Slashdot Mirror
The Speed Demon That Is Tux 2.0
gergi writes: "Running at the kernel level, Redhat's Tux 2.0 blew away Apache and IIS in webserving content according to this benchmark! Given the never-ending security flaws found in other webservers, has a major turning point in web server design come about?"
What I really want to know is how well it compares to X-15 (free reg. required), which trounced the original TUX, *despite* running in user mode. X-15 is also open source, and from the guys who make the ChromeLinux web server that was mentioned in the Apache section a while back.
Tux beats apache. Big deal. Apache is slow. Everyone knows that. I want to see Tux take on the current Linux web-server champ.
The main kernel improvements from Tux have been merged into the mainline kernel, so there really isn't anything interesting that Tux can do which can't be done in user space. I agree that running a web server in the kernel is a risk. Moving that to user space and running as a regular user should be the next step. There has been much yakking on linux-kernel about a user space web server that outperforms Tux.
Hi Spoing, the story doesn't position Tux as a competitor to Apache. In fact, we went out of our way to test the combination of Apache and Tux working together, as well as Tux and Apache (and IIS) on their own. We point out how well Tux and Apache work together and recommend that combination.
You may have come to your conclusion only on the basis of the title of the Web article, which is different than the print version. I think the print title is better, which is Tux: Built for Speed.
Also, I think that painting all stories from all Ziff-Davis publications with the same brush is too broad a generalization. The company produces content aimed at everything from home users and gamers to IT managers at companies that spend millions of dollars a year on technology (the later is eWEEK's market). You're more likely to find stories you like by following the work of particular authors or publications than the activities of an entire publisher.
Regards,
Tim Dyck
West Coast Technical Director
eWEEK Labs
Why is running Tux inside the kernel so great? IIS has had a kernel module since IIS 1.0. And Microsoft got hell when it moved NT's graphics code into the kernel in NT 4.0.
;-)
This reminds me of a joke my CS professor made about operating system research: the "endo-kernel". Microkernel researchers try to move OS features from the kernel to userspace processes for extra protection and modularity. Other researchers (such as UW's SPIN OS and now Tux) move application "modules" from userspace into the kernel to boost performance. So now the "endo-kerenl" OS will be upside-down: OS running in userspace processes for protection, but applications running in kernel space for performance!
cpeterso
You're committing the age-old fallacy of assuming that all of us slashdotters are of one and the same ideology.
Have you found any of the same posters that criticized IIS and ALSO praised TUX? If so, then you have a valid response. If not (which I'm assuming), then SHUT the HELL UP!
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Slashdot readers are not of one common philosophy. We're a community of various people with various beliefs, who live in various countries, who use various software, etc. STOP assuming that we're all one and the same!
If Joe Linux complains about IIS, fine. If Mary Linux praises TUX, that's fine. It's NOT hypocrisy when different people give their opinions on different subjects! .V / _` (_-<_-<
.\_/\_/\__,_/__/__/
__ __ ____ _ ______
\ V
make world, not war
Hypocrisy: Duplicitous behavior.
(Much respect.)
---
X15 is still 2-3 times faster than Tux 2.0, and Cheetha (from MIT) is 2-3 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE faster than either.
Er, let me get this straight: TUX can saturate multiple GigE cards per CPU, so Cheetah can saturate 200-2000 GigE cards per CPU? Today's systems don't even have that much memory bandwidth.
I am honestly sick of Ziff, though. They are the Mickey-D's of the computer press, and while they have thier place, and offer up the occasional useful story, I would really like to carve out a Ziff-free, or at a minimum a Ziff-limited one.
Plea: Could the great and all-powerful Slash web meisters add a check box for blocking Ziff stories?
Thanks for listening!
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Statement: Tux runs faster than IIS.
Response: Woohoo! Linux RULEZ! Props to ZDNet for their insightful and informative article!
Statement: IIS is the best overall web server.
Response: Not these M$-suckups again! Haven't we learned yet not to equate ZDNet with real journalism?
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?