[lug] hard drive speeds

[Jeffrey B. Siegal]

"Harris, James A (Jim)" wrote:
> Ultra-2 is (correct me if I'm
> wrong) 10 or 20MB/sec faster than Ultra-wide.

Ultra2 (which is also wide) is 80MB/sec.  Ultra-wide is 40MB/sec.

A few other random thoughts:

I agree with the other reply that said the best solution, if feasible, is to
have enough RAM and not swap.  The performance difference between RAM and even
the fastest disk is dramatic.

There are 14000 RPM drives available, I think.  Not sure if there is anything
faster.

Yes, SCSI generally has better throughput than IDE.

Larger capacity drives (from the same family) are usually faster than smaller
ones.  Compare specs.  The higher capacity drives will usually have the same
seek times and faster transfer rates. 

Usually the lower sector numbers (which usually correspond to the ouside edge of
the platter) are faster than the higher numbers (inside).  Partition the drive
and put the most performance-sensitive data in the first partition.  This also
reduces seek time (as long as the other partitions are not being actively used
at the same time).

I'm not sure I would put more than two high end drives on a single SCSI bus.