*BSD News Article 62581


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From: nate@trout.sri.MT.net (Nate Williams)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Multi-Processor Support for FreeBSD
Date: 29 Feb 1996 00:05:23 GMT
Organization: SRI Intl. - Montana Operations
Lines: 37
Message-ID: <4h2qk3$49v@helena.MT.net>
References: <4gl985$8vn@news1.usa.pipeline.com> <4gogl8$qg7@agate.berkeley.edu>
Reply-To: "Nate Williams" <nate@sneezy.sri.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: trout.sri.mt.net

In article <4gogl8$qg7@agate.berkeley.edu>,
Nick Kralevich <nickkral@america.CS.Berkeley.EDU> wrote:
>In article <4gl985$8vn@news1.usa.pipeline.com>,
>Rick Windham <dr_techno@usa.pipeline.com> wrote:
>>I've seen a couple of nice two processor Pentium PCI mother-boards 
>>available and would like to take advantage of them.  If there is anyone 
>>currently working on this please send me some mail so I can get involved. 
>
>If your looking for a FreeBSD only solution, then you should read
>some of the other followups to your question.
>
>However, if you are just looking for an operating system to use on a
>multiprocessor pentium board, then I suggest that you take a look at
>Linux.  Linux has had support for multiple processors for more than half
>a year now.  

While I *hate* to disagree with Linux enthusiasts at every turn, I must
jump in here.

Linux hasn't had public multi-processor support for even 3 months now,
unless you consider Alan Cox's early code.  Alan and I had a
conversation in late November last year about him limping along with SMP
code.  Even now, SMP stuff doesn't work robustly.

If you want to consider the Linux code 'robust', then FreeBSD has had
the same level of robustness since July of last year.  But, IMHO the
code in Linux and FreeBSD is only useful to folks who are hacking on SMP
code. :)



Nate
-- 
nate@sneezy.sri.com    | Research Engineer, SRI Intl. - Montana Operations
nate@trout.sri.MT.net  | Loving life in God's country, the great state of
work #: (406) 449-7662 | Montana.
home #: (406) 443-7063 | A fly pole and a 4x4 Chevy truck = Heaven on Earth