Dual CPU Database Server Comparison

Benchmark Configuration

To ensure that our databases work stably and reliably, we followed the guidelines of SUSE and IBM. For example, DB2 is only certified to run on the SLES versions of SUSE Linux; you cannot run it on any Linux distribution. We also used the MySQL version (3.23.52) that came with the SUSE SLES8 CD's, which was certified to work on our OS.

Software

IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition 8.1.3 (DB2ESE), 32 bit and 64 bit
MySQL 3.23.52, 32 bit and 64 bit
SUSE SLES 8 (SUSE Entreprise Edition) SP3, Linux kernel 2.4.21, 32 bit and 64 bit

Hardware

We'll discuss the different tested servers in more detail below. Here is the list of the different configurations:

Intel Server 1: Dual Intel Nocona 3.6 GHz 1 MB L2-cache, 800 MHz FSB - Lindenhurst Chipset
Intel® Server Board SE7520AF2
2 GB (4x512 MB) Micron Registered DDR-II PC2-3200R, 400 MHz CAS 3, ECC enabled
NIC: Dual Intel® PRO/1000 Server NIC (Intel® 82546GB controller)

Intel Server 2: Dual Xeon DP 3.06 GHz 1 MB L3-cache, Dual Xeon 3.2 GHz 2MB L3-cache, Dual Xeon 3.2 GHz
Intel SE7505VB2 board - Dual DDR266
2 GB (4x512 MB) Crucial PC2100R - 250033R, 266 MHz CAS 2.5 (2.5-3-3-6)
NIC: 1 Gb Intel RC82540EM - Intel E1000 driver.

Opteron Server 1: SUN V20z Dual AMD Opteron 248 (2.2 GHz)
Newisys Khepri based board
2 GB: 4x512 MB Infineon PC2700R - 250033R (2.5-3-3-6)
OR 2 GB: 4x512 MB Mushkin PC3200R-232 (2-3-2-6)
NIC: Broadcom 5703, bcm5700 driver

Opteron Server 2: HP DL-145
HP motherboard
2 GB: 4x512 MB Infineon PC2700R - 250033R (2.5-3-3-6)
or 2 GB: 4x512 MB Mushkin PC3200R-232 (2-3-2-6)
NIC: Broadcom 5703, bcm5700 driver

Opteron Server 3: Tyan Thunder K8W (S2885) based
Tyan K8W S2885
2 GB: 4x512 MB Infineon PC2700R - 250033R (2.5-3-3-6)
or 2 GB: 4x 12 MB Mushkin PC3200R-232 (2-3-2-6)
NIC: Broadcom 5703, bcm5700 driver

Opteron Server 4: HP DL-585
HP custom designed motherboard
4 GB: 8x512 MB Infineon PC2700R - 250033R (2.5-3-3-6)
NIC: Broadcom 5703, bcm5700 driver

Opteron Server 5: AMD Quartet: Dual 844, Dual 848, Quad 844 and Quad 848
Quartet motherboard, Zildjian personality board, Tobias backplane board and Rivera power distribution board.
Quad configurations: 4 GB: 8x512 MB infineon PC2700 Registered, ECC enabled
Dual configurations: 2 GB: 4x512 MB infineon PC2700 Registered, ECC enabled
NIC: Broadcom NetExtreme Gigabit

Client Configuration 1: 1x Pentium 4 3.06 GHz HT on - 533 MHz FSB
MSI GNB MAX FISR (E7205)
2x512 MB Crucial PC2100R - 250033R (2-2-2-6)
NIC: 1 GB Intel RC82546EB - Intel E1000 driver

Shared Components
1 Seagate Cheetah 36 GB - 15000 rpm - 320 MB/s
Maxtor 120 GB DiamondMax Plus 9 (7200 RPM, ATA-100/133, 8 MB cache)