Since a lot of US government computers are using Windows security. What happens when US based Microsoft is sharing "security secrets" with other governments? The US government will say Microsoft can't share the source with anyone other than the US government and China will be right back to using Linux again.
I know a guy who's brother writes software for POS terminals that you use at gas pumps. He says if you choose the "debit card" payment option, your pin number is transmitted in plain text over the Internet.
He certain brings up several interesting points. Social behavior is a topic people don't even master with a phd so I guess we can't be too critical of this short argument. Certainly, the master formula for popular success cannot be addressed which such a simple explaination. I would like to point out a few assumptions that really take away from the credibility of his argument...
1. He bases his argument on a suburb lifestyle. Certainly these problems exist in urban and rural communities so the enter suburb argument is irrelavent. 2. Not all popular kids are dumb. 3. Not all nerds are smart.
I don't know why people continue to say the US is lying or doesn't have this evidence. No politicians are completely honest but nobody would make up a story like this just to go to war. Keep believing your conspiracy theories but this one isn't. We've seen Iraq play these games over and over. What would make you think they aren't this time? On the other hand, if Bush was making up this evidence, he would be one of the greatest tyrants in history. A President serves for 4 years. Nobody uses that time to start a huge war for no reason and then go home.
You make a good point. The problem is, we aren't expecting any fixes for.NET 1.0 framework or any fixes for Visual Studio.NET 2002. The larger our project gets, the more.NET and Visual Studio crashes (there are some severe bugs and memory leaks out there). If I want to efficiently maintain this product, I want to do it with tools that work which will require upgrading to 1.1.
That is only if Mono can keep up with Microsoft's changes. Believe me, I'm pro-Mono but I just don't see projects being cross platform in the short term. For example, Mono doesn't even have.NET 1.0 implemented 100% yet; what are they going to do when Microsoft releases 1.1? 1.1 isn't 100% backwards-compatible with 1.0 and I'm already expecting to rewrite several areas of a large project (1,000,000+ lines) so it works on 1.1. I don't even think Microsoft is going to be fixing bugs in 1.0 anymore (hearsay) and everyone is going to be forced to upgrade (i.e. rewrite parts of their code) to 1.1 or work around the bugs for their 1.0 projects. Sure, Mono has a great code base, but I can't see them leveling the playing field, especially when the tools (Visual Studio.NET) don't exist for Linux yet.
Even when Mono becomes a mature product, if a customer asked me to write a.NET application and then asked if it would run on Linux, I could never honestly tell them yes. Why? Because Microsoft is a moving target and they always throw a wrench into something like this. I would never trust an application I wrote for Microsoft.NET would run 100% in Mono. For that reason alone, Microsoft will continue to hold their monopoly. The monopoly isn't because they have a great product, it is because people fear Microsoft will change gears on them. Microsoft can write code faster than any of us and nobody wants to be playing catch up by supporting a different OS. There is absolutely no motivating factor that Microsoft will play fair with.NET and the only chance the Mono project will succeed is if a major competitor like IBM takes over the project. Personally, I would love to see someone like IBM back Mono. It is going to take something like the success of.NET and its cross platform ability to Microsoft in its place. But that is so unlikely to happen, just like Java because Microsoft will drag out the problem so long, new technology will come along and the problem just goes away. If IBM could find a way around the patents, I say they should take up the Mono project and dump millions into advertising.NET! People are so confused about what.NET is anyway, they probably wouldn't even notice IBM stealing the brand name...:)
That is only true for food products because people are concerned about things that directly affect them. If you have the choice between a piece of fruit that has been grown using chemicals or other unnatural substances, versus something grown naturally, you will choose the natural one because you are concerned about what the chemicals will do to you.
Why is it important for it to be the shape of a credit card? Considering how thin it is, I'm sure with the moving parts inside of it, they would never recommend placing this thing in your wallet and sitting on it. I would rather have something that fits better on a keychain or is inside my cell phone.
I'm sick of all these smaller and smaller devices. They are ruining the user experience. I think I'm going to go pull out my first portablecomputer. FYI, if you visit the link, they have a ? next to the year. Mine was 1979.
What happens when governments start finding flaws in the Windows source code? Will the US ban Microsoft from selling their source code because it would in turn be giving away security secrets about the US government's own Window's-based security issues? Then you wonder, if it became "illegal" to sell source code of such a critical nature, what would happen with open source operating systems? Governments around the world would be literally forced to use open source operating systems while the US government cleans up its Windows mess or is forced to convert as well. Microsoft would have no choice but to turn Windows into an open source operating system.
Microsoft Windows-Based Servers and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
By John Borozan Microsoft Corporation Updated: April 2002
Abstract This article provides an overview of how the Microsoft® Windows® Server operating system works with Intel® Hyper-Threading technology. It explains the implications for performance, compatibility, and licensing.
Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 What is Hyper-Threading Technology? 2 Windows 2000 Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology 4 Windows.NET Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology 7 Windows Server Applications and Hyper-Threading Technology 9 Windows Server Performance on Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology 10 Windows Server Licensing on Systems Enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology 11 Frequently-Asked Questions 12 Appendix 13 Related Links 14
Acknowledgements Bob Ellsworth, Brad Waters, Bruce Worthington, Carla Huffman, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Jim Livingston, Luisa Vacca, Mark Wood, Maurice Franklin, Peter Conway, Peter Johnston, Sean McGrane, Sunil Koduri, Velle Kolde, Wilhelmina Duyvestyn, William Lyon, Bryan Sutton, and John Kaiser. Microsoft Corporation
Introduction What is Hyper-Threading Technology? Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology allows a single physical processor to execute multiple threads (instruction streams) simultaneously, potentially providing greater throughput and improved performance. Intel will introduce Hyper-Threading Technology in their Intel® Xeon(TM) processor family for servers in the first quarter of 2002. For more information, see Intel Demonstrates Breakthrough Processor Design at http://developer.intel.com/pressroom/archive/relea ses/20010828comp.htm. These processors will contain two architectural states on a single processor core, making each physical processor act as two logical processors for the operating system. However, the two logical processors will still share the same execution resources of the processor core, so performance gains do not approximate having two complete, physical processors. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/ download/25000802.pdf. Hyper-Threading Technology complements symmetric multi-processing (SMP) by allowing more threads to execute simultaneously per processor. How Do Windows-Based Servers Recognize Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology? Windows-based servers receive processor information from the BIOS. Each server vendor creates their own BIOS using specifications provided by Intel. Assuming the BIOS is written according to Intel specifications, it begins counting processors using the first logical processor on each physical processor. Once it has counted a logical processor on all of the physical processors, it will count the second logical processor on each physical processor, and so on, as shown in Figure 1.
It is critical that the BIOS count logical processors in the manner described; otherwise, Windows 2000 or its applications may use logical processors when they should be using physical processors instead. For example, consider an application that is licensed to use two processors on the system diagrammed in Figure 1. Such an application will achieve better performance using two separate physical processors (such as 1 and 2) than it would using two logical processors on the same physical processor (such as 1 and 5). Note: The numbers used in these diagrams reflect the order in which logical processors are recognized by the BIOS and used by Windows; they do not reflect the actual processor numbers reported by the operating system. Windows 2000 Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology Windows 2000 Server does not distinguish between physical and logical processors on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology; Windows 2000 simply fills out the license limit using the first processors counted by the BIOS. For example, when you launch Windows 2000 Server (4-CPU limit) on a four-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use the first logical processor on each of the four physical processors, as shown in Figure 2; the second logical processor on each physical processor will be unused, because of the 4-CPU license limit. (This assumes the BIOS was written according to Intel specifications. Windows uses the processor count and sequence indicated by the BIOS.)
However, when you launch Windows 2000 Advanced Server (8-CPU limit) on a four-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use all eight logical processors, as shown in Figure 3.
Although Windows recognizes all eight logical processors in this example, in most cases performance would be better using eight physical processors.
Windows.NET Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology When examining the processor count provided by the BIOS, Windows.NET Server distinguishes between logical and physical processors, regardless of how they are counted by the BIOS. This provides a powerful advantage over Windows 2000, in that Windows.NET Server only treats physical processors as counting against the license limit. For example, if you launch Windows.NET Standard Server (2-CPU limit) on a two-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use all four logical processors, as shown in Figure 4.
Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows.NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp
This example illustrates the great benefit provided by Windows.NET Server on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology--customers are able to harness the processing power of four logical processors using a 2-CPU license. Windows Server Applications and Hyper-Threading Technology Regardless of whether an application has been specifically designed to take advantage of Hyper-Threading Technology, or even whether the application is multi-threaded, Intel expects the existing body of applications in the market today to run correctly on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology without further modification, and without being recompiled. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/ download/25000802.pdf.
Windows Server Performance on Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology Intel has published several benchmarks demonstrating improved performance for Windows-based servers equipped with Intel® Xeon(TM) and Intel® Xeon(TM) MP processors. For more information, see Intel® Xeon(TM) Processors - Performance Indicators at http://developer.intel.com/design/xeon/perfbref/in dex.htm. Microsoft expects performance to vary depending on the application, system configuration, and version of Windows that is used. Although Windows 2000 is compatible with Hyper-Threading Technology, we expect customers will get the best performance from Hyper-Threading Technology using Windows.NET Server. This is because the Windows.NET Server Family is engineered to take full advantage of the logical processors created by Hyper-Threading Technology. Windows Server Licensing on Systems Enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology Windows Server licensing is based on the number of physical processors on a system. For more information, see Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology at http://www.microsoft.com/business/downloads/licens ing/hyper_threading_processors.doc. Because Windows 2000 Server does not distinguish between physical and logical processors, Windows 2000 simply fills out the license limit using the first processors counted by the BIOS. For example, consider the system diagrammed in Figure 1. When launching Windows 2000 Server (4-CPU limit) on this system, Windows will use logical processors 1-4 and disregard logical processors 5-8. In contrast, Windows.NET Server distinguishes between logical and physical processors, regardless of the way they're counted by the BIOS. Consider the system diagrammed in Figure 4 earlier. When launching Windows.NET Standard Server (2-CPU limit) on this system, Windows will use all four logical processors (1-4). Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows.NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp. The table in the Appendix indicates the number and type of processors used by Windows-based servers on various systems.
Frequently-Asked Questions Q: What is the difference between Hyper-Threading Technology and Jackson Technology (JT)? A: Jackson Technology was the Intel code name for Hyper-Threading Technology. Q: What is the difference between processors that contain Hyper-Threading Technology and multiple-core processors? A: Processors enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology share more resources (for example, execution resources) on the same physical processor than do multiple-core processors. For example, multiple-core processors have separate execution units and first-level memory caches. Q: Which applications will work with Hyper-Threading Technology? A: Based on tests with off-the-shelf applications, Intel expects the existing body of applications in the market today to run correctly on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology without further modification or recompiling. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/ download/25000802.pdf. Check with your application vendor for further details. Appendix The following table indicates the maximum number of physical/logical processors used by Windows-based servers on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology.
2-way 4-way 8-way Windows Server Product Physical Logical Physical Logical Physical Logical Windows 2000 Server 2 4 4 4 n/a n/a Windows 2000 Advanced Server 2 4 4 8 8 8 Windows 2000 Datacenter Server n/a n/a 4 8 8 16 Windows.NET Web Server 2 4 2 4 n/a n/a Windows.NET Standard Server 2 4 2 4 n/a n/a Windows.NET Enterprise Server 2 4 4 8 8 16 Windows.NET Datacenter Server n/a n/a 4 8 8 16
16-way 24-way 32-way
Physical Logical Physical Logical Physical Logical Windows 2000 Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Windows 2000 Advanced Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Windows 2000 Datacenter Server 16 32 24 24 32 32 Windows.NET Web Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Windows.NET Standard Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Windows.NET Enterprise Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Windows.NET Datacenter Server 16 32 24 24 32 32
To ensure optimal performance, Hyper-Threading is disabled on partitions larger than 16 processors.
Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows.NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp. Related Links See the following resources for further information: Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology at http://www.microsoft.com/business/downloads/licens ing/hyper_threading_processors.doc Intel® Xeon(TM) Processors - Performance Indicators at http://developer.intel.com/design/xeon/perfbref/in dex.htm Intel Demonstrates Breakthrough Processor Design at http://developer.intel.com/pressroom/archive/relea ses/20010828comp.htm. Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/ download/25000802.pdf. For the latest information about Windows 2000 Server, see the Windows 2000 Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server. For the latest information about Windows.NET Server, see the Windows.NET Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows.netserver.
I'm sure this has been said by now but try Furthur. It is a P2P program (written in Java) where you can download legal music (mostly live concert recordings) from hundreds of bands. Pick a random one, download it and see if you like them. There is also a chat room in Furthur where you can discuss the music.
I just have to add on to that. I know there are already over 1000 posts and this will probably go unnoticed but... I used Linux for everything during college. I became quite proficiant with it along with a group of CS majors-- and I must add, we were top of our class. When we all graduated, some of them went to Unix positions, others went to Windows. To underscore my point, the guys I know who went to the Unix positions were all laid off within 6 months. Money talks. Call me a whore, whatever. I'm swimming in this market. I hope the Unix guys in the rest of the country have it easier.
I have to develop on a Windows platform at work. It takes a lot of effort to stay at the top of your game when you are a developer. If I spend my time at home learning all the ins and outs of Linux, that is just taking away from my time learning the ins and outs of Windows; thus, I cannot be as effective at my job. Bottom line, Windows pays the bills and there are virtually no jobs where using Linux at work is profitable; at least in Rochester, NY.
I've been sitting in front of a CRT for 15 years and I'm sure the average is more than 5 hours/day. I can admit, most of those symptoms are true, but I highly doubt they are from the CRT.
"including headache, low back pain, eyestrain, depression and anxiety." "complained of headache, eyestrain, joint pain and stiff shoulders." "lethargy, anxiety and "reluctance to go to work," as well as sleep-related problems including insomnia and fatigue"
Get a new pair of glasses.
Set up your computer ergonomically correct, get yourself a good chair, and sit up straight.
Maybe you are just bored of your job.
Sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day is going to fatigue your body. Get off your ass and workout after work.
Proper ergonomical setup is the absolute key to computer work.
Slashdot Mirror
Aspects sound like they are similar to Attributes in C#
Since a lot of US government computers are using Windows security. What happens when US based Microsoft is sharing "security secrets" with other governments? The US government will say Microsoft can't share the source with anyone other than the US government and China will be right back to using Linux again.
I know a guy who's brother writes software for POS terminals that you use at gas pumps. He says if you choose the "debit card" payment option, your pin number is transmitted in plain text over the Internet.
He certain brings up several interesting points. Social behavior is a topic people don't even master with a phd so I guess we can't be too critical of this short argument. Certainly, the master formula for popular success cannot be addressed which such a simple explaination. I would like to point out a few assumptions that really take away from the credibility of his argument...
1. He bases his argument on a suburb lifestyle. Certainly these problems exist in urban and rural communities so the enter suburb argument is irrelavent.
2. Not all popular kids are dumb.
3. Not all nerds are smart.
LivePhish.com
I don't know why people continue to say the US is lying or doesn't have this evidence. No politicians are completely honest but nobody would make up a story like this just to go to war. Keep believing your conspiracy theories but this one isn't. We've seen Iraq play these games over and over. What would make you think they aren't this time? On the other hand, if Bush was making up this evidence, he would be one of the greatest tyrants in history. A President serves for 4 years. Nobody uses that time to start a huge war for no reason and then go home.
Furthur
You make a good point. The problem is, we aren't expecting any fixes for .NET 1.0 framework or any fixes for Visual Studio.NET 2002. The larger our project gets, the more .NET and Visual Studio crashes (there are some severe bugs and memory leaks out there). If I want to efficiently maintain this product, I want to do it with tools that work which will require upgrading to 1.1.
Higher productivity = faster income = more money
More flexibility = extra support costs = less money
Why would I want J2EE for its flexibility alone? I know, I'm asking for it with that question...
That is only if Mono can keep up with Microsoft's changes. Believe me, I'm pro-Mono but I just don't see projects being cross platform in the short term. For example, Mono doesn't even have .NET 1.0 implemented 100% yet; what are they going to do when Microsoft releases 1.1? 1.1 isn't 100% backwards-compatible with 1.0 and I'm already expecting to rewrite several areas of a large project (1,000,000+ lines) so it works on 1.1. I don't even think Microsoft is going to be fixing bugs in 1.0 anymore (hearsay) and everyone is going to be forced to upgrade (i.e. rewrite parts of their code) to 1.1 or work around the bugs for their 1.0 projects. Sure, Mono has a great code base, but I can't see them leveling the playing field, especially when the tools (Visual Studio.NET) don't exist for Linux yet.
Even when Mono becomes a mature product, if a customer asked me to write a .NET application and then asked if it would run on Linux, I could never honestly tell them yes. Why? Because Microsoft is a moving target and they always throw a wrench into something like this. I would never trust an application I wrote for Microsoft.NET would run 100% in Mono. For that reason alone, Microsoft will continue to hold their monopoly. The monopoly isn't because they have a great product, it is because people fear Microsoft will change gears on them. Microsoft can write code faster than any of us and nobody wants to be playing catch up by supporting a different OS. There is absolutely no motivating factor that Microsoft will play fair with .NET and the only chance the Mono project will succeed is if a major competitor like IBM takes over the project. Personally, I would love to see someone like IBM back Mono. It is going to take something like the success of .NET and its cross platform ability to Microsoft in its place. But that is so unlikely to happen, just like Java because Microsoft will drag out the problem so long, new technology will come along and the problem just goes away. If IBM could find a way around the patents, I say they should take up the Mono project and dump millions into advertising .NET! People are so confused about what .NET is anyway, they probably wouldn't even notice IBM stealing the brand name... :)
That is only true for food products because people are concerned about things that directly affect them. If you have the choice between a piece of fruit that has been grown using chemicals or other unnatural substances, versus something grown naturally, you will choose the natural one because you are concerned about what the chemicals will do to you.
Why is it important for it to be the shape of a credit card? Considering how thin it is, I'm sure with the moving parts inside of it, they would never recommend placing this thing in your wallet and sitting on it. I would rather have something that fits better on a keychain or is inside my cell phone.
I'm sick of all these smaller and smaller devices. They are ruining the user experience. I think I'm going to go pull out my first portable computer. FYI, if you visit the link, they have a ? next to the year. Mine was 1979.
If they make phone numbers longer than 11 digits, it is going to take a long time to update all the software out there for the change.
Maybe this has been said before.
What happens when governments start finding flaws in the Windows source code? Will the US ban Microsoft from selling their source code because it would in turn be giving away security secrets about the US government's own Window's-based security issues? Then you wonder, if it became "illegal" to sell source code of such a critical nature, what would happen with open source operating systems? Governments around the world would be literally forced to use open source operating systems while the US government cleans up its Windows mess or is forced to convert as well. Microsoft would have no choice but to turn Windows into an open source operating system.
Rochester, NY
Verizon Wireless
Avg SMS transfer time of 2 hours
1/10 don't make it.
Whatever it takes to avoid the creditors...
Here is what Microsoft has to say about it.
.NET Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology 7
a ses/20010828comp.htm./ download/25000802.pdf.
.NET Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology .NET Server distinguishes between logical and physical processors, regardless of how they are counted by the BIOS. This provides a powerful advantage over Windows 2000, in that Windows .NET Server only treats physical processors as counting against the license limit. For example, if you launch Windows .NET Standard Server (2-CPU limit) on a two-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use all four logical processors, as shown in Figure 4.
.NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp
.NET Server on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology--customers are able to harness the processing power of four logical processors using a 2-CPU license./ download/25000802.pdf.
n dex.htm. Microsoft expects performance to vary depending on the application, system configuration, and version of Windows that is used. .NET Server. This is because the Windows .NET Server Family is engineered to take full advantage of the logical processors created by Hyper-Threading Technology.s ing/hyper_threading_processors.doc. .NET Server distinguishes between logical and physical processors, regardless of the way they're counted by the BIOS. Consider the system diagrammed in Figure 4 earlier. When launching Windows .NET Standard Server (2-CPU limit) on this system, Windows will use all four logical processors (1-4). .NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp.
/ download/25000802.pdf. Check with your application vendor for further details.
.NET Web Server 2 4 2 4 n/a n/a .NET Standard Server 2 4 2 4 n/a n/a .NET Enterprise Server 2 4 4 8 8 16 .NET Datacenter Server n/a n/a 4 8 8 16 .NET Web Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a .NET Standard Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a .NET Enterprise Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a .NET Datacenter Server 16 32 24 24 32 32
.NET Server Family. CPU limits and product offerings are subject to change prior to final release. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows.NETserver/evaluat ion/choosing/default.asp.s ing/hyper_threading_processors.docn dex.htma ses/20010828comp.htm./ download/25000802.pdf. .NET Server, see the Windows .NET Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows.netserver.
Operating System
Microsoft Windows-Based Servers and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
By John Borozan
Microsoft Corporation
Updated: April 2002
Abstract
This article provides an overview of how the Microsoft® Windows® Server operating system works with Intel® Hyper-Threading technology. It explains the implications for performance, compatibility, and licensing.
This is a preliminary document and may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release of the software described herein.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.
This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
The example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person or event is intended or should be inferred.
© 2002. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
Acknowledgements 1
Introduction 2
What is Hyper-Threading Technology? 2
Windows 2000 Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology 4
Windows
Windows Server Applications and Hyper-Threading Technology 9
Windows Server Performance on Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology 10
Windows Server Licensing on Systems Enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology 11
Frequently-Asked Questions 12
Appendix 13
Related Links 14
Acknowledgements
Bob Ellsworth, Brad Waters, Bruce Worthington, Carla Huffman, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Jim Livingston, Luisa Vacca, Mark Wood, Maurice Franklin, Peter Conway, Peter Johnston, Sean McGrane, Sunil Koduri, Velle Kolde, Wilhelmina Duyvestyn, William Lyon, Bryan Sutton, and John Kaiser.
Microsoft Corporation
Introduction
What is Hyper-Threading Technology?
Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology allows a single physical processor to execute multiple threads (instruction streams) simultaneously, potentially providing greater throughput and improved performance.
Intel will introduce Hyper-Threading Technology in their Intel® Xeon(TM) processor family for servers in the first quarter of 2002. For more information, see Intel Demonstrates Breakthrough Processor Design at http://developer.intel.com/pressroom/archive/rele
These processors will contain two architectural states on a single processor core, making each physical processor act as two logical processors for the operating system. However, the two logical processors will still share the same execution resources of the processor core, so performance gains do not approximate having two complete, physical processors. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread
Hyper-Threading Technology complements symmetric multi-processing (SMP) by allowing more threads to execute simultaneously per processor.
How Do Windows-Based Servers Recognize Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology?
Windows-based servers receive processor information from the BIOS. Each server vendor creates their own BIOS using specifications provided by Intel.
Assuming the BIOS is written according to Intel specifications, it begins counting processors using the first logical processor on each physical processor. Once it has counted a logical processor on all of the physical processors, it will count the second logical processor on each physical processor, and so on, as shown in Figure 1.
It is critical that the BIOS count logical processors in the manner described; otherwise, Windows 2000 or its applications may use logical processors when they should be using physical processors instead. For example, consider an application that is licensed to use two processors on the system diagrammed in Figure 1. Such an application will achieve better performance using two separate physical processors (such as 1 and 2) than it would using two logical processors on the same physical processor (such as 1 and 5).
Note: The numbers used in these diagrams reflect the order in which logical processors are recognized by the BIOS and used by Windows; they do not reflect the actual processor numbers reported by the operating system.
Windows 2000 Server Family and Hyper-Threading Technology
Windows 2000 Server does not distinguish between physical and logical processors on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology; Windows 2000 simply fills out the license limit using the first processors counted by the BIOS. For example, when you launch Windows 2000 Server (4-CPU limit) on a four-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use the first logical processor on each of the four physical processors, as shown in Figure 2; the second logical processor on each physical processor will be unused, because of the 4-CPU license limit. (This assumes the BIOS was written according to Intel specifications. Windows uses the processor count and sequence indicated by the BIOS.)
However, when you launch Windows 2000 Advanced Server (8-CPU limit) on a four-way system enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology, Windows will use all eight logical processors, as shown in Figure 3.
Although Windows recognizes all eight logical processors in this example, in most cases performance would be better using eight physical processors.
Windows
When examining the processor count provided by the BIOS, Windows
Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows
This example illustrates the great benefit provided by Windows
Windows Server Applications and Hyper-Threading Technology
Regardless of whether an application has been specifically designed to take advantage of Hyper-Threading Technology, or even whether the application is multi-threaded, Intel expects the existing body of applications in the market today to run correctly on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology without further modification, and without being recompiled. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread
Windows Server Performance on Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology
Intel has published several benchmarks demonstrating improved performance for Windows-based servers equipped with Intel® Xeon(TM) and Intel® Xeon(TM) MP processors. For more information, see Intel® Xeon(TM) Processors - Performance Indicators at http://developer.intel.com/design/xeon/perfbref/i
Although Windows 2000 is compatible with Hyper-Threading Technology, we expect customers will get the best performance from Hyper-Threading Technology using Windows
Windows Server Licensing on Systems Enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology
Windows Server licensing is based on the number of physical processors on a system. For more information, see Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology at http://www.microsoft.com/business/downloads/licen
Because Windows 2000 Server does not distinguish between physical and logical processors, Windows 2000 simply fills out the license limit using the first processors counted by the BIOS. For example, consider the system diagrammed in Figure 1. When launching Windows 2000 Server (4-CPU limit) on this system, Windows will use logical processors 1-4 and disregard logical processors 5-8.
In contrast, Windows
Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows
The table in the Appendix indicates the number and type of processors used by Windows-based servers on various systems.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between Hyper-Threading Technology and Jackson Technology (JT)?
A: Jackson Technology was the Intel code name for Hyper-Threading Technology.
Q: What is the difference between processors that contain Hyper-Threading Technology and multiple-core processors?
A: Processors enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology share more resources (for example, execution resources) on the same physical processor than do multiple-core processors. For example, multiple-core processors have separate execution units and first-level memory caches.
Q: Which applications will work with Hyper-Threading Technology?
A: Based on tests with off-the-shelf applications, Intel expects the existing body of applications in the market today to run correctly on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology without further modification or recompiling. For more information, see Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread
Appendix
The following table indicates the maximum number of physical/logical processors used by Windows-based servers on systems enabled with Hyper-Threading Technology.
2-way 4-way 8-way
Windows Server Product Physical Logical Physical Logical Physical Logical
Windows 2000 Server 2 4 4 4 n/a n/a
Windows 2000 Advanced Server 2 4 4 8 8 8
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server n/a n/a 4 8 8 16
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
16-way 24-way 32-way
Physical Logical Physical Logical Physical Logical
Windows 2000 Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Windows 2000 Advanced Server n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server 16 32 24 24 32 32
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
To ensure optimal performance, Hyper-Threading is disabled on partitions larger than 16 processors.
Note: This reflects features defined at the Beta 3 release of the Windows
Related Links
See the following resources for further information:
Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology at http://www.microsoft.com/business/downloads/licen
Intel® Xeon(TM) Processors - Performance Indicators at http://developer.intel.com/design/xeon/perfbref/i
Intel Demonstrates Breakthrough Processor Design at http://developer.intel.com/pressroom/archive/rele
Introduction to Hyper-Threading Technology at http://developer.intel.com/technology/hyperthread
For the latest information about Windows 2000 Server, see the Windows 2000 Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server.
For the latest information about Windows
What's the domain name?
Sorry, that link is Furthur.
I'm sure this has been said by now but try Furthur. It is a P2P program (written in Java) where you can download legal music (mostly live concert recordings) from hundreds of bands. Pick a random one, download it and see if you like them. There is also a chat room in Furthur where you can discuss the music.
I just have to add on to that. I know there are already over 1000 posts and this will probably go unnoticed but... I used Linux for everything during college. I became quite proficiant with it along with a group of CS majors-- and I must add, we were top of our class. When we all graduated, some of them went to Unix positions, others went to Windows. To underscore my point, the guys I know who went to the Unix positions were all laid off within 6 months. Money talks. Call me a whore, whatever. I'm swimming in this market. I hope the Unix guys in the rest of the country have it easier.
I have to develop on a Windows platform at work. It takes a lot of effort to stay at the top of your game when you are a developer. If I spend my time at home learning all the ins and outs of Linux, that is just taking away from my time learning the ins and outs of Windows; thus, I cannot be as effective at my job. Bottom line, Windows pays the bills and there are virtually no jobs where using Linux at work is profitable; at least in Rochester, NY.
"including headache, low back pain, eyestrain, depression and anxiety."
"complained of headache, eyestrain, joint pain and stiff shoulders."
"lethargy, anxiety and "reluctance to go to work," as well as sleep-related problems including insomnia and fatigue"
Get a new pair of glasses.
Set up your computer ergonomically correct, get yourself a good chair, and sit up straight.
Maybe you are just bored of your job.
Sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day is going to fatigue your body. Get off your ass and workout after work.
Proper ergonomical setup is the absolute key to computer work.