278AppendixA • Typical Hardware Requirements for a Linux Development Workstation
Externally there are things such as the keyboard and the mouse that permit the user to
enter data into the system, and the monitor which enables the computer to present information in
a way that the operator can easily understand.
When evaluating a new computer system, remember that the motherboard, the processor
and the memory determine
how fast
your computer will be able to perform the tasks required of
it.
The hard disk drives, the network and video cards, etc. determine
what and how much
your computer will be able to do. However, speed of hard drive is also a major factor in overall
speed of compilation in case your computer is low on memory.
Lastly, the input and output devices determine
how much style
your computer will have
while it goes about doing whatever it was told to do.
While there is some overlap in function, these definitions provide a general outline of the
parts of the computer and can give us a basis for determining a base-line system.
A.2Section 1—The Processor and Memory
Systems are available with one or multiple processors. Random Access Memory (RAM) is pres-
ently cheap and easy to find. Processor speed seems to double every eighteen months and almost
as soon as a new system is purchased, it becomes obsolete.
The speed and the number of processors will determine the sheer raw power that a com-
puter has. Speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) and more is always better.
The memory that a system has installed will also effect the overall speed of the computer.
If the system runs out of physical memory, it will, if the space has been set aside for it, start pag-
ing memory to disk. This is the process of writing a portion of memory that has not been used
recently (in computer terms that could mean milliseconds) to the disk in order to free the mem-
ory up for more immediate usage. When the information on the disk is required again, the com-
puter frees up physical memory and reads the data from the disk into that area.
As the hard disk drive is several orders of magnitude slower than simply reading the infor-
mation from memory, this slows down the entire computer as it waits for the information to be
written and read from the drive. If your computer sits idle while there are large amounts of
access to the disks, it is possible that the computer is low on memory and swapping to the disk.
Adding more memory to the system should speed it up.
A.3Section 2—The Disk Drive
At present, there are two main types of drives available on the market for personal computers:
IDE and SCSI (pronounced “scuzzy”). The first and most common is the IDE drive. This is the
type sold with most off-the-shelf workstations. A standard computer will be able to support up to
four IDE drives at a time. These drives may be hard drives, CD-ROMs, DVD drives or even tape
drives. Once the maximum of four devices has been installed into the computer, no more may be
added until one is removed. This and the fact that IDE drives have traditionally been slower than