I did some testing on the available Ethernet adapters for AmigaOS 4.1 and compared them against AmigaOS 3.9. Read below for the test results!
Hardware Setup
Amiga Technologies A4000T
phase 5 Cyberstorm PPC with 233MHz 604e and 50MHz 68060
128MB RAM
Deneb Zorro III USB Controller – PIO mode in AmigaOS 4.1, DMA mode in AmigaOS 3.9
D-Link DUB-E100 100Mbit USB Ethernet Adapter
Elbox Mediator A3/4000T
Realtek 8029 based PCI network card 10Mbit
Realtek 8139 based PCI network card 100Mbit
Sapphire Radeon 9250 256MB PCI graphics card
ESS Solo-1 PCI sound card
Dual Boot AmigaOS 3.9 and AmigaOS 4.1 Classic Installed
Testing Methodology
For each test a large file was ftp’ed from a local ftp server into the Amiga 4000T’s RAM disk. Three different files were used – a 10MB file, a 40MB file, and a 102MB file. The transfer rate at the end of the transfer was recorded for each test. There was a normally a higher “peak” transfer rate, but since that was not sustained, I recorded the more realistic number at the end of the transfer.
FTP Client Used
I used the fastest client I could for each test. Under AmigaOS 4.1 it was the included command line ftp program. In AmigaOS 3.9 the AmiFTP client was fastest. The included Genesis command line ftp client was very slow for some reason under AmigaOS 3.9.
TCP/IP Stack
AmigaOS 4.1 Classic is using RoadShow
AmigaOS 3.9 is using Genesis 68020 version
Operating System Notes
Stock AmigaOS 4.1 Classic install using DHCP.
AmigaOS 3.9 BB4 with MAPROM feature of Cyberstorm PPC enabled. In addition, two tests were performed on each ethernet card with TLSFMem enabled. TLSFMem is designed for AmigaOS 3.x only. If you don’t know what TLSFMem is you can find information about it on Chris Hodges’ site here.
Results
OK, on to the results! As you can see enabling TLSFMem under AmigaOS 3.9 makes a huge difference.
Not only does it lower by a little bit the CPU usage, it significantly increases the transfer rate and the overall system feels faster.
You can see the difference in speed between the RTL 8029 and RTL 8139 network cards on AmigaOS 3.9 and AmigaOS 4.1 Classic in the chart below.
Under AmigaOS 4.1 Classic, the RTL8029 can reach 900 KB/sec and peak above that. Using the USB adapter connected to the Deneb, you can get an even higher 1MB/sec. There is very little difference in CPU usage in PIO or DMA mode on the Deneb – approximately 5% give or take. Transfer rates are faster under AmigaOS 4.1, except when TLSFMem is enabled on AmigaOS 3.9.
Those of you worried about the speed of the RTL 8029 PCI network card under AmigaOS 4.1 Classic can be assured of solid 10Mbit performance. Using a 100Mbit network card on AmigaOS 4.1 Classic wouldn’t really buy you much because the Classic systems aren’t fast enough to drive much beyond 1MB/sec.
All results measured in KB/sec (Kilo Bytes per second).
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