AMD64 / EM64T

[ray at redshift.com]

Hi List,

  I'm running a cluster over here (15 Xeon's) and need to put a couple of new
master database servers on line.  I've done some testing with FreeBSD/amd64 but
aside from a small increase in performance, haven't really seen anything too
dramatic (this is a single Supermicro Xeon 2.40 Ghz vs. a Dual Opteron 246 with
a Tyan board).

  I guess my questions is two fold:

  1.  Does anyone have any feedback/experience as far as running FreeBSD/amd64
on a dual the Intel Xeon 64 bit EM64T setup?  I have tried amd64 on the Opteron
machine we have here and it seems to work okay, but it has not been in a
production environment yet.  I've also never tried it on the EM64T CPU's.  Are
the EM64T cpu's just as compatible with it as the AMD Opteron's?  And are there
any pros/cons vs. one or the other?

  2.  Is the AMD64 branch stable enough for production use or would it make more
since to stick to i386 and run that on a faster (although probably not as fast)
machine, and avoid 64 bit for the time being.  I've heard mixed reviews from our
hardware vendor regarding enterprise sites which have jumped on the 64 bit
bandwagon too soon and regretted it.  

  If anyone has any feelings or comments as far as if the amd64 works well on
the EM64T CPU's and/or if the general consensus is that the AMD64 branch is as
stable and production ready as the i386 branch - I would certainly enjoy hearing
comments/suggestions from members of the list.  For me, I'm not looking to
squeeze every possible ounce of performance out of the machines - stability is
the first priority, then speed (as much as possible while staying with something
fairly standard and tested) is the next concern.

Thanks!

Ray

cc: cross post to hackers as well... I know, I know... :)