System Performance Tuning answers one of the most fundamental questions you can ask about your computer: How can I get it to do more work without buying more hardware? In the current economic downturn, performance tuning takes on a new importance. It allows system administrators to make the best use of existing systems and minimize the purchase of new equipment. Well-tuned systems save money and time that would otherwise be wasted dealing with slowdowns and errors. Performance tuning always involves compromises; unless system administrators know what the compromises are, they can't make intelligent decisions.Tuning is an essential skill for system administrators who face the problem of adapting the speed of a computer system to the speed requirements imposed by the real world. It requires a detailed understanding of the inner workings of the computer and its architecture. System Performance Tuning covers two distinct areas: performance tuning, or the art of increasing performance for a specific application, and capacity planning, or deciding what hardware best fulfills a given role. Underpinning both subjects is the science of computer architecture. This book focuses on the operating system, the underlying hardware, and their interactions. Topics covered include:
<ul>
<li>Real and perceived performance problems, introducing capacity planning and performance monitoring (highlighting their strengths and weaknesses). </li>
<li>An integrated description of all the major tools at a system administrator's disposal for tracking down system performance problems. </li>
<li>Background on modern memory handling techniques, including the memory-caching filesystem implementations in Solaris and AIX. Updated sections on memory conservation and computing memory requirements. </li>
<li>In depth discussion of disk interfaces, bandwidth capacity considerations, and RAID systems. </li>
<li>Comprehensive discussion of NFS and greatly expanded discussion of networking. </li>
<li>Workload management and code tuning. </li>
<li>Special topics such as tuning Web servers for various types of content delivery and developments in cross-machine parallel computing </li>
</ul>For system administrators who want a hands-on introduction to system performance, this is the book to recommend.

System Performance Tuning, 2nd Edition (O'Reilly System Administration)

Computers & Technology

Loukides, Mike

Musumeci, Gian-Paolo D.

Computer Science

O'Reilly Media

UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers provides the serious scientific programmer with an introduction to the UNIX operating system and its tools. The intent of the book is to minimize the UNIX entry barrier and to familiarize readers with the most important tools so they can be productive as quickly as possible. UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers shows readers how to do things they're interested in: not just how to use a tool such as make or rcs, but how to use it in program development and how it fits into the toolset as a whole.The tools discussed include:
<ul>
<li>The FORTRAN compiler (f77).</li>
<li>UNIX interactive command languages, or shells (csh for interactive use, sh for shell programming).</li>
<li>
vi, the standard UNIX editor.</li>
<li>Object library management tools (ar and ranlib).</li>
<li>The programming environment (I/O, basic system calls, error handling).</li>
<li>The adb and dbx debuggers.</li>
<li>
prof, gprof, time, profiling tools.</li>
<li>
make, a tool for automating complex compilations.</li>
<li>
rcs, a source code management system for large projects.</li>
<li>Common porting problems.</li>
</ul>

UNIX for FORTRAN Programmers (Nutshell Handbooks)

Operating Systems

System Performance Tuning answers one of the most fundamental questions you can ask about your UNIX-based computer: How can I get it to do more work without buying more hardware? Anyone who has ever used a computer has wished that the system was faster, particularly at times when it was under heavy load.If your system gets sluggish when you start a big job, if it feels as if you spend hours waiting for remote file access to complete, if your system stops dead when several users are active at the same time, you need to read this book. Some performance problems do require you to buy a bigger or faster computer, but many can be solved simply by making better use of the resources you already have.Contents include:
<ul>
<li>Real and perceived performance problems.</li>
<li>Simple tricks to improve keyboard response.</li>
<li>Locating your problem; finding out what your system is doing.</li>
<li>Using tools such as at and batch to manage system load.</li>
<li>Surviving without a lot of memory.</li>
<li>Configuring your I/O system for the best throughput.</li>
<li>Detecting an overworked or malfunctioning network.</li>
<li>Building a kernel that uses your system more efficiently.</li>
</ul>

System Performance Tuning (Nutshell Handbooks)

Reference

O'Reilly & Associates, Incorporated

The promise of having control over their environment draws programmers to UNIX. It offers powerful tools for the initiated within an operating system that can be customized and tuned in almost unlimited ways. Programmers use UNIX because it lets them do what they want. And they like to see the source code for the software they work with.So it's no surprise the most popular programming tools on UNIX are free. They're easy to get, easy to customize, and better than many tools put out by vendors. They also offer a great deal of power. And the source code is publicly available.This book and CD combination is a complete package for programmers who are new to UNIX or who would like to make better use of the system. The tools come from Cygnus Support, Inc., and Cyclic Software, companies that provide support for free software. The tools on the CD include:
<ul>
<li>GNU Emacs, the legendary text editor</li>
<li>
gcc, the C and C++ compiler that immediately established itself as the best UNIX compiler for robustness and optimization</li>
<li>GNU libraries (including C++ libraries)</li>
<li>The gdb debugger</li>
<li>RCS, a tool for backing up and maintaining multiple versions of source files</li>
<li>GNU make, the most powerful version of that utility for managing builds</li>
</ul>The book provides an introduction to all these tools for a C programmer. Previous experience with UNIX is not required.The CD-ROM in this book contains binaries for several popular UNIX systems, including Sun SPARC4 running SunOS 4.1.3, Sun SPARC4 running Solaris 2.4, HP 9000/700 running HPUX, IBM RS/6000 running AIX 3, SGI Iris/Indigo running Irix 5.3, and Alpha running Digital UNIX. Complete source code and scripts for configuration, building, and installation are also included.

Programming with GNU Software: Tools from Cygnus Support (Nutshell Handbooks)

Oram, Andy

Ideal for UNIX users who hunger for technical -- yet accessible -- information,UNIX Power Tools, 2nd Edition, consists of tips, tricks, concepts, and freeware (CD-ROM included). It also covers add-on utilities and how to take advantage of clever features in the most popular UNIX utilities.Loaded with even more practical advice about almost every aspect of UNIX, this edition addresses the technology that UNIX users face today, differing from the first edition in a number of important ways.First, it slants the blend of options and commands more toward the POSIX utilities, including the GNU versions; the bash and tcsh shells have greater coverage, but we've kept the first edition's emphasis on the core concepts of sh and csh that will help you use all UNIX shells; and, Perl is more important than awk these days, so we've de-emphasizedawk in this edition.This is a browser's book...like a magazine that you don't read from start to finish, but leaf through repeatedly until you realize that you've read it all. The book is structured so that it bursts at the seams with cross references. Interesting "sidebars" explore syntax or point out other directions for exploration, including relevant technical details that might not be immediately apparent. You'll find articles abstracted from other O'Reilly books, new information that highlights program "tricks" and "gotchas," tips posted to the Net over the years, and other accumulated wisdom.The 53 chapters in this book discuss topics like file management, text editors, shell programming -- even office automation. Overall, there's plenty of material here to satisfy even the most voracious appetites. The bottom line? UNIX Power Tools is loaded with practical advice about almost every aspect of UNIX. It will help you think creatively about UNIX, and will help you get to the point where you can analyze your own problems. Your own solutions won't be far behind.The CD-ROM includes all of the scripts and aliases from the book, plusperl, GNU emacs, netpbm (graphics manipulation utilities),ispell,screen, the sc spreadsheet, and about 60 other freeware programs. In addition to the source code, all the software is precompiled for Sun4, Digital UNIX, IBM AIX, HP/UX, Red Hat Linux, Solaris, and SCO UNIX.

UNIX PowerTools

Peek, Jerry

O'Reilly, Tim