agutter@cs.vu.nl (Gutter A) (04/04/91)
I am considering a LAN configuration of about ten MS-DOS PCs (286s) connected via an ethernet network to a 386 UNIX server. The main use of the server will be file service using NFS (PC-NFS on the PCs). My question is, is it is worth it, in terms of performance, to spend extra money on the hardware configuration of the server. The main issues being considered are: (1) Bus: ISA versus EISA. Does this give any significant improvement on the network performance? How about the availability of ethernet cards that make efficient use of EISA. What are the implications on the hard disk performance? (2) Hard disk: ESDI versus SCSI. What are the implications on the performance? Are there any other advantages? (3) Processor: 386/33MHz versus 486/25MHz. Does this give any improvements, or are network access or disk access already the limiting factor? Any information, experience or references will be appreciated. Arnold Gutter.