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Scalability and performance of HP ProLiant BL35p server
blades with AMD Opteron Model 250 (2.4 GHz/1 MB)
processors in an HP SBC environment
Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 3
This performance brief...........................
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Appendix A – AMD Opteron processors .............................................................................................. 17 Features........................................................................................................................................ 17 Benefits......................................................................................................................................... 18 Breaking the 4 GB address limit....................................
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Executive summary The new HP ProLiant BL35p two-way server blade delivers uncompromising manageability, maximum computing density, and breakthrough power efficiencies to the high-performance data center. Offering customers a modular, space-saving design, the HP ProLiant BL35p server blade consumes less power, enabling denser rack architectures. The HP ProLiant BL35p shares the same infrastructure components as all BL p-Class server blades, allowing customers to enjoy additional benefits
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Overview This section outlines the benefits and key features of the HP ProLiant BL35p server blade, shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: HP ProLiant BL35p server blade, showing a single blade and two blades in an HP BladeSystem p-Class Blade Sleeve Benefits HP introduces the new HP ProLiant BL35p server blade, which delivers maximum computing density and breakthrough power efficiencies to the enterprise data center or high-performance technical computing environments. Benefits include:
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Ideal environment Medium to large enterprise data center customers requiring dense two-way server performance • Maximum 32-bit or 64-bit two-way performance for load-balanced or front-end applications • Ultra-dense design supports up to 96 servers (192 processors) in a standard rack • Lower power consumption per server (68 W per processor) enables denser rack architectures High Performance Technical Computing (HPC) environments • Support for up to two Opteron 200 Series processors with
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Performance testing HP continues to upgrade existing HP ProLiant servers and introduce new servers to meet particular business needs. To help customers select the appropriate server for their particular HP SBC environment, HP publishes this and other performance briefs to characterize individual server performance and scalability. This section describes the test environment and test scenarios used to determine the optimal number of users supported by an HP ProLiant BL35p server blade in a
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More information on the test tools • Roboserver (Robosrv.exe) and Roboclient (Robocli.exe): Terminal Server capacity planning • TSScaling: Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Capacity and Scaling Test scripts HP used test scripts that simulated the activities of three types of users (Heavy, Medium, and Light). Table 3 describes these users and their simulated activities. Table 3: Simulated user activities User Type Activities Heavy User Heavy Users (also known as Structured Task Wo
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Test scenarios HP deployed the configuration shown in Figure 2 to simulate an HP SBC environment. To simulate typical HP SBC workloads, HP ran a series of performance tests based on the Heavy, Medium, and Light User scripts described in Table 3. For each test scenario, HP began by running the appropriate script with a group of ten simulated users. Start times were staggered to eliminate authentication overhead. After the sessions finished, HP added ten more users, then repeated the testing
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Tested environment Figure 2 illustrates the HP SBC test environment. Figure 2: The tested environment Note: Test environments such as that shown in Figure 2 are available to customers at HP Solution Centers to help solve a wide variety of business problems. 9
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Guidelines HP followed these guidelines when configuring servers for the test environment: • Memory Since all applications reside and are executed on the HP SBC server, memory resources on this server must be sufficient in order to optimize system performance. HP offers the following recommendations based on user type: – 5 – 6 MB for each active Light User – 8 – 10 MB for each active Medium User – 12 – 15 MB for each active Heavy User For more information on these user types, refe
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Configurations Table 4 summarizes the configurations of systems used in the test environment. Table 4: System configurations Server Configuration HP SBC server Two-way HP ProLiant BL35p server blade with: • 2.4 GHz/1 MB AMD Opteron processors • 1 MB L2 cache • 4096 MB RAM • One 60.0 GB 5,400 rpm ATA hard drive Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Terminal Services enabled Microsoft Office XP Exchange Server/ HP ProLiant DL380 G2 server with: Internet Information • Tw
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System summary Table 5 summarizes the configuration of the HP SBC server. Table 5: HP SBC server configuration Component Description Operating system Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition Version 5.2.3790 Build 3790 System name BL35p System manufacturer HP System model ProLiant BL35p G1 System type x86-based PC Processor (each) x86 Family 15 Model 5 Stepping 10 AuthenticAMD ~2405 MHz BIOS version/date HP A03, 2/15/2005 SMBIOS version 2.3 Windows directory C:\WINDOWS S
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Performance test results HP tested a two-way HP ProLiant BL35p server blade with 2.4 GHz/1 MB Opteron processors to determine the optimal number of users supported in an HP SBC environment. This section provides information on the following topics: • % Processor Time – Shows % Processor Time values for a typical test scenario – the Heavy User scenario in this example • Canary script response times – Shows response times for a sample canary script that used Excel charting functions • Sum
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% Processor Time Figure 3 shows % Processor Time values for Heavy Users. Figure 3: % Processor Time values for Heavy Users – showing an optimal level of 123 users Figure 3 indicates that an HP ProLiant BL35p server blade can support 123 Heavy Users before the % Processor Time value reaches 80%. 14
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Canary time Figures 4 shows sample results for an HP ProLiant BL35p server blade running a typical canary script. Individual user response times are shown in blue, with a yellow line depicting average response times. HP analyzed Figure 4 to determine when response times began to increase markedly and consistently over a baseline level, providing an indication of optimal scalability. Figure 4: Canary time values – showing an optimal level of 141 Heavy Users Figure 4 indicates that
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Results summary Figure 5 summarizes the optimal numbers of users supported by an HP ProLiant BL35p server blade (based on % Processor Time values). Figure 5: Optimal numbers of users supported IMPORTANT: As with any laboratory benchmark, the performance metrics quoted in this performance brief are idealized. In a production environment these metrics may be impacted by a variety of factors. For more information, refer to Appendix B – SBC solution sizing. Summary To characterize
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Appendix A – AMD Opteron processors The AMD Opteron processors deployed in the latest HP ProLiant servers help advance the future of industry-standard servers. Key benefits include: • Improving the performance of existing 32-bit applications • Supporting 64-bit addressing – breaking the 4 GB limit inherent in earlier x86 processor implementations By supporting simultaneous 32- and 64-bit processing, the Opteron processor provides a bridge to full 64-bit computing. Features Figure A-1 il
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Benefits Table A-1 outlines key benefits of the Opteron processor. Table A-1: Key benefits of the Opteron processor Feature Benefit Simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing Users can run 32-bit and/or 64-bit applications and capabilities operating systems – without sacrificing performance. Direct Connect Architecture helps reduce Direct Connect Architecture can reduce memory latency, performance bottlenecks provide better balance for throughput, and support more linear symmetrical multipro
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Figure A-2 shows the approximate amount of directly-addressable memory available with various Windows operating systems. Figure A-2: Memory limits with Windows operating systems While 32-bit Windows operating systems can address a maximum of 4 GB directly, memory space can be extended with certain operating systems through the use of Address Windowing Extensions (AWE). Windows Server 2003 introduced 64-bit addressing, shattering the earlier 4 GB direct-addressing limitation. Windows
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Appendix B – SBC solution sizing As with any laboratory benchmark, the performance metrics quoted in this Performance Brief are idealized. In a production environment, these metrics may be impacted by a variety of factors, including the following: • Overhead Agents and services (virus scanning, backup and restore, provisioning, security, management and more) automatically consume overhead. Rogue applications can consume additional overhead. The system architect may wish to provide a 25%
