[net.unix-wizards] Disk/Tape Request Size Questions

stone@sheba.UUCP (stone) (08/14/86)

What limits exist on the size of single transfers
to/from disk and tape (tape block size) in the Unix
world, and elsewhere.

What effects on performance are there for using larger
size transfers (i.e. do other requests pay a penalty
while a large transfer is being serviced)?

What are appropriate limits (if any)?

For example our system (Arete A1000 SYS V.2.2) currently
supports up to 16k for tape blocks and up to 256k for disk transfers.

David Stone
Arete Systems
!sun!arete!stone or
!ihnp4!hplabs!hpspdla!sheba!stone

judah@whuxcc.UUCP (Judah Greenblatt) (08/16/86)

> What limits exist on the size of single transfers
> to/from disk and tape (tape block size) in the Unix
> world, and elsewhere.

The maximum tape block size for Unix machines I have used:
AT&T 3B20	6K max,  5632 byte recommended
Pyramid 98x 	30K max
CCI Power 6/32	32K max, 16K recommended

> What effects on performance are there for using larger
> size transfers (i.e. do other requests pay a penalty
> while a large transfer is being serviced)?

On the CCI, transfers of over 16K bytes at 6250 BPI disable interrupts
overly long, causing the system to loose clock interrupts.
-- 
Judah Greenblatt		"Backward into the Future!"
Bell Communications Research	uucp: {bellcore,infopro,ihnp4}!whuxcc!judah
Morristown, New Jersey, USA	arpa: whuxcc!judah@mouton.com
  * Opinions expressed are my own, and not those of the management.