@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Carl Beame)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.nfs
Subject: Re: Speeding up PC-NFS
Message-ID: <250879CE.4963@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Date: 9 Sep 89 02:47:41 GMT
References: <952@legato.LEGATO.COM>
Reply-To: beame@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Carl Beame)
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Lines: 28

>
>A PC-NFS-based beta site (I cannot disclose their name) measured a 
>600% (!) performance increase after installing Prestoserve into their
>Sun 4/110 server.  600% is a bit unbelievable.  However, we expect 
>dramatic improvements to PC-NFS networks because PC applications
>typically write small, uncached blocks (e.g. 512 bytes).
>This means that for the PC-NFS client to write 8 Kbytes, the disk must
>perform 32 writes (or 48 writes to a large files) without Prestoserve.
>With Prestoserve the same task requires only 2 (or 3) asynchronous
>writes to occur.
>
>More information can be obtained from:
>
>Legato Systems, Inc.
>260 Sheridan Ave.
>Palo Alto,  CA 94306
>415-325-2200
>

I can believe it. We did some benchmarks of our PC based NFS (BWNFS) on
a Model 80 with a WD8003E card . We ran test5 from the conectathon
( 1Mbyte read and write tests). The DOS transfer rates were 101 KBytes/sec
write and 916 Kbytes/sec read. I would presume that the Prestorserve board
would make writes almost as fast as reads, and we would get an 800% improvement!
We use 8192 bytes for both read and write.

- Carl Beame
  Beame@McMaster.CA