[geeks] Well, THAT was a setback

[Phil Stracchino]

On 01/17/10 16:11, der Mouse wrote:
>> I've heard people talk about the Linux TCP stack falling down under
>> heavy load, but never had it happen to me.  Until today.
>> [...]
>> I have never, ever seen that happen before...  I guess I won't be
>> using my LTO2 drive attached this machine *at all*.
> 
> Why not?  Is using something other than Linux, something with a
> reliable TCP stack, not an option for some reason?  Perhaps on another
> machine set up specifically for the purpose?

Well, first of all, this is the first time I have EVER had an issue with
the Linux TCP stack.  I've heard various people claim the Linux TCP
stack isn't reliable, but I've heard a lot of people lay sins at the
feet of Linux (and OpenBSD, and Solaris) that I've never been able to
personally reproduce, so I regarded it as hearsay.

Using something other than Linux on this machine is not an *acceptable*
option.  It's my desktop workstation, and for a variety of reasons -
among which convenience is a major one - Linux is the preferred OS for it.

As for the tape drive, yes, it's going to have to be attached to a
different machine.  It can't go on my main server because (a) that
machine doesn't have SCSI onboard, and (b) more importantly, as noted, I
wouldn't risk operating an LTO2 drive in the environment the rack lives
in because it gets too cold.

With luck, I can arrange to pick up that V120 that David Bryant at
Harvard just offered up for grabs.  I'll have to figure out where
indoors to put it, but that's a solvable problem (and I already have
ideas about solving it).


-- 
  Phil Stracchino, CDK#2     DoD#299792458     ICBM: 43.5607, -71.355
  alaric at caerllewys.net   alaric at metrocast.net   phil at co.ordinate.org
         Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
                 It's not the years, it's the mileage.