RVL Computing Benchmarks (Or, How to Pick a Computing Platform)

This page assumes you have first read the page describing Solaris and Linux/BSD compilers.

I ran some benchmark tests on RVL systems in an attempt to re-create the ``RVL Computing Guide'' of years ago. The goal is to suggest where certain types of software might best be run. I tested three categories of software:

Calculation type	Examples
Integer	Image processing, many database operations, networking servers, operating systems
Floating-point arithmetic	3-D data analysis, some raytracing, signal processing
Floating-point library calls: `sin()`, `cos()`, `sqrt()`, `log()`, etc	Some raytracing

Results

One section per calculation type, with the RVL machines ranked by speed. I ran benchmark programs, captured the user+system CPU time, then scaled the numbers so that the time for the fastest machine in each category is one "time unit". I rounded off some low-level measurement noise so that some blocks of machines reported with identical time units really varied by 1-3%. Generally, all the SPARCstation-5's except astra (faster) and azure (slower).

Integer calculations

On UltraSPARC platforms, Sun's CC compiler has a large performance penalty when asking for 64-bit code. Typically, these three produce approximately equal times:

CC -xO5
gcc -O3
gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9

but this one takes up to twice as long:

CC -xO5 -xarch=v9

**Integer calculations**
Hostname	Time units	Best-performance compiler options	Platform	Operating system	64-bit platform?
paraty	1.00	`gcc -O3`	3.0 GHz Intel P4	Linux 2.4.19
ariel	1.20	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
plato	1.20	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
copacabana	1.50	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
ipanema	1.50	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
threedee	1.76	`gcc -O3`	1.3 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.2.19
rvl1	2.68	`CC -xO5` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun-Fire 280R	SunOS 5.8	yes
ziuacatu	2.69	`gcc -O3`	860 MHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
rvl4	4.27	`CC -xO5` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-80	SunOS 5.8	yes
barrio	4.28	`CC -xO5 -xarch=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
sumatra	4.34	`gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
perfecta	4.36	`CC -xO5`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
fovea	5.13	`gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
earthspirit	5.30	`CC -xO5` or gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9	Sun Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
artemis	5.73	`CC -xO5` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
xoanon	6.08	`gcc -O3`	400 MHz Pentium II	Linux 2.4.19
rvl2	6.45	`CC -xO5` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-4	SunOS 5.8	yes
aristos	7.94	`gcc -O3`	300 MHz Pentium II	Linux 2.4.19
rvl3	10.94	`CC -xO5` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-2	SunOS 5.8	yes
meglos	12.69	`gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-1	SunOS 5.8	yes
astra	24.06	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
orpheus	30.66	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-20	SunOS 5.6
calliope	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
davros	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
omega	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
rassilon	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
sclera	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
serengeti	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
wayfinder	36.14	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
azure	46.46	`CC -xO5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6

Floating-point arithmetic

Remember this is floating-point arithmetic, not floating-point math library calls. FFT, not trigonometry.

On UltraSPARC, asking for 64-bit code (gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9 versus gcc -O3) causes a slight performance penalty, typically 2-10%.

I'm uncertain why threedee appears further down the list than might be expected based on its platform. Maybe it is connected to its running a rather old kernel?

**Floating-point arithmetic**
Hostname	Time units	Best-performance compiler options	Platform	Operating system	64-bit platform?
paraty	1.00	`gcc -O3`	3.0 GHz Intel P4	Linux 2.4.19
rvl1	1.02	`gcc -O3`	Sun-Fire 280R	SunOS 5.8	yes
rvl4	1.12	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-80	SunOS 5.8	yes
sumatra	1.19	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
barrio	1.20	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
earthspirit	1.48	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
fovea	1.48	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
ariel	1.64	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
plato	1.64	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
copacabana	1.74	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
ipanema	1.74	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
rvl2	1.76	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-4	SunOS 5.8	yes
perfecta	2.57	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
artemis	2.49	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
xoanon	2.68	`gcc -O3`	400 MHz Pentium II	Linux 2.4.19
ziuacatu	3.18	`gcc -O3`	860 MHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
threedee	3.27	`gcc -O3`	1.3 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.2.19
aristos	5.31	`gcc -O3`	300 MHz Pentium II	Linux 2.4.19
rvl3	5.86	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-2	SunOS 5.8	yes
meglos	6.36	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-1	SunOS 5.8	yes
astra	11.53	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
orpheus	12.19	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
calliope	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
davros	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
omega	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
rassilon	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
sclera	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
serengeti	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
wayfinder	14.86	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
azure	17.46	`CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6

Math library calls

Lots of calls to cos(), sin(), tan(), log(), pow(), sqrt(), etc.

Compiler optimization has minimal effect on processing speed here.

For the most part, the Linux machines are significantly faster.

Not sure what paraty is so much slower than expected, Is AMD is that much better at math library calls?

**Math library calls**
Hostname	Time units	Best-performance compiler options	Platform	Operating system	64-bit platform?
ariel	1.00	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
plato	1.00	`gcc -O3`	2.0 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
paraty	1.21	`gcc -O3`	3.0 GHz Intel P4	Linux 2.4.19
copacabana	1.29	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
ipanema	1.29	`gcc -O3`	1.5 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
threedee	1.60	`gcc -O3`	1.3 GHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.2.19
ziuacatu	2.38	`gcc -O3`	860 MHz AMD Athlon	Linux 2.4.19
xoanon	5.31	`gcc -O3`	400 MHz Pentium II	Linux 2.4.19
rvl1	5.54	`CC -O5 -xarch=v9`	Sun-Fire 280R	SunOS 5.8	yes
rvl4	5.98	`gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-80	SunOS 5.8	yes
barrio	6.15	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
sumatra	6.15	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
perfecta	6.15	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
earthspirit	7.51	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
fovea	7.51	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
artemis	8.16	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-5_10	SunOS 5.8	yes
rvl2	9.13	`gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-4	SunOS 5.8	yes
rvl3	16.33	`gcc -O3`	Sun Ultra-2	SunOS 5.8	yes
meglos	18.96	`gcc -O3` or `gcc -O3 -mcpu=v9`	Sun Ultra-1	SunOS 5.8	yes
orpheus	36.36	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-20	SunOS 5.6
astra	47.13	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
calliope	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
davros	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
omega	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
rassilon	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
sclera	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
serengeti	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
wayfinder	65.66	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6
azure	72.99	`CC` or `CC -O5`	Sun SPARCstation-5	SunOS 5.6