386/486, well configured: HOW MANY USERS?

[Warren Tucker]

In article <22232 at abcom.ATT.COM> brr at abcom.ATT.COM (Rao) writes:
>	Given:
>		386/33 Mhz or 486/25Mhz
>			16 Mb RAM
>			32 or 64 K cache
>			150+ Mb HD

300 to 500 Mb of disk matches the rest of your configuration.
Unix will want 80-120Mb just for system software (including man
pages).

>			2 floppies

Take out one floppy and throw it away from you as hard as you can
(preferably back onto the supplier's shelf) and replace it with a
60 or 80 Mb tape.  Avoid Irwin Magnetics like the Bubonic Plague
(beware, as they OEM to a lot of middlemen purveyors of the crap).

>			Ethernet
>			SCSI Adapter for HD (Adaptec or similar).
>
>			Interactive  Unix or similar

   SCO is _much_ easier to configure and administer.
   The C2 Trusted Computer features are for neurotics, paranoids,
left-brains, or worse yet government control freaks.  Not recommended
for sane human beings.

>			NFS + X11 + TCP/IP + Dev Sys
For X11, RAM, RAM, RAM and disk.

How about serial ports?  I highly recommend Digiboard 8 port boards.
Two of them will really do you right.

>	Q:
>		How many users can such a setup handle (efficiently)
>	    I would like to know what else I need to make such
>		I need to make it support 15 simultaneous users.

The 386/20 I have keeps me happy.  Without bragging, I can
certify I keep it as busy as 4 users would at at times. 
A 19200 baud and a 9600 UUCP session, two makes, a pathalias run
and a couple of editor sessions all get along pretty good.

I don't know about commercial applications, but for development,
the 386/33 should do nicely, but if you can wangle it, go for
the 486.

Arer the 15 users going to all share the same processor?  What
is the ethernet for? X terminals?  NFS, TCP/IP indicates you
plan to use other machines (duh, really?).
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Warren Tucker,  Mountain Park, Georgia ...!gatech!kd4nc!n4hgf!wht 
Hacker Extraordinaire d' async PADs, pods, proteins and protocols
Tridom Corporation, VSAT communications leader, an ATT subsidiary