Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!virtech!cpcahil
From: cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re:  Need Recommendations On 386/486 UNIX systems
Keywords: unix, 386/486
Message-ID: <1990Dec22.143706.4493@virtech.uucp>
Date: 22 Dec 90 14:37:06 GMT
References: <8204@uwm.edu> <1990Dec18.002013.28881@news.iastate.edu> <2710@sixhub.UUCP>
Reply-To: cpcahil@virtech.UUCP (Conor P. Cahill)
Organization: Virtual Technologies Inc., Sterling VA
Lines: 42

In article <2710@sixhub.UUCP> davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes:
>  I would go with Xenix. It's not remotely state of the art, but it is
>well tested and very reliable. I'm painfully aware that more modern
>systems, and most versions of V.3.2, are not quite as reliable. It
>supports multiport serial very well, it supports TCP if you don't need
>NFS, and is generally a good solution to your particular problem.

I have found System V R3.2.2 (ie latest releases from the respective
vendors) to be very reliable.  The only panic's we have had in the past
year have been due to memory problems.  The only reboots we have had to 
do have been because of a hung archive tape drive (that's archive's problem
not the OS).  We bang the hell out of our system and have had it up for 
months at a time with no problems.

>|     3. disk controller? Adaptec 1740? 
>
>  Garder variety ESDI. Use two drives to improve performance. I will

Two drives does not get you that much performance improvement on ESDI.  However
it does get you much more with a SCSI system.   I would recommend SCSI (perhaps
adaptec 1542, or bustek equivalent) especially if the OS you choose is
ISC (because ISC has highly optimized SCSI performance).

The additional benefit of SCSI is that the tape drive can use the same 
controller (thereby saving costs of the controller and saving precious
slots and interrupts).

>|     4. 16 port serial card?
>
>  Two 8's. You might find performance a hair better one way or the
>other, but redundancy says use two, and there's no drawback I can see.
>*Smart* cards, please.

I would recommend a single card.  (Slots are precious commodities, don't
waste them).  The card I like best (and of course this is just personal
opinion) is the Megaport-24.


-- 
Conor P. Cahill            (703)430-9247        Virtual Technologies, Inc.,
uunet!virtech!cpcahil                           46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160
                                                Sterling, VA 22170