ndeng@EULER.BERKELEY.EDU (10/14/89)
Hi netters,
A friend of mine is about to make a big dicision in updating his company's
computer system and asked me for some advice. Since I am not very familiar
with large systems, I just post his questions on the net for help.
Basically, what he needs is a UNIX based
network for about 20 engineers to develop FORTRAN and C programs, (Finite
elements, fluid mechanics, etc.) and needs some number crunching power.
For most of the time, the jobs are software developing so the CPU power
required is not very demanding. But sometimes he may need to get results
very fast from running big programs (Mainly matrix operations).
He is currently not sure whether he should go the 386-PC line to buy some
20-30 386s and connect them via ethernet, or go SUN/DEC line to buy some
20 SUN/4 or DEC-3100 and connect them together. Or even buy a supermini
computer with some 20-30 terminals. The basic reason to consider 386-PC
is that 386PC is relatively cheap, and offer more flexibility. But SUN or
DEC are well established UNIX workstations, through they charge a lot and
softwares are more difficult to obtain. Supermini will cost a fortune and
is even more difficult to maintain.
Could anybody who has experience as system manager or similar job share
his/her experience about the following questions?
---- Are 386 UNIX mature enough to be connected into a network? If so,
which flavor of UNIX would be the best choice? If not, what are the
major problems/weak points? Does one need to buy 20 copies of the same
package or just one copy but with "unlimited site license"? How about
all other softwares? Any special problems in buildup the network? Will
you recommend a "best configuration"?
---- Is there any acceleration board available for 386 under UNIX? Especially for performance over 3 MFLOPS. MicroWay's QuarterPuter works only for
DOS, Sky's VORTEX works for DOS, too. (Through I don't know if they
developed newer board to support unix or not). For acceleration board
I mean to plug in a 25/33MHz 386 machine. Since these machines alone
even with a WEITEK are not fast enough.
---- Do you have any recommendation/comment on a SUN or DEC2100/3100 based
network? In your opinion, what is the best configuration? (say memory
/file server/hard disk /tape backup/dummy terminals, etc.) Are there
any problems which need special attention? Also, for
about 20 machines, How big a server is big enough? (330MB, 660MB, or
1.2GB?)
Please reply by email to this account to save band width. If enough interest
is generated, I will post a summary. Thanks in advance.
ndeng@euler.berkeley.edurcd@ico.ISC.COM (Dick Dunn) (10/17/89)
ndeng@EULER.BERKELEY.EDU writes: > A friend of mine is about to make a big dicision in updating his company's > computer system... Basically, what he needs is a UNIX based > network for about 20 engineers to develop FORTRAN and C programs, (Finite > elements, fluid mechanics, etc.) and needs some number crunching power. > For most of the time, the jobs are software developing so the CPU power > required is not very demanding... >...He is currently not sure whether he should go the 386-PC line... [or buy Sun4, DEC 3100, or supermini with terminals] Here are some general comments, which might stimulate discussion about site configurations of more general interest than the original inquiries (which is why I'm posting instead of mailing). Why not go for a combination? The 386 boxes are, as you point out, some- what cheaper. For most of what you need to do, they'll suffice. Then you can get a smaller number of high-end workstations and/or compute servers. How about using moderate 386 boxes (20 MHz) for most, and putting the money you save into a substantial compute server--something like an M/2000. You'll still have enough local power to do development and a reasonable amount of testing/checkout (which may require small "real data" runs) before moving over to the big compute engine. Think about the savings in having an easily-shared compute server. A mixed environment has mixed blessings, of course. It takes a little bit of attention to keep programs portable, and this may make things take a tad longer up front. However, you'll uncover portability problems sooner and you'll be able to fix them with less pain. In the long run this may save you money. (Obviously if you're open to choice of platform, you've had to give some thought to moving programs already.) > ---- Are 386 UNIX mature enough to be connected into a network?... Yes. That's how we use them--our day-to-day use has an assortment of 386's, VAXen, Suns, and others all connected via Ethernet. -- Dick Dunn rcd@ico.isc.com uucp: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd (303)449-2870 ...No DOS. UNIX.