Intel SRCMR, User Manual

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Installing Novell Netware 65
Tips and Tricks
Optimize Data Throughput
High performance RAID controllers are designed for multi-I/O operations and are capable of
processing several I/Os simultaneously. Cache controllers with powerful on-board RISC CPUs can
handle many I/Os per second. NetWare offers the option of adjusting the number of write I/Os
which are loaded on the mass storage subsystem. To gain optimum performance and speed from
modern high performance disk controllers, the amount of the so-called maximum concurrent disk
cache writes has been increased with every further development of NetWare. Looking back to
NetWare 3.11, only 100 concurrent disk cache writes were possible. With NetWare 4.10, it can be
as much as 1000.
The number of concurrent disk cache writes delivering the best performance is highly dependent on
the performance of the installed disk controller, the amount of cache RAM on the controller and the
hard disks. The Intel RAID Controller SRCMR’s can easily cope with up to 500 simultaneous
requests. The following command line enables the adjustment of a new number under NetWare
(default value = 50):
set maximum concurrent disk cache writes = xxxx
Where xxxx represents the required number of concurrent disk cache writes.
Cache Memory Allocator Out of Available Memory’ in PCI-ISA
Systems
PCI systems which are not equipped with an EISA Bus behave in the same way as an ISA
mainboard with regard to the available RAM memory. NetWare therefore does not automatically
recognize the available memory above 16 MByte. The command
register memory
allows the
registration of memory above 16 MByte. Memory shortage can appear while loading several
applications simultaneously on the server, especially where large volumes are concerned. This is
because the register memory command is normally carried out in the autoexec.ncf file. This is
usually located in the SYS volume. An autoexec.ncf file placed in the DOS partition of the
NetWare Server helps to get around this problem. To carry out this process, the disk driver must be
removed from the startup.ncf and inserted into the autoexec.ncf in the DOS partition. After
completing this process, the disk driver must be loaded directly after the register memory command
as indicated in the following autoexec.ncf file example.
•
Register memory 1000000 1000000
•
LOAD C:SRCRP312
An additional start file can be loaded on the SYS volume for differentiation, for example, with the
name ‘autonet.ncf’.