🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Sep8.105655.712@macc.wisc.edu> anderson@macc.wisc.edu  
(Jess Anderson) writes:
> 
> In article <1992Sep7.215151.2517@metrosoft.com>
> gvh@metrosoft.com (Gordon Van Huizen) writes:
>
> >In article <1992Sep7.041747.10597@ccsun7.csie.nctu.edu.tw>  
> >jypai@ccnext.csie.nctu.edu.tw writes:
> 
> >> (reboot is the last solution I want)
> 
> >It's the last solution we ALL want, but alas the only
> >solution we have...
> 
> [lots and lots of text saying how wonderful it is to reboot a 
>  atand-alone NeXT, that macho sysadmin feeling you get...]
>

Well, having administrated several multi-CPU super-mini systems and an  
interstate network of mainframes over the last 14 years, I would agree  
that a single-user reboot is a much smaller pain in the ass. And I've  
recovered large systems from disasters such as broken root directory  
chains, without resorting to using day-old backups. I think I have a fair  
idea of what sysadmin machismo is all about.

But let's not pretend that is DESIRABLE to stop what you're doing, close  
the suite of apps that you're running and wait several minutes for a  
reboot. I for one think that disturbs ones work. Don't you? 

It is MUCH better then waiting for the thrashing of a 100meg swap file -  
NO DOUBT! But still it seems an antiquated thing to do. We used to be able  
to leave our DEC-10's with hundreds of simultaneous users up for weeks at  
a time. Now I bring up some 24-bit color TIFFs and I have to reboot. Seems  
silly.

What's beyond SILLY is what happens when a program runs away using memory,  
causing the swapfile to grow to the capacity of the root device. NO fun.  
It gives me such sysadmin glee to reboot from that to find that my  
environment (dock, file viewer prefs, etc) has disappeared! This happened  
to me this morning when I went to do a command-Z in NewsGrazer of all  
things. Guess some things are meant to not be undone! :-)

Yeah, sorry. I guess I was being silly. We should be THANKFUL for this. It  
could have destroyed my root directory or something...

Gordon


 
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Gordon Van Huizen           vox: 619.488.9411  fax: 619.488.3045
Metrosoft                   gvh@metrosoft.com [NeXTmail welcome]
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