[Zope] Server specs.

[Martijn Faassen]

Alexander Staubo wrote:
[Linux scalability discussion]

The issue I was raising was that Linux may very well scale *well enough*
for dynamic web pages. But I'm no hardware guy or OS guy at all,
actually. :)

> [snip]
> >But
> > indeed RAM is the biggest bottleneck of these all.
> 
> Not necessarily. RAM is significant for large databases requiring fast
> response times. A good rule of thumb (if you're in an "enterprise", to
> wit) is to have as much RAM as the size of database. Disk swapping is
> the enemy of database performance.

I'm influenced by being on a Linux box with 32 megs (local netscape,
local Zope). Zope functions fine, but netscape leaks memory like crazy
and causes Zope to swap out (or parts of itself), which slows response
times. :) So memory is *my* biggest bottleneck, sorry. :)
 
> > > Multiple-port or multiple network cards. Multiport NICs support port
> > > failover and typically come with load balancing. Coupled with one or
> > > more switches, these are real killers when it comes to bandwidth and
> > > responsiveness.
> >
> > This sounds like way overkill.
[debate on whether it is]

I'm no hardware guy, so you may well be right. Let others do this
debate. :)
 
> > Perhaps the best option is to try it out on a reasonable system first.
> > If it gets too slow later (usage first has to pick up a lot, too,
> > internally, this takes time), you can always upgrade the RAM,
> > or switch
> > to a more powerful system. Prices of these systems will have come down
> > too in the mean time. All in all you might end up spending less money
> > going this route than buying a possibly overpowered system now.
> 
> Wise words, but another good rule is: "Don't underspend". Match your
> investment with your requirements, and research carefully.

Well, they're still wise words, so that's where our agreement lies. :)

There just isn't enough data yet about Zope hardware requirements, I
think, to give a good answer (though of course you may answer the
relational database story).

Regards,

Martijn