[lug] Software/compiler issues w/dual CPU's

[Sexton, George]

I have dealt with "TONS" of smp under linux and never encountered an
application that would not run correctly because it was multi-cpu.

Totally bogus point.

Here is the real deal on SMP. If you write a multi-threaded application, and
only test it on uni-processor you will probably not find bugs in your code.
When the code is run on SMP machines, things MAY mysteriously break. Again,
this only applies if you are writing multi-threaded code. This isn't because
SMP causes problems, but because a multi-threaded application's dynamics
change when run on an SMP machine.

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us [mailto:lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us]On
Behalf Of Gary Hodges
Sent: 25 June, 2002 8:58 AM
To: lug at lug.boulder.co.us
Subject: Re: [lug] Software/compiler issues w/dual CPU's


Here is another comment from a colleague:

: It's just that, one of the best reasons for going with
: Linux on intel (or intel-ish) is easy access to binary
: programs.  If a dual proc either can't run the majority
: of binaries out there, or can run them but won't be
: using the 2nd proc, then we might as well just get a
: single.

Is the above a valid point?

GH


Gary Hodges wrote:
>
> We are planning on putting together a Linux machine here so folks can
> "test the water" so to speak.  Since I've built a few Linux machines for
> myself, I've been tasked with putting this one together.  I was planning
> on building a dual CPU machine, and some issues have just been raised by
> a colleague.  Namely, will a dual CPU machine introduce compiler issues
> that our users will have to overcome when porting code?  gcc, fortran,
> S-Plus (if available for Linux), and IDL are the main languages used
> here.
>
> In simplistic terms, I was under the impression that a dual CPU machine
> just made everything faster.  If there are specific issues that must be
> considered when coding on a MP machine, we'll likely stay with a single
> CPU.
>
> Gary
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