ambar@ora.ora.com (Jean Marie Diaz) (10/23/90)
System Performance Tuning
New Nutshell Handbook, by Mike Loukides
System Performance Tuning answers one of the most fundamental
questions you can ask about a computer: "How can I get it to do more
work without buying more hardware?" Anyone who has ever used a
computer has periodically wished that the system was faster,
particularly at times when it was under heavy load.
This book takes a holistic approach to system performance, for all
UNIX system administrators.
There are no simple solutions to performance problems. Virtually any
change you make in your system's configuration will have side-effects:
solving one performance problem may create another. Without an
understanding of performance as a whole and how programs compete for
the system's resources, you won't be able to manage performance
effectively; you will only be pushing the problem from one part of the
system to another. Performance tuning always involves compromises
and, unless you know what the compromises are, you won't be able to
make intelligent decisions. Sometimes you will be able to solve a
performance problem by changing your system's configuration.
Sometimes, the most effective solution to a performance problem is
simply education: when your system's users know more efficient ways of
doing their work, the performance problems will disappear. And
sometimes, you just have to buy more hardware.
If your system gets sluggish when you start a big job, if you feel
like you spend hours waiting for remote file access to complete, if
your system stops dead when several users are active at the same time,
you need to read this book. Some performance problems require you to
buy a bigger or a faster computer, but many can be solved by making
better use of the resources you already have.
There is no comprehensive treatment of system performance tuning in
any of the standard UNIX manual sets. Users, and even many
experienced administrators, aren't aware of the steps they can take to
improve overall performance.
Topics covered include:
- Real and perceived performance problems
- Simple tricks to improve keyboard response
- Locating your problem; finding out what your system is doing
- Using tools like at, batch, and NQS to manage system load
- How to survive without a lot of memory
- How to configure your I/O system for the best throughput
- Detecting an overworked or malfunctioning network
- Kernel configuration
The book focuses on release 4.3 of Berkeley UNIX and the 386/IX
version of System V release 3. It pays significant attention to
SunOS, the newest release of System V (V.4), and XENIX.
About the Author:
Mike Loukides is the newest member of the O'Reilly editorial staff.
He previously worked at Multiflow Computer, where he created all of
Multiflow's documentation on programming languages. He has a BS in
Electrical Engineering and a PhD in English Literature.
The book will be available in early to mid November. We will have
several advance copies at UNIX Expo in New York, booth number 102.
ISBN 0-937175-60-9, 230 pages, $24.95
AMBAR
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