Do disk drives dream of buffer cache hits?

ABSTRACT

G.E. Moore, in his book Principia Ethica, examines the popular view of ethics that deals with “what we ought to do” as well as using ethics to cover the general inquiry: “what is good?”This paper utilises Moore's view of Ethics to examine computer systems performance. Moore asserts that “good” in itself is indefinable. It is argued in this report that, although we describe computer systems as good (or bad) a computer system cannot be good in itself, rather a means to good!In terms of “what we ought to do” this paper looks at what actions (would) bring about good computer system performance according to computer science and engineering literature. In particular we look at duties, responsibilities and “to do what is right” in terms of system administration, design and usage.We further argue that in order to first make ethical observations with respect computer system performance and then apply them, requires technical knowledge which is typically limited to industry specialists and experts.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.7 THE COMPUTING PROFESSION
      K.7.m Miscellaneous
          Subjects: Ethics**

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.4 PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEMS
      Subjects: Performance attributes

  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.5 Security and Protection (D.4.6, K.4.2)

General Terms:
Human Factors, Performance, Security

Keywords:
Unix, duty, ethics, performance