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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!newsfeed.internetmci.com!nntp-hub2.barrnet.net!pacbell.com!gw2.att.com!nntphub.cb.att.com!not-for-mail From: dyson@inuxs.inh.att.com (John S. Dyson) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.solaris,comp.unix.aix Subject: Re: ISP hardware/software choices (performance comparison) Date: 18 Jan 1996 16:08:48 GMT Organization: AT&T Lines: 26 Distribution: inet Message-ID: <4dlrag$fmn@nntpb.cb.att.com> References: <4cmopu$d35@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> <4dh52u$1uk@park.uvsc.edu> <4digah$a7r@durban.vector.co.za> <4dklfv$27e@park.uvsc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: inuxs.inh.att.com Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:2031 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:2190 comp.unix.solaris:57661 comp.unix.aix:69060 In article <4dklfv$27e@park.uvsc.edu>, Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org> wrote: > >There are certain undesirable features of BSD that I will >(grudgingly, being a BSD advocate) admit. I haven't brought >up memory overcommit, for instance, because it's a failing of >almost every modern OS -- even though it is mostly correctable. >Even BSD 4.4 and its derivatives. > >Since everyone has it, it's hard to use memory overcommit as >an argument for or against any OS as an ISP platform. > OhOh.. A place where Terry and I disagree. I had a customer using SVR4 where they would have given their first-born for swap space overcommit. Running out of swap-space caused them no-end of problems (and of course, they weren't using it all.) Properly designed overcommit would have helped them out (BTW, the overcommit in FreeBSD is NOT properly designed -- I know, I did the code, and it was partly left over from 4.4Lite.) They could NOT add additional disk -- they had maxed out their configuration. They are also a good (major) customer... I think that allowing properly designed overcommit can give breathing room in many applications. John Dyson