SuperMicro H8SSL-i (ServerWorks HT1000) -- JMR SATAStor 6x2.5" in 1x5.25" array

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sun, 2005-12-04 at 20:05 -0500, Peter Arremann wrote:
> I was hoping your mom had tought you basic manners. Too bad I seem to be 
> wrong. No matter how much you wish it was ok - if you can not make your point 
> with arguments, name calling is NOT an acceptable backup method. 

Peter, you do this on every list you're on with me.

> And just the point that you use the words "48-bit PAE mode" shows that you 
> eventually realized that I was right. Thank you that you stopped using works 
> like PAE52 that you made up yourself and now use the standard terms. 

[ SIDE NOTE:  I meant 52-bit PAE mode (48-bit is the virtual
addressing). ]

I'm NOT the first person to differentiate and abbreviate PAE as PAE36
and PAE52.  I've seen AMD engineers use that too in their slides.  In
fact, if you look around, I've seen it stated as "PA52" as well.  Some
put spaces in between.  Some put dashes.

In a nutshell, most people don't talk about it on the Internet, largely
because they are ignorant -- but it's clearly in the AMD manuals.  You
don't have to know that AMD's PAE mode is 52-bit from a programmer's
standpoint, you just have to know PAE needs to be enabled.

This _will_ become important when AMD breaks the 48-bit "address
barrier" in their next 64-bit design though.  That too is in the AMD
programmer's manuals.

> -- I will not respond to anything that I said above -- 
> so for those that care and want to form their own opinion the thread is here:
> http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos/2005-June/007544.html
> (Hope I won't get in trouble for posting a centos mailing list link on a 
> fedora list) 

The thing is that you nit-pick from a standpoint of ignorance.

PA[E] 52-bit is the current 64-bit mode that current AMD processors use.
It is PA[E] 36-bit compatible, but legacy PAE capable processors do not
use it.  That's why I differentiate from them.

> But to stay on the off-topic topic:
> I fail to see how the fact that a disk has a multiple of xxx capacity makes it 
> better than another that has multiple of yyy GB? 

Dude, they roll off _different_ assembly lines using _different_ fabs.
That's why they have _different_ MTBFs too.

> I'm also confused what the 55 and 60 degree is supposed to be?

Sigh -- go read some product specification guides!
And go read some AMD manuals while you're at it!

> The reason for my confusion is that the high end Fujitsu enterprise scsi or 
> fibre disk

Remember, interface does _not_ define reliability (that was an original
point of this thread ;-).

> is 60C and 300GB - does that mean its a comodity disk rather than 
> an enterprise drive? 

Give me a model -- or at least the series -- so I can look up the
specifications.  I can tell you more then!

I'm only given you the industry typical values, which do seem to match
across Seagate, Hitachi and Western Digital (who uses Hitachi as a fab
for most products).  Maxtor seems to be about the same as well.  Not
sure about Fujitsu.

But yes, given that I've yet to see a 300GB 1" model with today's
"enterprise" platter, mechanical and spindle (10Krpm) technology, it's
probably safe to assume such.

But I'd rather not assume.  I'd rather get the model or at least the
series.  ;->

> Maybe those things are just that way cause they always were - and have 
> actually nothing to do with the quality or design of the drives? 

The reference to the change in operating temperature of commodity was in
reference to the recent improvements in low-cost fluid and other
technology now in use.  Before about 2003, most commodity drives were
rated at 40C.  Now most are rated for 60C.

Enterprise capacity drives have typically been rated for around 55C
operation since the '90s -- since 10Krpm became available.

Now how far are we going to argue about this?  Just like the AMD thread?
A thread that had you nit-pick on every detail?  A thread that never saw
you stop challenging me on just about everything?

That's why I've adopted the "feel free to assume I'm pulling it out of
my ass" statement.  Because at some point I realize you don't want an
answer, you want to argue.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org
http://thebs413.blogspot.com
------------------------------------------
Some things (or athletes) money can't buy.
For everything else there's "ManningCard."