HP OpenVMS Systems

Better SMP Utilization?

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The Question is:

 
We are currently running VMS 5.5-2 on a VAX 666-620 machine, but would like to
upgrqade in order to better utilize the 4 processors currently running on the
system.  Will VMS version 7.1 run on a VAX 6000-620, or is it required to run on
an Alpha machine? , I.e., can we keep the 6000-620, or will we need to upgrade
to the Alpha architecture?
 

The Answer is :

 
  OpenVMS VAX operates on and supports the VAX 6000 series systems,
  among other VAX, MicroVAX, VAXserver, and VAXstation systems.
 
  OpenVMS Alpha operates on and supports systems based on the
  Alpha architecture.
 
  For information on the supported platforms for any particular
  OpenVMS release, please see the OpenVMS Software Product
  Description (SPD).  Pointers to the SPD are in the FAQ.
 
  Better SMP utilization is not strictly a question of the operating
  system, it is also a question of the system environment and the
  local applications.  For example, a single-threaded single-process
  application will only run as fast as the speed of a single
  processor -- an upgrade that adds more processors to such an
  environment will succeed in improving performance only to the
  extent of clearing or otherwise reducing contention that might
  be slowing the single-threaded application.  Multi-process
  applications and mixed environments (timeshare and batch, etc)
  can and do benefit from adding processors, due to the ability
  to schedule processes in parallel.
 
  And of course, if the application is already running at the
  capacity of the CPU(s), you will want to look at reducing the
  overhead and optimizing the system and the applications, or
  you will want to add performance (via faster VAX processors
  or via a migration to OpenVMS Alpha).
 
  For information on system tuning, see the OpenVMS documentation.
 

  

     

     
answer written or last revised on ( 7-APR-2000 )
     
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