RE: code optimization was: Trivia: Processor MHz

On Fri, 28 Dec 2001, Hall, Philip wrote:
>
> CPU challenged ? How many concurrent users can a Intel processor with any OS
> (Linux, Windows, BeOS) running at 266Mhz cope with ?
>

(I don't know why I'm reading this thread, but as long as I am...)

An Intel CPU can handle many simultaneous users.   Not under Windows, of
course, but under a good multitasking OS (read: FreeBSD) it can handle
quite a few.

The one example that jumps to mine is Walnut Creek CD-Rom.  They were
bought out by another company, so I don't know what their CURRENT status
is, but a few years ago, they were running 3,600 simultaneous users doing
FTP...  and their server still ran quite fast -- this was on a Pentium
Pro, 200mhz.  Very slow by todays standards...   You could do many
thousands of users on an Intel CPU.  You'd need a LOT of RAM, and very
good disks...

Here's an article about WC's set-up from 2 years ago that you might find
interesting:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9904/08/cdrom.idg/


Here's also info about why Yahoo runs FreeBSD.  Although it doesn't
mention concurrent users, they are able to serve 4 million page requests
per day from each Intel-based PC.  You've gotta figure that's a lot of
concurrent users :)

http://www.viewtouch.com/yahoobsd.html