> > A 4M linux box functions very well as a small router or 4 port term server
> > or X terminal. I have a 2M compaq laptop which is a very useful tool for
> > all sorts of small tasks, ie traceroute,ping,ftp,telnet via ppp or ethernet.
> > Makes a cheap sniffer with tcpdump.
Yeah, a _very_ small router. And an X terminal? The XFree86 docs say that
X functions _very slowly_ under 4 meg. They recommend at least 8 meg to
do any real work.
>
> For a limited function box comparable to multimeter or oscilloscope
> or cisco-router or dumb terminal or sniffer, a tiny Linuxbox serves
> very well indeed.
Yep. A tiny Linux box (fast 386, maybe slow 486) is fine for these
things, but as far as being usable as a real tool for running serious
apps or for heavy routing, no way.
>
> For desktop workstation you need more resourses. Some ballpark
> figure for minimum acceptable workstation performance in _commercial_
> environment is the capability to compile a full kernel in less than
> 60 min.
Sixty minutes? I'd say 30-45 minutes shold be all the more you should
need for a kernel build for an acceptable workstation. That's on a
Pentium 75 or 90. If you have a fast Pentium, or a PPro, then of course..
but that's off-topic.
Derrik Pates
dpates@cemrc.nmsu.edu