Path: utzoo!dptcdc!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tektronix!tekcrl!tekgvs!toma
From: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Cache & Buffers..how many buffers are required?
Message-ID: <4957@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 18 Apr 89 14:23:41 GMT
References: <2082@uwovax.uwo.ca>
Reply-To: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 23

In article <2082@uwovax.uwo.ca> 16012_3705@uwovax.uwo.ca (Jeff Racine) writes:
>	Can anybody offer some insight?  I have been told that if you use a 
>disk caching program then you can reduce the number of buffers specified in
>the `Buffers= ' entry in config.sys.
>	Question:  By how much can you reduce the number?  Is there any way of
>`optimizing' the number of buffers?  S

The ideal number of buffers depends on: 1. CPU Speed 2. Size of cache in
caching program 3. Transfer rate of disk 4. Seek time of disk 5. Disk
organization (is it fragmented?, are executables grouped together, are
directories clustered at start of disk? Number of files in the directories?)
and 6). Your application.

Obviously no blanket statment like "use 5" has any meaning, you gotta do
your own benchmarking.  Time the most disk intensive program, or suite of
programs, you normally use (for me this is a large compile and link).  Try
out different buffer counts and cache sizes (PCTools cache also has a switch
for maximum read size to buffer that can also effect results drastically)
and come to your own conclusions.

Tom Almy
toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com
Standard Disclaimers Apply