Linux Server/Desktop Kernel

Story: Linux: DeskOpt, "Completely Unfair Scheduling"Total Replies: 11
Author Content
Abe

Sep 06, 2007
10:23 AM EDT
That is how one differentiates Linux Server Kernel from a desktop one. Not by having different releases, but tools like this one to help tweak /proc parameters.

Bob_Robertson

Sep 06, 2007
10:56 AM EDT
I thought that's what "nice" was for.
Abe

Sep 06, 2007
11:14 AM EDT
Quoting:I thought that's what "nice" was for.


I was not [edited] aware that "Nice" collected statistics and gave recommendations, does it?

Any how, if it does, more sophisticated tools are needed to do a better job on collecting info over a long period of time, at least for server tuning.

gus3

Sep 07, 2007
9:12 PM EDT
How does "nice" adjust filesystem buffer sizes and network parameters? These two categories are the first place I would look to tune differently for desktop and server setups.
Bob_Robertson

Sep 08, 2007
3:28 AM EDT
The "desktop" vs. "server" has been touted heavily during the scheduler argu^H^H^H^Hdiscussions recently.

Abe

Sep 08, 2007
5:56 AM EDT
Quoting:The "desktop" vs. "server" has been touted heavily during the scheduler
That is why I posted Bob. The script mentioned in the article is what I was debating for in the thread you mention. Other posters were thought having two different releases of the kernel instead. In my opinion, that is not necessary.

Such tools could tune the performance of the kernel by tailoring parameters based on statistics collected over a period of time. The tailoring will also take the hardware resource available in consideration. I didn't come up with this idea, it was a very helpful implementation on the VAX/VMS for a very long time.

dinotrac

Sep 08, 2007
6:01 AM EDT
>I didn't come up with this idea,

I used to be a perfomance guy in mainframe shops. We could tweak those old machines to within an inch of their lives, an important consideration for $100 million dollar systems.

I cannot do with Linux what I used to do with mainframes, however, because Linux does not offer anywhere near the control that the old mainframe systems did.

That, I think, is the problem:

Are adequate tools/settings available in Linuxland (or Unixland) to do the job adequately well? I don't think they are, but, as always, I could be wrong. I would be delighted to learn more than I know.
Abe

Sep 08, 2007
7:02 AM EDT
Quoting:I cannot do with Linux what I used to do with mainframes, however, because Linux does not offer anywhere near the control that the old mainframe systems did.

That, I think, is the problem:
Linux might not have what mainframes did, on the other hand, Linux hasn't been around as the long as the mainframe.

Also, recent Linux is more flexible and sophisticated than it has been, especially after IBM joined efforts with Red Hat & Suse to improve Linux for their main frame. I expect that to continue and become more valued technique to get the best out of expensive hardware.

Parameter tuning is more effective and valued on the server than desktop. Mainframe operations tend to be more consistent in their functionality, desktops are more erratic since they are more interactive event driven.

dinotrac

Sep 08, 2007
7:17 AM EDT
>since they are more interactive event driven.

Bingo.
gus3

Sep 08, 2007
8:25 AM EDT
OT:

Abe, I noticed you edited your first comment here without losing the formatting. How did you do that? I tried both with and without HTML, and I still lost all my paragraph breaks.

Edit: Testing Abe's following comment.
Abe

Sep 08, 2007
8:42 AM EDT
Quoting:I noticed you edited your first comment here without losing the formatting.
I did nothing special. Keep in mind that when you edit, you lose formatting during preview only. When you continue, all the formatting "magically" appear. I just ignore the preview state when editing.

gus3

Sep 08, 2007
10:33 AM EDT
Yup, OK. I was afraid to edit comments earlier, because the preview was busted.

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