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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yarrina.connect.com.au!classic.iinet.com.au!news.uoregon.edu!usenet.eel.ufl.edu!news.mathworks.com!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!in1.uu.net!news.acadia.net!bhb17.acadia.net!user From: gary@first.acadia.net (Gary Robinson) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: "An HTTP software server can pummel a CPU..." Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 14:09:03 -0500 Organization: First Software, Inc. Lines: 28 Message-ID: <gary-1309951409030001@bhb17.acadia.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: bhb17.acadia.net Hello, From an InfoWorld 6/19/95 article: "An HTTP software server can pummel a CPU, because there's no mechanism in any existing server to control the amount of processor time allotted. Ten users doing SQL questies, for instance, might bring the system to a standstill while users trying to receive static pages wait." This is very surprising to me. I used to use Concurrent DOS, where one could set priorities for different processes. If a high-priority process was waiting for the CPU, it would get it before lower-priority processes. I'm pretty sure OS/2 has this capability too. But the above quote seems to imply that Unix does not. (I haven't ever used Unix.) Otherwise, why couldn't one simply set the HTTP daemon to a higher priority than the SQL tasks? [ Now that I think of it, I maybe I do remember hearing before that Unix didn't allow priorities ]. Am I correct in what I'm saying here??? Thanks in advance, Gary Robinson President First Software, Inc.