NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/comp/sys/dec/5885

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-09 | 1.9 KB

Xref: sparky comp.sys.dec:5885 comp.os.vms:17773
Path: sparky!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!slcs.slb.com!BRYDON@128.58.42.3
From: [e-mail] (Harvey Brydon [phone])
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec,comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: alpha memory requirements (vs vax) ?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 10 Nov 92 13:00:48 GMT
References: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (News Administrator)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Schlumberger/Anadrill Sugar Land, TX
Lines: 23
Nntp-Posting-Host: 129.87.186.2

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Brent
Sterner) writes:
>   Just curious about memory demands for alpha.  I'm running a VAX 4500
>with 128 MB memory.  Of that, SHO MEM tells me "38393 pages are permanently
>allocated to VMS".  How big is VMS on an alpha system?  (Perhaps someone with
>an alpha could post the last line from SHO MEM, though it might be misleading
>if there is a lot of dbugging code still in place.  Perhaps someone inside
>DEC has a non-debugging system they could use.)  Is there a rule of thumb for
>typical programs ("alpha memory needs"/"vax memory needs" ~= "constant")?
>[...]

You could apply Amdahl's law which says that a machine executing one
instruction per second needs one byte of memory and one byte/second I/O
bandwidth.  In 'real' machine terms, a 10 MIPS system should have about 10
Megabytes of memory and 10 MB/sec I/O bandwidth.  This is a rule of thumb.
Modern processors and memory prices what they are, you will do better with a
bit more memory.  Now, what is the MIPS rating of a Flamingo?

The debate of MIPS/VUPS/Specs has already been beaten to death, thanks...
_______________________________________________________________
Harvey Brydon         | Internet:   [e-mail]
Dowell Schlumberger   | P.O.T.S.:   [phone]
   "MIPS" is singular.  "MIPSes" is plural.