Post #2578070
2026-03-15 21:37 UTC
I spent two long days coding streaming writes for mTCP NetDrive. I have some early results.
The test: Copy a large file (1.7MB) from a 386-40 with an NE2000 card to a Linux server about 1800 miles away.
Old code: 18KB/sec
New code: 214KB/sec
The new code is about 350 bytes larger and uses no additional memory on the client side. On the server side I just had to increase buffer sizes.
And DOS is none the wiser .. the remote server just looks like a drive letter.
#retrocomputing #mtcp
Replies (1)
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@mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-03-16 23:27
Coding is contagious so I went back and did some more. Here are the current stats: Test: Copy a 4MB file to a server that is 55ms away. (About 1400 miles.) The machine is a 386-40 running DOS 5 with an NE2000 card. Old code: 220 sec, 18.6KB/sec New: 17.14 secs, 238KB/sec. Copying the file to the same local hard drive takes 4.84 seconds so the remote copy to a server is only 3.5x slower. Next: improve the read speed so I can host the SIMTEL archive via a DOS drive letter. #retrocomputing