>>> I can't think of any CS invention that is used in the real
>>> world that has cost 4 orders of magnitude in performance.
>>
>> paging to/from disk
>
> No, that's not a fair comparison. Paging/swapping is the only way to
> extend virtual memory space without buying more RAM. Is there an
> alternative method of increasing VM size without paging, and is it any
> faster?
Sure it is fair. You could use overlays instead, but most people
are too lazy to do it. Overlays can give you better performance.
Let's get rid of paging. It is slower than overlays!
> Also, typical programmes don't suffer much performance loss with
> paging.
I'd say a 24-hour or longer kernel compile is much performance loss.
> DSM is not the only solution to parallel/distributed computing.
Nobody claimed it was. MPI is not the only solution...
> DSM can destroy performance for typical threaded programmes.
It can. It does not always. One might as well try, especially when
there is existing code that can be used.
> Typical MPI programmes will work fairly well on a cluster.
Not all of them do. Some spend all their time waiting for messages.
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