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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mira.net.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!metro!metro!asstdc.scgt.oz.au!nsw.news.telstra.net!act.news.telstra.net!psgrain!news.uoregon.edu!csulb.edu!news.sgi.com!enews.sgi.com!news.mathworks.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!newsfeed.pitt.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!sumner+ From: G Sumner Hayes <sumner+@CMU.EDU> Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.solaris Subject: Re: Benchmarking different Unix Operating Systems Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 15:08:05 -0400 Organization: Misc. student, Mathematics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 35 Distribution: inet Message-ID: <0mBksJ200YUg0AqQY0@andrew.cmu.edu> References: <aak2.842008017@Isis.MsState.Edu> <50p41e$1ie@nnrp1.news.primenet.com> <32305b37.590852758@news.intellistar.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: po7.andrew.cmu.edu In-Reply-To: <32305b37.590852758@news.intellistar.net> Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:27102 comp.os.linux.misc:128555 comp.unix.solaris:82249 shaworth@intellistar.net (Stephen Haworth) writes: > This site you refer to does the comparison on an Intel PC platform. > Let's see what kind of results we would get if we ran "efficiency" > tests on a machine which was actually designed to run Unix. > > For the casual Unix user, Linux on a PC would probably be fine. For a > UNIX professional, you can't beat Solaris on an Ultra-Sparc. There > are MANY other considerations other than some random speed tests run > on a PC. How about security, scalability, and robustness of the OS?? Well, I'd have to say that in any case you absolutely, positively _do_ _not_ want to go with Solaris. It is _much_ less stable than HPUX, SunOS, Ultrix, NetBSD, and Linux. In particular, CMU has a cluster of about 30 Ultras running Solaris and 15 Sparc 5's running Solaris; I see, on average, one kernel panic every 6-8 hours. That's one kernel panic every 315 machine hours or so, under very light load (single user). I've seen only 1 kernel panic on the HP's (not sure which make, fairly new) in the cluster next door. That's about 60 hours of time for 25 HPs, or 1 kp every 1500 machine hours. I have yet to see Ultrix go south (possibly because it doesn't do anything useful). The Linux cluster is likewise very stable, on par with the HPs. Of course, before CMU switched to Solaris they were running SunOS on a bunch (30-50) of Sparc 5s. I never saw a kernel panic on those. Lest you think that this is a local configuration problem, I've seen similar results (with Solaris) at a local software design house and a local engineering firm. I could never recommend Solaris to a client in my capacity as a computer consultant; I could recommend nearly any other mainstream commercial Unix, or Linux, or one of the BSDs, depending on the needs of the client. TTFN, Sumner