Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!evan
From: evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch)
Newsgroups: can.usrgroup
Subject: Is it the interleave?
Message-ID: <1989Sep27.022039.14752@telly.on.ca>
Date: 27 Sep 89 02:20:39 GMT
Distribution: can
Organization: Telly Online, Brampton, Ontario
Lines: 29

Telly's recent disk problems supposedly provided a long-term benefit, by
enabling me to install a Maxtor 140 Meg drive. I'm told the seek and
transfer rates for this beast are supposed to be pretty good. The
AT-bus controller is an OMTI, same as for the previous drive. The system
is a 386 clone.

The disk was low-level formattted with a 1:2 interleave. Why, I don't
know. Anyway, since installing this thing the disk speed has been OK,
but INCOMING uucp throughput on the Trailblazer has been severely
reduced. Outgoing speed has not been affected, nor has traffic at 2400
baud.

Here's what happens. The transfer starts, at full-tilt PEP speed, for a
few seconds. Then I hear the disk head move and the modem transfer
stops dead. A second or two passes, then it starts again - until another
disk seek in a few seconds, another pause, etc...

If I didn't know better I'd swear it was dropping characters on input.

I know that telly's  modem, on COM1:, would be radically sped up if put
on an intelligent card. That's the next piece of hardware coming. But is
it possible that a badly-done interleave could have this kind of effect?

What *is* the optimal interleave for a decent-speed ST506 drive?

Please mail suggestions. Thanks.
-- 
   Evan Leibovitch, Sound Software, Brampton, Ontario  -  evan@telly.on.ca
         She was looking for a vacation, and he was the last resort.