[LARTC] Intel or AMD is better processor for router (800+ users)

[Aleksander]

Marek Kierdelewicz wrote:
> I think you could do well with P4 3GHz HT. It would be cheapest and
> most effective choice. With HT enabled kernel two nic-s could be
> configured that each nic's interrupt is serviced by another
> processor. 
> 
> I recommend reading this article:
> http://lwn.net/Articles/145406/
> 
> P4 will suffice as long as you will keep your config optimised (hashing
> tc filters, using ipset instead of long sequences of iptables
> rules ...). 

Hi,

The referenced article mentions this in the chapter "4.2.3.1  CPUs 
should only following one NIC".

The author highly recommends disabling IRQ balancing in the kernel 
config, but does not clarify what this does. I tried googling but didn't 
find much info. What does it exactly do, and why is disabling it 
recommended/required?

It seems to me, IRQ balancing does not allow to specify interrupts per 
device but assigns them automatically on the run, correct?

While searching the web, I found reports about big performance increases 
in 3D rendering due to disabling the feature. Can this be true and why?

Thanks,
	Alex