Xref: utzoo comp.unix.sysv386:4538 comp.unix.wizards:23949 comp.unix.internals:1945 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!lobster!moxie!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386,comp.unix.wizards,comp.unix.internals Subject: Re: Is 4MB Enough for Interactive? Message-ID: Date: 3 Feb 91 15:28:40 GMT References: <1913@fallst.UUCP> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 38 In article pcg@cs.aber.ac.uk (Piercarlo Grandi) writes: The usual complaint about expansion swaps. Of course, the horrible VM behaviour produced by the usual "malloc" and other normal C runtime routines... not to mention things like Emacs... means on *any* UNIX system with a slow I/O subsystem and VM you really do need as much real memory as the total VM used by all your processes. > If you want something different, try SVR4. Dell's is best, IMNHO, but > you *must* have 8MB and an Archive 150MB SCSI tape with an Adaptec SCSI > controller to install it. Hold on, weren't you just saying that this memory requirement for SVR4 wasn't real? That it can actually live in *less* memory than SVR3? > Otherwise there are Microport and UHC, both of which offer fairly sweet > upgrade deals to those who turn in the floppies of their previous Unix, > 286 or 386. Not so, at least for UHC. You turn in your UNIX and you get the minimal runtime-only version. No compilers, or nothin' else that they can unbundle. > SVR4 seems to have better paging and swapping policies, and > it is know to run decently in 4MB, *if suitably trimmed*. Whereas SVR3 runs decently in 4MB without any particular trimming or tuning, and can run in 2MB if you don't mind poor handling. > Please note that swapping and paging are the *normal* mode of operation > of a multitasking OS; Not so! Not so! Swapping and paging are the normal mode of operation for a VM operating system. Millions of people are using multitasking operating systems that don't support swapping, and swapping is verboten in real-time applications. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' peter@ferranti.com +1 713 274 5180. 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?"