Re: 2 or 4 cpu's running Informix OnLine 7.xx

This applies for applications that are running 4GL's on there 2CPU Box. What about a server that is 2CPU and totally NewEra Apps? The amount of Unix related work will be almost none, except for maybe connections to another engine server (which I presume takes use of UNIX and it's CPU to do this) and administrative functions in the wee hours of the morning. Does implementing this as a mutilple CPU system apply here? What about NewEra Apps that use UNIX C funtions? Are you all trully saying here that, if my server is mostly dedicated to Informix and is 2 CPU, go ahead and tune the engine as a Multi-processor? In doing so, my performance on the Informix engine could improve. I'm using Informix 7.12 on IBM RS6000 (43P), AIX 4.1. I'll be look forward to your comments/experiences on this! Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl Kendricks Internet:cherylk@prod1.jcdc.doleta.gov OR cherylk@gwysmtp.jcdc.doleta.gov DTSI, Inc. Voice: 1-800-598-5008 Database Administrator - DOL Job Corps San Marcos, Texas ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On 9 May 1996, Neal Howard wrote: } In article <319139FE.200C@eds.com>, } Greg Moye <msmcl301.gmoye01@eds.com> wrote: } >Scott Ratliff wrote: } >> } >> dkabrbwj@e-mail.com wrote: } >>snip..... } >> No, that is not true. What is true is that the engine will run slower } >> on a two processor machine if you set MULTIPROCESSOR to 1 (true) and } >> SINGLE_CPU_VP to 0 (false) than if you had set MULTIPROCESSOR to 0 (false) } >> and SINGLE_CPU_VP to 1 (true). IOW, it is slower on a two processor } >> machine to configure the engine for multiprocessing than it is to just } >> tell the engine you only have one. } >> } >> Scott Ratliff } >> Systems Engineer } >> CARS Information Systems Corp. } >> scottr@carsinfo.com } > } >This concept has been bothering me for some time, so I'll wander out on a limb against } >the common wisdom and say "I haven't seen it" (at least on our 2 way Sparc 1000E). } > } >What I see is that 1 CPU VP corresponds to 1 Unix process under Solaris 2.4. If I only } >have one CPU VP, only one CPU runs it, the other one sits there doing nothing. When I } >add the second VP, both physical processors will get busy and throughput improves. } > } >To say that adding the second VP (to use the second processor) introduces so much } >locking/coordination overhead that it's better to just let one physical CPU sit idle } >seems absurd to me and would constitute a sorry implementation on Informix's part. Yes I } >know their manuals say this too. It still just doesn't add up for me. } > } >Is it possible that the behavior I see is related to Solaris (since I haven't seen other } >Unixes in a similar config)??? } > } >-- } >Greg Moye } >Electronic Data Systems Corp. - Plano TX } } In a two-cpu situation, you want that second (apparently idle) CPU to } be running your users' 4GL apps, which hopefully will be talking to } the Online engine via shared memory attachment. :-) } If your machine which is to be running the Online engine is to be } *exclusively* a database server and run absolutely no other software } except for the O/S, then you need to stick with just a very fast } single CPU box, or go directly to at least four CPU's.... and then when you've } got such a big installation that justifies a 4+ CPU SMP unix box, you'll } be running out of network bandwidth. :-) :-) :-) (smileys, lots of smileys) } } } -- } ========================================================================= } = Neal Howard neal@metronet.com '91 XLH-1200 DoD #686 '96 Glastron SL175= } = "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. If Fuzzy Wuzzy = } = had no hair, then Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't Fuzzy, wuz he ?!!!" = } = http://www.flash.net/~neal <-------My home page. = } ========================================================================= }