HP ProLiant BL685c G5 Installation and operation manual

Performance characterization of HP ProLiant BL685c G5
with Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors (2.3 GHz)
in a 64-bit HP Server Based Computing environment
Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 3
Audience ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 3
AMD Opteron processors ................................................................................................................. 4
AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management ........................................................................................ 5
Test methodology................................................................................................................................. 6
Test tools......................................................................................................................................... 7
More information ......................................................................................................................... 7
User profiles .................................................................................................................................... 7
Test scenarios .................................................................................................................................. 8
Performance and scalability metrics................................................................................................ 8
Test topology....................................................................................................................................... 9
Configurations ............................................................................................................................... 10
HP SBC server summary.................................................................................................................. 11
Performance test results....................................................................................................................... 12
Perfmon values .............................................................................................................................. 13
Canary times................................................................................................................................. 14
Test analysis summary ........................................................................................................................ 15
Appendix A – HP BladeSystem............................................................................................................ 16
HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure .................................................................................................... 16
Management ............................................................................................................................. 17
Options..................................................................................................................................... 17
HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure .................................................................................................... 17
Performance .............................................................................................................................. 18
Management ............................................................................................................................. 18
Options..................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix B – Using Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions......................................................... 19
Historical scalability limitations ........................................................................................................ 19
More information ....................................................................................................................... 20

Appendix C – SBC solution sizing ....................................................................................................... 21
Online sizer tool ............................................................................................................................ 21
For more information.......................................................................................................................... 23

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.
The HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade delivers uncompromising performance and expandability in
a dense form factor. With up to four Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processors, 64 GB of DDR2
memory, two hot plug serial hard drives, four integrated network adapters and three I/O expansion
slots, the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade can support the most demanding enterprise-class
applications.
A four-socket1HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade with the AMD Opteron Processor Model 8356
(2.3 GHz) can provide optimal support for up to the following numbers of users (as described in
Table 2) in a 64-bit HP Server Based Computing (SBC) environment:
Heavy Users
Medium Users
Light Users
301
444
544
Since the kernel memory constraints that limit scalability in a 32-bit HP SBC environment have been
removed, this performance characterization demonstrates that customers can expect to fully utilize the
resources of this server in a 64-bit environment, even when running their 32-bit applications.
Testing performed in March 2008 is described.
Audience
This performance characterization is intended primarily for IT professionals planning HP SBC
solution deployments. The performance and sizing information provided herein is designed to help
customers estimate the number of HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blades required for a particular
environment.
Introduction
The HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade (shown in Figure 1) is ideal for multi-threaded, multi-tasked
environments, high-performance computing, and HP SBC.
Note:
This server blade is deployed within an HP BladeSystem enclosure. For
more information, refer to Appendix A – HP BladeSystem.
1Four-processor, also known as 4P
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Figure 1. HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade
AMD Opteron processors
The HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade 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 Opteron processor is designed for optimal multi-threaded application performance.
Its native quad-core implementation features four cores on a single die for more efficient data
sharing, while the enhanced cache structure and integrated memory controller can sustain
application throughput. This processor provides outstanding processing power and, together with its
performance-per-watt enhancements, can improve IT responsiveness while maintaining data center
costs.
•Enhanced power efficiency
Thanks to Enhanced AMD PowerNow!™ technology and the introduction of AMD CoolCore™
technology, Quad-Core Opteron processors are very power-efficient, helping to reduce power
needs and cooling costs in the data center.
(For more on power management enhancements, see AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management.)
•Optimal virtualization
Featuring AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology with nested paging acceleration, Quad-Core
Opteron processors can accelerate the performance of virtualized applications and improve
efficiency when switching between virtual machines; as a result, customers can typically host more
virtual machines and users per system, maximizing the consolidation and power-saving benefits of
virtualization.
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•Investment protection
By leveraging AMD’s Common Core Strategy and Same Socket Technology, Quad-Core Opteron
processors can minimize changes to the customer’s software and data center infrastructure,
protecting IT investments and simplifying management.
AMD Dual Dynamic Power Management
Dual Dynamic Power Management functionality allows each processor to maximize the power-saving
benefits of Enhanced AMD PowerNow! without compromising performance, 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, Dual Dynamic Power
Management can enhance both performance and power management.
Benefits include:
•Increased performance
The memory controller is able to run at a higher frequency, helping to reduce memory latency and
thus improving application performance.
•Improved power management
By operating independently from the memory controller, the cores in a Quad-Core Opteron
processor can exploit the power savings offered by Enhanced PowerNow! more often, resulting in
reduced power and cooling bills. In addition, the processor reduces power to the northbridge2
when memory is not in use, while continuing to provide full power to the cores.
The following sections of this paper describe the testing performed by HP to characterize the
performance and scalability of an HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade in a 64-bit HP SBC
environment.
Note:
A 64-bit HP SBC environment eliminates the kernel memory constraints that
can limit server scalability in a 32-bit HP SBC environment. For more
information, refer to Appendix B – Using Microsoft Windows Server 2003
x64 Editions.
2Or memory controller hub (MCH)
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Test methodology
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 characterizations so that you can compare
individual server performance and scalability.
This section describes how HP determined the optimal number of users supported by an HP ProLiant
BL685c G5 server blade with the Opteron Processor Model 8356 (2.3 GHz) – henceforth referred to
as the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade – in a 64-bit test harness.
Important:
As with any laboratory testing, the performance metrics quoted in this
paper are idealized. In a production environment, these metrics may be
impacted by a variety of factors.
HP recommends proof-of-concept testing in a non-production environment
using the actual target application as a matter of best practice for all
application deployments. Testing the actual target application in a
test/staging environment identical to, but isolated from, the production
environment is the most effective way to characterize system behavior.
This section provides more information on test tools, user profiles and test scenarios.
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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 Robosrv.exe Drives the server-side of the load simulation
Robocli.exe Helps drive the client-side of the load simulation
Test tools Qidle.exe Determines if any scripts have failed and require
operator intervention
Tbscript.exe
A script interpreter that helps drive the client-side load
simulation
Help files TBScript.doc Terminal Server bench scripting documentation
TSScalingSetup.doc A scalability test environment set-up guide
TSScalingTesting.doc A testing guide
More information
•Roboserver (Robosrv.exe) and Roboclient (Robocli.exe): Terminal Server capacity planning
•TSScaling: Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Capacity and Scaling
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 Knowledge Workers) are defined as users who gather, add value
to, and communicate information in a decision-support process. Cost of downtime is variable but
highly visible. These resources are driven by projects and ad-hoc needs towards flexible tasks.
These workers make their own decisions on what to work on and how to accomplish the task.
Sample tasks include: marketing, project management, sales, desktop publishing, decision
support, data mining, financial analysis, executive and supervisory management, design, and
authoring.
Light User Light Users (also known as Data Entry Workers) input data into computer systems. Activities
include transcription, typing, order entry, clerical work and manufacturing.
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Table 3 outlines the activities performed by each user class utilizing Office 2003 products.
Table 3. Activities incorporated into the test scripts for each user class
Activity description Heavy User Medium User Light User
Access Open a database, apply a filter, search through
records, add records, and delete records. X
Excel Open, print and save a large spreadsheet. X X X
Excel_2 Create a new spreadsheet, enter data, and create
a chart. Print and save the spreadsheet. X X
InfoPath Enter data3into a form; save the form over an
existing form. X X
Outlook First pass: Email a short message.
Second pass: Email a reply with an attachment. X
Outlook_2 Create a long reply. X
PowerPoint Create a new presentation, insert clipart, and
apply animation. View the presentation after each
slide is created.
X X
PowerPoint2 Open and view a large presentation with heavy
animation and many colors and gradients. X
Word Create, save, print, and email a document. X4X X
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 running, HP monitored a range of Windows Performance Monitor (Perfmon)
counters to help characterize server performance and scalability. In particular, HP has monitored CPU
utilization (% Processor Time) to establish the optimal number of users supported on an HP SBC server
– by definition, the number of users active when processor utilization reaches 80%. At this time, a
limited number of additional users or services can be supported; however, user response times may
become unacceptable.
To validate scalability metrics obtained using Perfmon, HP also runs canary scripts to characterize
Heavy User response times – a very practical metric – for discrete activities such as an application
being invoked or a modal box appearing. By monitoring response times as more and more users log
on, HP has been able to demonstrate that these times are acceptable when the optimal number of
users (as determined using Perfmon counter values) is active.
3Data entry for Office InfoPath 2003 requires significant processor resources
4Shortened version for Heavy Users
8

Note:
When running canary scripts, HP considers user response times to become
unacceptable when they increase markedly over a baseline measurement.
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.
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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
4P HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade with:
•Opteron Processor Model 8356 (2.3 GHz)
–512 KB L2 cache per core; 2 MB L3 cache
•32 GB RAM
•Integrated Smart Array E200i controller with RAID 0
•Two 36 GB 15,000 rpm SAS hard drives
–48 GB page file on system partition
•NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
HP SBC server
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition with Service Pack 2;
Terminal Services enabled
Office 2003
2P HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server with:
•Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processor (3.2 GHz)
•2 x 2 MB L2 cache
•2 GB RAM
•Four 72 GB 15,000 rpm SAS hard drives
•Integrated Smart Array P400i controller with RAID 5
•NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
Exchange Server/
Internet Information Services
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0
2P HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server with:
•Dual-Core Xeon processor (3.2 GHz)
•2 x 2 MB L2 cache
•2 GB RAM
•Four 72 GB 15,000 rpm SAS hard drives
•Integrated Smart Array P400i controller with RAID 5
•NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
Domain Controller
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Continued
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Table 4. System configurations (continued)
Server Configuration
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
Client
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 BL685c G5 server blade
Component Description
Operating system (OS) Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
Version 5.2.3790 Service Pack 2, Build 3790
Other OS description R2
System name BL685G5
System model ProLiant BL685c G5
System type x64-based PC
Processor
(each of 16 cores) AMD64 Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3 AuthenticAMD ~2311 MHz
BIOS version/date HP A08, 2/26/2008
SMBIOS version 2.4
Windows directory C:\WINDOWS
System directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware abstraction layer
version 5.2.3790.3959 (srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
User name [Not available]
Time zone New Zealand Standard Time
Continued
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Table 5. System summary for the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade (continued)
Component Description
Total physical memory 32,765.62 MB
Available physical memory 30.78 GB
Total virtual memory 79.06 GB
Available virtual memory 78.78 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 BL685c G5 server blade.
•Perfmon values – Shows select Perfmon counter values for the Heavy User scenario
•Canary times – Shows Heavy User response times for a sample canary script
Note:
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 C – SBC solution sizing.
HP determined that there were no disk or network bottlenecks in the test
environment.
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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 301 Heavy Users were supported when processor utilization
reached 80%
Figure 3 shows the optimal number of Heavy Users supported by the HP ProLiant BL685c G5
server blade to be 301.
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Canary times
Figure 4 shows sample results for the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 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 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 340 Heavy Users were active
Figure 4 indicates that the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server blade could support 340 Heavy Users
before response times started to increase markedly, validating the optimal value of 301 Heavy
Users derived using % Processor Time values.
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Test analysis summary
Figure 5 summarizes the optimal numbers of users supported by the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server
blade.
Figure 5. Optimal numbers of users supported in the 64-bit test harness
For Heavy and Medium Users, HP characterized the scalability of the HP ProLiant BL685c G5 server
blade through the numbers of users supported when CPU utilization reached 80%. For Light Users,
response times became unacceptable before CPU utilization reached 80%.
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Appendix A – HP BladeSystem
Out of the box, HP BladeSystem removes constraints imposed by conventional IT infrastructures,
unifying server, storage, networking, power, and management capabilities in a change-ready,
energy-thrifty, and cost-effective system. HP BladeSystem helps customers of all sizes – from large
enterprises to small and medium businesses (SMBs) – make an easy transition to an Adaptive
Infrastructure by enabling tighter and more dynamic connections between IT and the business process.
With its simplified, flexible infrastructure, HP BladeSystem is prepared for change.
Two HP BladeSystem enclosures are offered, the c7000 and c3000.
HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure
The HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure has been designed to tackle the toughest problems facing
today’s IT infrastructures: cost, time, energy, and change. The c7000 enclosure consolidates the
essential elements of a data center – power, cooling, management, connectivity, redundancy, and
security – into a modular, self-tuning unit with built-in intelligence. In addition, this enclosure provides
flexibility, scalability and support for future technologies.
Figure A-1 shows the integration of server blades with HP BladeSystem scale-out infrastructure.
Figure A-1. Solving infrastructure issues with the HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure
This powerful 10U enclosure delivers the following features:
Performance
•Up to 16 c-Class server blades
•Up to four redundant I/O fabrics
•Multi-terabit mid-plane to support current and future I/O connections
•N+N or N+1 power redundancy for maximum configuration flexibility
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Management
•HP Onboard Administrator provides complete control of the infrastructure
•Interactive HP Insight Display allows easy setup and configuration from the front of the rack
•HP Insight Control Environment for HP BladeSystem automates deployment, provisioning, server and
performance management, and patch and vulnerability management, providing a single, easy-to-
use solution for heterogeneous environments
Options
•HP Active Cool fan technology provides superior airflow, power and acoustic performance and is
hot pluggable for easy upgrades (up to a maximum of 10 fans)
•Redundant HP Onboard Administrator module support ensures that enclosure management is
always available
•Additional power supplies (up to a maximum of six) can be added to the enclosure to meet
changing needs
HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure
The HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure brings additional capabilities to HP BladeSystem. This
enclosure is ideal for remote sites needing two to eight server blades, mid-sized companies with
between three and 100 servers, and enterprises with special data center requirements, such as DC
power or very limited rack power and cooling capacities.
A rack enclosure is shown in Figure A-2; a tower enclosure, designed with casters, is available for
sites without racks.
Figure A-2. The HP BladeSystem c3000 rack enclosure
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Performance
•Up to eight c-Class server blades
•Up to three I/O fabrics
•Multi-terabit mid-plane to support current and future I/O connections
•N+N and N+1 power redundancy for maximum configuration flexibility
•Choice of AC (with support for low-line or high-line power) or DC power supplies
Management
•HP Onboard Administrator provides complete control of the infrastructure
•Interactive HP Insight Display allows easy setup and configuration from the front of the rack
•HP Insight Control Environment for HP BladeSystem automates deployment, provisioning, server and
performance management, and patch and vulnerability management, providing a single, easy-to-
use solution for heterogeneous environments
Options
•HP Active Cool fan technology provides superior airflow with enhanced power and acoustic
performance and is hot pluggable for easy upgrades (up to a maximum of six fans)
•Additional power supplies (up to a maximum of six) can be added to your enclosure to meet
changing needs
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Appendix B – Using Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64
Editions
Microsoft offers a new generation of 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 new 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 AMD Opteron processors can
improve the performance of HP SBC servers by processing more data per clock cycle, addressing
more memory, and running some numerical calculations faster. Large data sets can be loaded entirely
into memory, reducing the need for slower disk access; complex calculations that take hours to
complete on a 32-bit system can be performed in minutes; and workloads that once required a large
server farm can be performed by a single server.
In addition, this new 64-bit platform also removes many of the limitations that have previously
inhibited scalability in an HP SBC environment.
Historical scalability limitations
32-bit Windows operating systems can directly address 4 GB of memory, 2 GB of which is reserved
for the operating system kernel and 2 GB for applications. Since kernel memory is shared by all
applications, the relatively small size of this space can be particularly problematic in an HP SBC
environment where a server may be responsible for hundreds of users and thousands of processes. In
this scenario, kernel memory can become constrained, making user response times unacceptably long
and effectively limiting the ability of the server to scale up.
Historically, HP SBC environments have been implemented using 1P or 2P servers. Larger, more
powerful servers have typically not been deployed for two main reasons:
•Kernel memory issues have limited the performance of more powerful servers; either a disk I/O
bottleneck occurs or kernel memory is consumed before processor resources can be fully utilized
•Scalability in a 32-bit symmetric multi-processing (SMP) system is inherently non-linear above 2P
With these 1P and 2P server farms, opportunities to scale up are limited. As a result, customers are
forced to scale out, which can create new problems such as deployment and management
complexity, high power and cooling requirements, under-utilized resources, and minimal opportunities
for server consolidation.
The 64-bit platform shatters the earlier 4 GB limitation – for example, Windows Server 2003 R2
Datacenter x64 Edition with Service Pack (SP) 1 supports up to 2 TB of RAM – effectively removing
kernel memory limitations and eliminating disk I/O bottlenecks. By deploying a Windows Server
x64 Edition operating system, customers can fully utilize the resources of their existing HP SBC
servers and take full advantage of new, more powerful systems – whether they are running 32- or
64-bit applications.
19

More information
For more information on the impact of 64-bit Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions in an HP SBC
environment, refer to the HP white paper, “Scalability and performance of HP ProLiant servers on 64-
bit Microsoft Windows Server 2003 in an HP SBC environment.”
To learn about 64-bit computing in an HP SBC environment, refer to the HP white paper,
“Fundamentals of 64-bit computing in an HP SBC environment.”
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