Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!wuarchive!uunet!mcsun!unido!materna!elwood!tb From: tb@Materna.DE (Torsten Beyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.novell Subject: Re: NFS Support in NetWare Message-ID: Date: 7 Mar 91 07:17:27 GMT References: <1991Mar2.013301.8599@novell.com> Sender: root@Materna.DE Lines: 38 This starts to get really funny.... keith@ka.excelan.com (Keith Brown) writes: >I'm uncertain as to which UNICES actually have the ability to disable >cache write through at all? Perhaps it can be done on some by adb(1)ing >the kernel. Anyone care to enlighten me? It still wouldn't buy UNIX based >NFS servers very much though. Well, to my opinion switching this write-through off means to violate the protocol. I mean NFS is stateless and when the server says "Allright pal, your data's here in my hands" tha client has to bs SURE that this is really the case. Ok, now you come with your mirror disks and all this stuff.. but I think it's the wrong way to REEINSTALL NFS semantics. Bovell NFS should behave like ordinary NFS righ away not only after installing lots of junk in the server... >Why? Well, someone once told me that UNIX systems have these things >called user processes to be concerned about. If this is indeed the >case, that must mean they are unable to blow open every last byte of >their remaining memory to an enormous disk cache. Hmm... I imagine that >this must severely impact their ability as NFS servers? Could this be >true?? I wonder! Depends. Suns (since SunOS 4.0) for example use all their free memory as buffer cache. As I pointed out in an earlier message, my experience is that servers are servers and just do that job. NO spreadsheet users and stuff. This means that you can get a really large buffer cache (~5 Mb I'd guess on an 8 Mb Sun server). ciao -Torsten -- Torsten Beyer e-mail : tb@Materna.DE Dr. Materna GmbH VOX : +49 231 5599 225 Vosskuhle 37 FAX : +49 231 5599 100 D-4600 Dortmund 1, West Germany