Lubomir Zvolensky wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:
 MB> In general, IDE/EIDE drives on NetWare servers should be avoided.
 MB> They tie up the CPU while doing I/O, and cannot offload processng as
 MB> SCSI drives can.
 LZ> I get 15% CPU utilization while pushing 1MB/s through cable
 LZ> to client from P200 server, 2.5GB WD with Busmastering
 LZ> driver installed on NW3.12. You're right, EIDE should be
 LZ> avoided in servers, but in some situations (small networks
 LZ> <10 clients, soft loaded, new business etc) the price is
 LZ> also important. 
You can probably reduce the CPU load by switching down the IDE I/O mode if 
your CMOS setup allows it.  For example, enabling multiple sector I/O is a 
big help, and dropping to PIO Mode 1 or 0 may also help.  Although PIO Mode 3 
will transfer the data faster, the overall system speed may improve with a 
more restrictive PIO Mode.  If you have DMA support on IDE, then it will 
usually be an advantage to enable it.
I agree that IDE in a file server is reasonable if price is the main concern. 
 IDE will work fine in a file server: it will just be slower.
 
-- Mike
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