Return-Path: X-Sieve: cmu-sieve 2.0 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ece.cmu.edu (8.11.0/8.10.2) id h3EFDr114076 for ips-outgoing; Mon, 14 Apr 2003 11:13:53 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: ece.cmu.edu: majordom set sender to owner-ips@ece.cmu.edu using -f Received: from mail15.messagelabs.com (mail15.messagelabs.com [63.210.62.243]) by ece.cmu.edu (8.11.0/8.10.2) with SMTP id h3EFDl314068 for ; Mon, 14 Apr 2003 11:13:47 -0400 (EDT) X-VirusChecked: Checked X-Env-Sender: rsnively@Brocade.COM X-Msg-Ref: server-27.tower-15.messagelabs.com!1050332528!24563 Received: (qmail 5035 invoked from network); 14 Apr 2003 15:02:08 -0000 Received: from sj6-b.brocade.com (HELO discus.brocade.com) (63.121.140.220) by server-27.tower-15.messagelabs.com with SMTP; 14 Apr 2003 15:02:08 -0000 Received: from hq-ex-c3.brocade.com (hq-ex-c3.brocade.com [192.168.126.211]) by discus.brocade.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 588514F606; Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:05:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: by hq-ex-c3.brocade.com with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) id <2V4ZDXRH>; Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:06:53 -0700 Message-ID: From: Robert Snively To: "'Russell Lewis'" , ips@ece.cmu.edu Subject: RE: Are there any coming iSCSI HBAs? Preferably at 100Mb speed? Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:06:51 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C30297.7AAE0CD0" Sender: owner-ips@ece.cmu.edu Precedence: bulk This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. ------_=_NextPart_001_01C30297.7AAE0CD0 Content-Type: text/plain My experience with diskless workstations is that they are limited by paging activity and background updating to really unacceptable performance, even in simple word-processing programs like frame maker doing medium sized books, and even on a local 10 Mb/s network. You are far better off running a workstation with a local disk for system and swap, but running dataless. NFS or comparable networking programs run fine for that. The local caching of the files on disk and in memory assure adequate performance, while the maintenance of your data remotely assures appropriate centralized data management and backup. Remember too, that it is a rare broadband connection that gives you anything approaching 100 Mb/s. A T1 DSL link is specified at 1.54 Mb/s, and it is the fastest of the common broadband links. In addition, there is nothing more frustrating than being unable to operate because your link is down or severely congested, something that happens far more often than the unavailability of a local disk. My view? iSCSI is not an appropriate protocol for home networking data access. Use your IDE or SATA drive locally for boot, swap, system, and any hot programs and use NFS or other remote file access program against a remote server for data and other programs. Bob Snively 408-333-8135 rsnively@brocade.com > -----Original Message----- > From: Russell Lewis [mailto:russelll@us.ibm.com] > Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:25 AM > To: ips@ece.cmu.edu > Subject: Are there any coming iSCSI HBAs? Preferably at 100Mb speed? > > > > > > > Does anybody know of any current or coming iSCSI HBAs which > show up (to the > BIOS) as ordinary SCSI adapters? I'd like to drop such an HBA into a > legacy computer and run a totally diskless workstation at home. > > However, since it will be a home computer, I'm willing to > operate at 100Mb > speed - I'm willing to eat the performance hit. It seems to me that > somebody could make an iSCSI HBA with a 100Mb interface and make it > affordable for the home user (say, $50-$100). Anybody know > of such plans? > > ------_=_NextPart_001_01C30297.7AAE0CD0 Content-Type: text/html RE: Are there any coming iSCSI HBAs? Preferably at 100Mb speed?

My experience with diskless workstations is that
they are limited by paging activity and background
updating to really unacceptable performance, even in
simple word-processing programs like frame maker
doing medium sized books, and even on a local 10 Mb/s
network.

You are far better off running a workstation with
a local disk for system and swap, but running
dataless.  NFS or comparable networking programs
run fine for that.  The local caching of the files
on disk and in memory assure adequate performance, while
the maintenance of your data remotely assures
appropriate centralized data management and backup.

Remember too, that it is a rare broadband connection
that gives you anything approaching 100 Mb/s.  A T1 DSL link
is specified at 1.54 Mb/s, and it is the fastest of the
common broadband links.

In addition, there is nothing more frustrating than being
unable to operate because your link is down or severely
congested, something that happens far more often than the
unavailability of a local disk.

My view?  iSCSI is not an appropriate protocol for home
networking data access.  Use your IDE or SATA drive locally
for boot, swap, system, and any hot programs and use
NFS or other remote file access program against a remote
server for data and other programs.

Bob Snively
408-333-8135
rsnively@brocade.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Russell Lewis [mailto:russelll@us.ibm.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:25 AM
> To: ips@ece.cmu.edu
> Subject: Are there any coming iSCSI HBAs? Preferably at 100Mb speed?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Does anybody know of any current or coming iSCSI HBAs which
> show up (to the
> BIOS) as ordinary SCSI adapters?  I'd like to drop such an HBA into a
> legacy computer and run a totally diskless workstation at home.
>
> However, since it will be a home computer, I'm willing to
> operate at 100Mb
> speed - I'm willing to eat the performance hit.  It seems to me that
> somebody could make an iSCSI HBA with a 100Mb interface and make it
> affordable for the home user (say, $50-$100).  Anybody know
> of such plans?
>
>

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