mikem+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Meyer) (06/18/91)
I have a Decstation 5000/200PX and I'm trying to use Xtm2d, but I am bitterly disappointed. So far I have had the server hang about 3 times a day. I've also discovered that several applications run REALLY slowly -- its as if the server is paging for about a minute (yes I mean a minute) before any actions occur. I've checked and there is no significant disk activity -- the server just seems to be very slow on some operations. The same applications run very well on my B/W decstation 3100, using either DEC or MIT servers. Have I installed something incorrectly (if I have, then a loaner machine from Dec had the same problem). Is there any other X server I can use. I'm finding it very hard to get any work done on this machine. Regards, Mike Meyer
reha@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Reha Elci) (06/18/91)
In article <scLD1RW00VRUA2ZJ4n@andrew.cmu.edu> mikem+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Meyer) writes: >I have a Decstation 5000/200PX and I'm trying to use Xtm2d, but I am >bitterly disappointed. So far I have had the server hang about 3 times >Mike Meyer This seems unusual. I am in an environment of about 10 5000/2000PX's and they are quite reliable & fast. I do image & pixmap manipulations and do tons of XFillPolygon stuff which really separates good servers from bad ones. I have had NO problems with the server so far. This maybe a memory/swap allocation problem. How many megabytes of memory do you have? Do an /etc/pstat -s frequently and see what the system state is. Failing all that, there may be something wrong with hardware. I have been in production with them for about 8 months or so with no such problems. Reha Elci
mattf@cac.washington.edu (Matthew Freedman) (06/18/91)
In article <scLD1RW00VRUA2ZJ4n@andrew.cmu.edu> mikem+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Meyer) writes: >I have a Decstation 5000/200PX and I'm trying to use Xtm2d, but I am >bitterly disappointed. So far I have had the server hang about 3 times >a day. I've also discovered that several applications run REALLY >slowly -- its as if the server is paging for about a minute (yes I mean >a minute) before any actions occur. I've checked and there is no >significant disk activity -- the server just seems to be very slow on >some operations. The same applications run very well on my B/W >decstation 3100, using either DEC or MIT servers. I have had similar, though not quite as bad, problems with Xtm2d. My server has only hung about once a week. I have plenty of RAM (72 Meg), so at least I don't have a paging problem. My "knowledgeable" DEC customer support person told me that all my problems would be solved with Ultrix 4.2, because that would have an R4 server. As we now know, Ultrix 4.2 includes R4 servers only for the regular 5000 and 3100, not for the PX or PXG. The version of Xtm2d that comes with Ultrix 4.2 seems indistinguishable from the old one. If you want to see how bad Xtm2d really is, try setting a 1280x1024 color GIF in the root window (or run xmartin if you don't have a big GIF laying around). Opening or closing a window (under mwm) will suddenly take up to 10 seconds or more (with *no* swapping going on). What I have gathered from the people at DEC is that the problem is due to the 2-D accelerator (I use the term loosely). Apparently it speeds up vector graphics tremendously, but slows down image manipulation to slower than a 3100. I was told this is because there is a single block of devoted memory, exactly 1280x1024x8 bits for drawing in, and the rest of RAM is innaccessible for bitmap manipulation. Besides the slow down, this also means you can not run any program that creates pixmaps larger than 1280x1024. Can someone out there provide more detail on this hardware problem? In addition to the hardware problem, there are some unspecified problems with the X-server that compound the issue. I would just return the machine, and have DEC give me a vanilla 5000 instead, except that I *really* like the 1280x1024 monitor. It is much sharper, and has much more real-estate than the one on the 3100 that we replaced. Does anybody know if it is possible to pull out the accelerator (for use as a paper weight), and turn a PX into straight 5000, which could run the new XR4 server, but still use the jumbo monitor? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = Matthew M. Freedman = = U. of Washington Information Systems mattf@cac.washington.edu = = 4545 15th Ave. NE; 4th Floor (206) 543-5593 = = Seattle, WA 98105 = -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
mikem+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Meyer) (06/18/91)
Excerpts from netnews.comp.unix.ultrix: 17-Jun-91 Re: Xtm2d? Does it work Reha Elci@cunixf.cc.colu (829) > In article <scLD1RW00VRUA2ZJ4n@andrew.cmu.edu> mikem+@andrew.cmu.edu > (Michael Meyer) writes: > >I have a Decstation 5000/200PX and I'm trying to use Xtm2d, but I am > >bitterly disappointed. So far I have had the server hang about 3 times > >Mike Meyer I meant to add that I'm using Ultrix 4.2, fresh from the tape on a brand new machine.