Windows "performance"?

[Robert Collins]

On Fri, 2008-05-23 at 02:22 +0200, Frits Jalvingh wrote:
> Hi List,


> But if I do the same on a Windows XP machine (with a 7500TPM SATA-II
> harddisk and 2GB ram, on NTFS) it takes about 5 to 7 bloody MINUTES.
> This is on a machine with about the same speed processor, a faster
> harddisk and the same amount of memory (2GB) as the portable; and it
> is
> the same on at least three different machines.
> 
> I already switched off the virus scanner completely on the machine and
> checked for other funny stuff running; the only thing using CPU is
> Bazaar (around 30 to 50 % CPU). I also checked the usual suspects like
> the correct disk/controller drivers, using DMA (cannot be seen for SATA)
> and slaughtered chickens/Voodoo style but I don't see anything amiss.
> 
> Apparently file I/O on a Windows machine (you know, that OS that you pay
> for and which is built by a monopolist with what is it? 40 bln dollar?
> on the bank) is easily 5 to 7 times SLOWER on disk IO than Linux!?!?!
> 
> Doing an "xcopy" of the branch takes almost the same time as branching,
> so I think it's safe to assume that Bazaar is not to blame.
> 
> I also tried branching the same repository from a smart server running
> on some Linux server to those Windows machines and by gosh- that is
> faster (around 4m 30s). Again an indication that IO over the network is
> faster than IO to the local disk.
> 
> I'm no fan of Microsoft (I just spent another day trying to work around
> problems in the utter piece of garbage that is Windows Mobile/CE/Pocket
> PC/Embedded - really a good motivator to get rid of anything with the
> Windows logo on it) but even I find it hard to believe that Windows is
> *this* slow!?!

You probably need to grab windows profiling tools and try to get a
handle on where the wallclock time is going; is it syncing to disk too
often, or are reads too slow, or ...

We'd be delighted at information on how to be faster on windows :).

-Rob
-- 
GPG key available at: <http://www.robertcollins.net/keys.txt>.
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