Script for server testing?

[sixdoubleo]

I'd like to test some servers and do not want Graphics results included. I took the sample script and simply removed G2D, CD, and some other stuff. But I was wondering if anybody had any tips or improvements on effective server testing? I'm basically trying to compare various server models with virtualized instances. Thanks!

[David (PassMark)]

What you are doing makes sense.
One some servers GPU performance is important (e.g. workstation style machines, or cloud servers like the Amazon Accelerated Computing Instances).

Other tips.
- Ideally the physical machines would be completely idle when the tests are running
- Make sure you test the hard drive you want (if it isn't the default)
- Do several test runs and take the average or the max.
- VMs can give strange results. Especially for disk tests where you are see strange caching effects

[sixdoubleo]

Thanks for the reply. These are almost solely file/application servers where GPU performance isn't needed. I've added in the D, E, etc drives of servers where I am interested in the performance of their respective RAID or LUN subsystems. And that is a great point regarding the caching effect. In addition to Passmark, I have some real-world file and folder copy scripts that simulate a few large files and lots of smaller files.Thanks again for the advice!

[natey2]

VMs can give strange results. Especially for disk tests where you are see strange caching effects

The VM's Hypervisor may not be allocating resources to the VM at that point in time (for some reason), and that could affect the numbers.

And is there any way to Script the Networking test (under Advanced)? I run them manually now, and they provide some idea of how well the client communicates with the host across the network.

[David (PassMark)]

No, there are no scripting options for the Advanced Network Test in PerformanceTest V9.