Expensive Quad Sockets vs. Ubiquitous Dual Sockets
by Johan De Gelas on October 6, 2009 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing
Decision Support Benchmark: Nieuws.be
| Decision Support benchmark Nieuws.be | |
| Operating System | Windows 2008 Enterprise RTM (64 bit) |
| Software | SQL Server 2008 Enterprise x64 (64 bit) |
| Benchmark software | vApus + real-world "Nieuws.be" Database |
| Database Size | > 100GB |
| Typical error margin | 1-2% |
The Nieuws.be site is sitting on top of a pretty large database - more than 100GB and growing. This database consists of a few hundred separate tables, which have been carefully optimized by our lab (the Sizing Servers Lab). We have described our testing methods previously in more detail. As some of readers suggested we upgraded from SQL Server 2005 SP3 to SQL Server 2008.
In our "hex-core Opteron" review, we noticed excellent scaling from the quad-core Opteron "Shanghai" to a hex-core Opteron "Istanbul". 50% more cores resulted in a 40% performance increase. Even with 24 cores, the scaling remains outstanding: as we add another 12 "Istanbul" cores (a 100% increase), we get 65% more queries per second at a response time of 1000 ms. The Quad Xeon X7460 has a small but noticeable lead over the powerful dual Xeon X5570. The Quad Opteron 8435 outperforms the latter by 42%, which is quite impressive. The Microsoft SQL server team also deserves a pat on the back: few "native" applications - even databases - scale well to 24 cores.
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Photubias - Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - link
This is surely to be tested, but the Fiorano platform (as this AMD Chipset is called), is yet to be released.solori - Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - link
Fiorano (SR5690/SP5100, et al) are out now for Socket-F and really require an Istanbul to show their stuff (like IOV, etc). With a minor tweak on HT bus speeds, don't expect to see much improvement in memory bandwidth for Fiorano/Socket-F pairings. Where you should see improvement is in power consumption - pairing HE/EE Istanbul parts with Fiorano/Kroner should create a better performance/watt result in virtualization.Collin C. MacMillan
http://blog.solori.net">http://blog.solori.net
bpdski - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
It is pretty amazing how fast the new 55xx chips are. Personally, I am holding out on any new server purchases and deployments until the EX systems come out next year. I am pretty excited about the performance potential of a dual or quad octal-core system. I feel for AMD, but if the EX systems scale as well as they should, they are really going to crush the Opterons.duploxxx - Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - link
2 answers to that, first off all looking at the design EX will be way more expensive creating a gap between 2 socket-4 socket platform even when only deploying 2 octa will be a very expensive baseline due to the motherboard layout. To expensive actually and a lot of focus trying to get risc/sparc marketshare.Second don't you think AMD knows this? The c32 G34 platform launch is much closer then people think, AMD made a clear roadmap and since 45nm all looks like going well on shape, keep in mind the cpu for the new platform is almost ready since it is based on istanbul and the new platform chipset was also released few weeks ago for the socket F platform, you will also see much more OEM activity with this platform due to one brand supplier, no longer need of the old nvidia/broadcom.
EX was delayed-delayed-delayed if it continues like this it will be launched more or less at the same time, so keep the feeling. BTW even if the 55xx sereis would be again a bad performing server part (which it is finally not thank you intel) 75% of the market would be still buying it just for the brand name.....:)
cosminliteanu - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
Many thanks for this article !:)
BrightCandle - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
A dual socket will easily fit in a 1U. But 1.25A is some serious extra cost within a colo.The 2U quad sockets on the other hand are a busting 500W+, again serious extra money in a colo.
The Colo's want you using 0.5A per 1U, there is a major mismatch from these machines to the reality of the power you can actually get. Love the speed, not liking the cost of running them.
sonicdeth - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
Thanks for this. Personally I can't recommend any of the quad socket systems until we see Intels Nehalem-EX early next year. The dual core 55xx series is just fantastic for the price (especially with VMware). We've deployed several HP 380G6's and couldn't be happier.Bazili - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
Great article. Congrats!!!Could you pleas include a software price analysis? I guess it can show huge differences among a 24 core box and a 8 core box.
tobrien - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
these are amazing articles, you guys do such an awesome job with these.thanks a ton!
JohanAnandtech - Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - link
Thanks for the kudos! much appreciated :-)