Re: A Customer's Request For Open Source Software

[Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@crs4.it>]

Christopher Browne wrote:
> The world rejoiced as "Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@attbi.com> wrote:
>>Alexander Kopilovitch wrote:

[ viewing CPU's as just another resource ]

> That can only conceivably be supported on hardware that conciously
> supports adding and dropping CPUs while the system is "hot."

I am not sure I agree with you on this point.  I beleive that MOSIX
actually allows you to do something like that, although the units you
add or drop are whole physical machines and not just single CPU's or
memory blocks.

> But mandating an OS design that mandates this
> "many-times-more-expensive" sort of hardware in days when
> over-the-counter hardware is so cheap and available seems almost as
> limiting as the lack of an "adding CPUs" feature.

If it is sufficient to be able to add or drop physical machines from a
networked cluster of machines that make up the Multics site, then I
don't see it as a problem.

Jacob
-- 
"We will be restoring normality as soon as we are sure what is normal
  anyway."