Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!kuling.UUCP!irf
From: irf@kuling.UUCP (Bo Thide)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.workstations
Subject: Re: Sun 3/260CXP versus HP-UX (Summary of Responses)
Message-ID: <689@kuling.UUCP>
Date: 1 Apr 88 14:49:32 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
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Approved: works@rutgers.edu

In article <8803221250.AA02228@techunix.bitnet>
ephraim@techunix.BITNET (Ephraim Silverberg) writes: 
>        One observation I had is that I assume the Sun uses a 4.2
>        file system where as HP-UX probably uses the SYS 5 file
>        system. For large files the sys 5 file system can be 10 times
>        slower than 4.2. (I have heard thi from three quite
>        independent sources).

On their 9000/800 and 9000/300 series HP uses the BSD "High
Performance" file system for all supported OS's (HP-UX, Pascal, BASIC,
4.3 BSD).

>        is another angle. HP-UX has a bunch of HP specific stuff in
>        the kernel, utilities, and libraries that I think we could
>        live without. I find BSD to be a superset of SYSV, so to me

Without the "HP specific" Real-Time Enhancements and Device I/O
Library I would be out of business ...

>        Sun-2s. The one thing I have to say about both systems are
>        that the hard drives are incredibly flaky. Especially HP's
>        equipment, we and other sites were constantly rebooting

I personally have used various HP computers and disk drives for more
than five years under very extreme environmental conditions running
field experiments in the arctic (cold and damp weather, 220V diesel
generators that just barely work) and in tropical jungles (where just
ANYTHING can happen).  Not one single second have I had any problems
whatsoever with any HP hardware, including disk drives!  I can tell
you that the way the equipment is being handled during air and truck
transportation is just a shame.  So, I very much doubt that just the
placement of the disks near the computers has anything to do with the
problems reported.

I might add that I have used various computers for
scientific/technical applications for more than 20 years (and used
them A LOT!), that I am just an ordinary assistant professor but with
special responsibility for computer soft- and hardware in our
institute (we have non-HP computers too; needless to say, we feel they
are inferior to our HP's :-> ) and that my only connection to HP is
that of being a (quite pleased) user of various HP equipment.

-Bo
-- 
>>> Bo Thide', Swedish Institute of Space Physics, S-755 90 Uppsala, Sweden <<<
 Phone (+46) 18-300020.  Telex: 76036 (IRFUPP S).  UUCP: ..enea!kuling!irfu!bt