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I realize that by asking this question I have already labeled myself as "unprepared" for high-performance workstations, but whatever, you have to start somewhere!
I would like to know how different linux distributions handle multiple cores and multi-threading, so as to help determine which might be best for an HPC workstation.
By default I know that Linux takes advantage of several cores, but does anybody have reference links to how it handles multi-cores (in English, i.e. I don't want to read the source code ;) ) as well as performance comparison charts (re: core utilization over time, thread distribution, compile times, etc). I understand that applications must also be optimized for multi-core support, but the first step is getting the most out of the operating system.
Or am I wrong, and is Linux inherently the same in this regards, no matter the distribution, and instead performance will be all application based?
1This question might as well be titled. "Begin a flame war over which Linux distro is best below." Honestly, for the question to be answerable, we need a bit more to go on than just "high performance". If your question is really "Do distributions differ in how they handle multithreading?" then ask THAT question, not this one. – frabjous – 2010-10-11T06:00:26.820
I don't mean to start a flame-war :( I hate them as much as the next practical individual. I will rephrase my question. Sorry. – Jonathan – 2010-10-11T06:12:28.387
I thought the question was posed pretty well, then again I'm all for knowledge and don't care much for flaming. It's a question I'd like to see answered... – invert – 2010-10-11T07:52:22.043
wez, the question has been changed since I wrote my comment, and much for the better! (Originally it was something like "which linux distro is best for high performance?") – frabjous – 2010-10-11T15:53:52.760