high collisions rates REVISITED

[Loki Jorgenson Rm421]

	OK... no one gave me any particularly useful info about what to
look for insofar as our net problem goes (recap: high collision rates
on 4D IRIS servers (2-10%) compared to SUNS (0.1% on servers and clients)
according to "netstat -i").  Examining net statistics shows that the
bulk of the problem lies with NFS to/from IRI.  SUN servers have no such
problem regardless of whether they are serving IRI or SUN.

	Besides the usual thinnet cabling limitations (max 185m of cable
segment before repeater is necessary, 50cm multiples in length, max 30 
machines), the only option suggested was to have a Sniffer or NetVisualizer
available, neither of which is financially feasible for us.  No one
mentioned a minimum cable length (other than 50cm).

	However.... at least two other sites noted the same problem and
have failed to come up with an explanation.  The Geometry hotline has yielded
nothing.  I was wondering if someone at SGI would like to comment.
Or at least propose a good reason why this should be acceptable from an IRIS.

		???

Regards,
                             _ _         _ _
Loki Jorgenson              / / _ _ _ _ _ \ \  node:  loki at Physics.McGill.CA
Grad/Systems Manager      _/_/_/_/_/ \_\_\_\_\_BITNET: PY29 at MCGILLA
Physics, McGill University \ \ \_\_\_/_/_/ / / fax:   (514) 398-3733
Montreal Quebec CANADA      \_\_         _/_/  phone: (514) 398-7027