HP (Hewlett-Packard) BL35P manual

Scalability and performance of HP ProLiant BL35p server blades with AMD Opteron Mo del 250 (2.4 GHz/1 MB) processors in an HP SBC environment Executive summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ...............................................[...]

Appendix A – AMD Opteron processors .............................................................................................. 17 Features ............................................................................................................................... ......... 17 Benefits .......................................................[...]

Executive summary The new HP ProLiant BL3 5p two-way server blade delivers uncompromising manageability, maximu m computing density, and breakthroug h power efficiencies to the high-per formance data center. Offeri ng customers a modular, space-saving des ign, the HP ProLiant BL35p serve r blade consumes less powe r, enabling denser rack architectu[...]

Overview This section outlines the be nefits and key features of the HP ProL iant BL35p server blade, shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 : HP ProLiant BL35p s erver blade, showing a single blade and two blades in an HP BladeSystem p-Class Blade Sleeve Benefits HP introduces the new HP ProLiant BL35p server blade, which delivers ma ximum computing density [...]

Ideal environment Medium to large enterprise data center custom ers requiring dense two-way server performance • Maximum 32-bit or 64-bit two- way performance for load-balance d or front-end applic ations • Ultra-dense design supports up to 96 servers (192 processors) in a standard rack • Lower power consumption per server (68 W per pr ocesso[...]

Performance testing HP continues to upgrade existing HP ProLiant server s and introduce new servers to meet particula r business needs. To help customers select th e appropriate server for their particular HP SBC environment, HP publishes this and other perfor mance briefs to characterize individual server performance and scalability. This section [...]

More information on the test tools • Roboserver ( Robosrv.exe) and Roboclient (Robocli.exe): Terminal Server capacity planning • TSScaling: Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Capacity and Scaling Test scripts HP used test scripts that simulate d the activities of three types of users (Heavy, Medium, and Light). Table 3 describes these users an[...]

Test scenarios HP deployed the configuration shown in Figure 2 to simulate an HP SBC environment. To simulate typical HP SBC workloads, HP ran a series of performance tests based on the Heavy, Medium, and Light User scripts described in Table 3 . For each test scenario, HP began by running the appropriate script with a group of ten simulated users.[...]

Tested environment 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 Solu tion Cen ters to help solve a wide variety of business problems. 9[...]

Guidelines HP followed these guidelin es when configurin g servers for the test environment: • Memory Since all applications reside and are executed on the HP SBC server, memory resources on this server must be sufficient in order to opti mize system performance. HP offe rs the following recommendations based on user type: – 5 – 6 MB for each[...]

Configurations Table 4 summarizes the configuration s of systems used in the test envi ronment. Table 4 : System configurations Server Configuration HP SBC server Two-way HP ProLiant BL35p server blade with: • 2.4 GHz/1 MB AMD Optero n processors • 1 MB L2 cache • 4096 MB RAM • One 60.0 GB 5,400 rpm AT A hard drive Microsoft Windows Server [...]

System summary Table 5 summarizes the configuration o f the HP SBC server. Table 5 : HP SBC server configuration Component Description Operating system Microsoft Windows Server 2003, E nterprise Edition Version 5.2.3790 Build 3790 System name BL35p System manufacturer HP System model ProLiant BL35p G1 System type x86-based PC Processor (each) x86 F[...]

Performance test results HP tested a two-way HP ProLiant BL35p server blade with 2.4 GHz/1 MB Opteron processors to determine the optimal number of users supported in an HP SBC environment. This section provides in formation on the following top ics: • % Processor Time – Shows % Processor Time values for a typical test scenario – the Heavy Us[...]

% Processor Time Figure 3 shows % Processor Time values for Heavy User s. Figure 3 : % Processor Time values for Heavy Users – showing an optimal level of 123 users Figure 3 indicates that an HP ProLiant BL35p se rver blade can support 123 Heavy Users befor e the % Processor Time value reaches 80%. 14[...]

Canary time Figures 4 shows sample results for an HP ProLiant BL35p 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 Figure 4 to determine when respon se times began to increase markedly and consistently over a baseline level, providing [...]

Results summary Figure 5 summarizes the optimal nu mbers of users supported by an HP ProLiant BL35p server blade (based on % Processor Time values). Figure 5 : Optimal numbers of users supported IMPORTANT: As with any laboratory benchm ark, the performance metrics quoted in this performance brief are idealized. In a production environment these met[...]

Appendix A – AMD Opteron processors The AMD Opteron processors deployed in the latest HP ProLiant serv ers help advance the future of industry-standard servers. Key benefits include: • Improving the performance of existing 32-bit applications • Supporting 64-bit addressing – breaking the 4 GB limit inherent in earlier x86 processor implemen[...]

Benefits Table A-1 outlines key benefits of the Opteron processor. Table A-1 : Key benefits of the Opteron processor Feature Benefit Simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing capabilities Users can run 32-bit and/or 64-bit applications and operating systems – without sacrificing performance. Direct Connect Architecture helps reduce performance bottle[...]

Figure A-2 shows the approximate amount of dire ctly-addressable memory available with various Windows operating systems. Figure A-2 : Memory limits with Windows operating systems While 32-bit Windows operating systems can address a maximum of 4 GB directly, memory space can be extended with certain operating system s through the use of Address Win[...]

Appendix B – SBC solution sizing As with any laboratory benchmark, the performanc e metrics quoted in this Performance Brief are idealized. In a production environment, these me trics may be impacted by a variety of factors, including the following: • Overhead Agents and services (virus sca nning, backup and restore, provisio ning, security, ma[...]

Figure B-1 : The HP SBC sizer’s User Specificat ion dialog Based on information provided by the customer, a sizer can provide a quick, c onsistent mechanism for identifying the “best-fit” server for a parti cular HP SBC environment and generate a Bill of Materials (BOM) for that server. The algorithms and methodology used by the sizers are ba[...]

For more information HP ProLiant BL35p server blade http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proli ant-bl/p-class/35p/index.html HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP) http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/man agement/rdp/index.html HP SBC online sizer tool for enterprise environments http://h71019.www7.hp.com/ActiveAnswers/ Rend[...]