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Performance of HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server
with Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors
(2.5 GHz) in a 64-bit HP SBC environment
Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 3
AMD Opteron processors .................................................
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Executive summary Important: This document describes a performance characterization performed utilizing the HP 64-bit test harness, which incorporates a Microsoft® Office 2003 workload. Test results cannot be compared directly with the results of tests performed using the 32-bit Office XP- or Office 2003-based harness. 1 The HP ProLiant DL585 G5 is a highly manageable, rack-optimized, four-socket server designed for maximum performance in an industry-standard architecture. With up to
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Introduction The HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server (shown in Figure 1) is ideal for multi-threaded, multi-tasked environments, high-performance computing, and HP SBC. Figure 1. HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server AMD Opteron processors The HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server supports up to four Quad-Core AMD Opteron 8300 Series processors. This native quad-core processor delivers the following benefits: • Outstanding performance The Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor is designed for optimal multi-thr
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AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management Without compromising performance, AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management functionality allows each processor to maximize the power-saving benefits of Enhanced AMD PowerNow! by reducing idle power consumption and enabling per-processor power management in multi-socket systems to further reduce power consumption. By powering core and memory controller voltage planes independently, AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management can enhance both performance and power managemen
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This section provides more information on test tools, user profiles and test scenarios. Test tools To facilitate the placement and management of simulated loads on an HP SBC server, HP used Terminal Services Scalability Planning Tools (TSScaling), a suite of tools developed by Microsoft to help organizations with Microsoft Windows® Server 2003 Terminal Server capacity planning. Table 1 describes these tools. Table 1. Components of TSScaling Component Description Automation tools Robosr
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User profiles To simulate typical workloads in this environment, HP used scripts based on the Heavy, Medium, and Light User profiles described in Table 2. Table 2. User profiles incorporated into the test scripts User class Activities Heavy User Heavy Users (also known as Structured Task Workers) tend to open multiple applications simultaneously and remain active for long periods. Heavy Users often leave applications open when not in use. Medium User Medium Users (also known as Knowledg
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Test scenarios For the Heavy User type, HP initiated testing by running the appropriate script with a group of 15 simulated users. Start times were staggered to eliminate authentication overhead. After these sessions finished, HP added 15 more users, then repeated the testing. Further groups of 15 users were added until the maximum number of users was reached. For Medium and Light User types, HP utilized groups of ten users. Performance and scalability metrics While the scripts were runni
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Test topology 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. 8
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Configurations Table 4 summarizes the configurations of servers and clients used in the test environment. Table 4. System configurations Server Configuration HP SBC server 4P HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server with: • Quad-Core AMD Opteron Processor Model 8360 SE (2.5 GHz) – 512 KB L2 cache per core; 2 MB L3 cache • 32 GB RAM • Smart Array P400 controller with RAID 0 • Four 72 GB 15,000 rpm SAS hard drives – 48 GB page file on system partition • NC371i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
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Table 4. System configurations (continued) Server Configuration Client Variety of Intel Pentium®-based Compaq Evo workstations (600 MHz – 2.533 GHz), each with: • At least 256 MB of memory • 1024 x 768/16-bit color depth • 100 Mbps NIC Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP HP SBC server summary Table 5 summarizes the configuration of the tested HP SBC server. Table 5. System summary for the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server Component Description Operating system (OS) Microsoft Win
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Table 5. System summary for the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server (continued) Component Description Total physical memory 32,765.62 MB Available physical memory 30.63 GB Total virtual memory 79.06 GB Available virtual memory 78.54 GB Page file space 48.00 GB Page file C:\pagefile.sys Performance test results This section outlines the test results used by HP to characterize the performance and scalability of the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server. • Perfmon values – Shows select Perfmon counter v
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Perfmon values HP ran a series of performance tests using scripts based on the Heavy, Medium, and Light User profiles. Figure 3 shows the test results for Heavy Users. Figure 3. % Processor Time values for Heavy Users – showing that 288 Heavy Users were supported when processor utilization reached 80% Figure 3 shows the optimal number of Heavy Users supported by the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server to be 288. 12
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Canary times Figure 4 shows sample results for the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server running a typical canary script. Individual user response times are shown in blue, with a yellow line depicting average response times. HP analyzed this figure to determine when response times began to increase markedly and consistently over a baseline level, indicating that user response times had become unacceptable. Figure 4. Canary time values show that response times began to become unacceptable when 32
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Test analysis summary Figure 5 summarizes the optimal numbers of users supported by the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server. Figure 5. Optimal numbers of users supported in the 64-bit test harness HP characterized the scalability of the HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server through the numbers of users supported when CPU utilization reached 80%. Recommendations Since x64 platforms allow you to better utilize memory and multi-core processors, the bottleneck you 6 are most likely to encounter is ass
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Note: In the event of an I/O bottleneck, you should tune the disk subsystem, decrease the number of users or applications, or add memory to the server. Using BBWC HP Smart Array controllers include an allocation of RAM that can be utilized to temporarily buffer data being written to or read from disk. Since access to this RAM is significantly faster than disk access, cache can enhance overall server performance, particularly during login operations. Write cache is of particular interest
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Appendix A – Using Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions Microsoft offers high-performance platforms for 64-bit applications with continued support for 32-bit applications and existing deployment and management tools – all on the same platform. These operating systems provide an evolutionary path to 64-bit technology, allowing 64-bit and 32-bit applications to run side-by-side during the gradual migration to 64-bit computing. 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2003 running on Quad-Core
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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%
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Figure B-1. The sizer’s Application Selection screen Based on information provided by the customer, the sizer can provide a quick, consistent mechanism for identifying the “best-fit” server for a particular HP SBC environment and generate a Bill of Materials (BOM) for that server. 18
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For more information HP ProLiant DL585 G5 server http://www.hp.com/servers/dl585 HP ActiveAnswers for Server Based http://www.hp.com/solutions/activeanswers/hpsbc Computing HP ProLiant Sizer for Citrix XenApp http://h71019.www7.hp.com/activeanswers/Secure (formerly Presentation Server) and Microsoft /70245-0-0-0-121.aspx Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services HP Services http://www.hp.com/hps/ HP Solution Centers http://www.hp.com/go/solutioncenters Introduction to Windows Server 200
