[chandler-users] Performance: Chandler desktop 1.0.3 RC1 on Mac OS X 10.5.6, Intel and PowerPC, profile on USB flash drive

[Graham Perrin]

Off-list, someone wrote: 



> … not many other apps are built almost exclusively in python. 
> 

Good point. 

Chandler aside, I often work with Python-based Plone on both PowerPC and
Intel. More on this below. 



> Perhaps the Python distro for the Mac is PPC optimised not Intel?
> 

I suspect, optimised by Apple for both architectures. Nothing at
<http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/darwin-x86> to suggest otherwise. A
definitive answer may be somewhere around 
<http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/10.5.6/python-30.1.2/> or
<http://developer.apple.com/opensource/>. 


William K. Volkman wrote:
> 
> Last time I really analyzed these systems (2002) the PPC had about 8X the
> memory bandwidth capability of the Intel architecture. So I would expect a
> memory intensive application to run about 8X faster on that older
> architecture. … If you compare the memory performance of your circa 2002
> 2.0Ghz Intel Xeon processor you'll find it about 4X faster than the shiny
> new Core Duo you just bought. Marketing works.
> 
> HTH,
> William.
> 

Interesting.

As I'll soon get a new MacBook Pro, I took this opportunity to *really* push
the 2006 model that I currently use. Installed iLife '09 with a bare minimum
of free disk space, happily leaving myself with only 1.5 GB of 92.84 GB free
(around 1.5%, way below the 10% recommendations), happily knowing that swap
files may be highly fragmented in that limited space.

In brief: 

* with as little as 1 GB RAM on the 2005 PowerPC I can have reasonable start
times and excellent quit times

* throwing more RAM (3 GB) at the Intel in target disk mode can lead to
excellent start times

* with the Intel MacBook Pro at its 2 GB max, with six or more swap files
one of which is in more than one thousand fragments, with my Chandler
profile on a USB flash drive: I can have excellent start times.

After each restart of the OS: the first start of Chandler is predictably
slow, second and subsequent starts are faster.

Notes at <http://chandlerproject.org/Journal/GrahamPerrin20090222>. 

Further discussion to follow, including but not limited to 

/.hotfiles.btree

---

Off-topic from Chandler: in recent months, I vaguely planned to add more RAM
to a 2003 dual processor PowerPC Xserve that I use for Plone. The other
option: a new Xserve. 

William's comments re: PowerPC and memory helped me to prefer an upgrade to
the PowerPC, but then I discovered that this old Xserve is already at its 2
GB RAM max :(

http://support.apple.com/kb/SP102 Xserve (Slot Load) - Technical
Specifications 

http://n2.nabble.com/Single-Python-process-utilising-multiple-CPUs--tp334637p334637.html
Single Python process utilising multiple CPUs? 
  
http://n2.nabble.com/Python-multiprocessor-tp340024p340030.html Python
multiprocessor  

Regards
Graham
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