SPECpower_ssj2008

July 26, 2012: SPECpower_ssj2008 V1.12 released
Version 1.12 of the SPECpower_ssj2008 benchmark is now available. This is a point release which includes several enhancements, including added reporter support for large numbers of JVMs, PTDaemon update to version 1.4.2, and support for a new analyzer (Newtons4th PPA15x0). For a list of the latest changes, see the release notes. Current licensees of previous versions of the software are eligible for a free upgrade; please contact SPEC for details on requesting the upgrade.

SPEC requires that all SPECpower_ssj2008 results published after December 11, 2012 use the new release 1.12.

PTDaemon updates: A new version of PTDaemon v1.6.0, was released March 22nd, 2013. Use of v1.5.0 will temporarily continue to be accepted for SPECpower_ssj2008 submissions until midnight September 18th,2013, and submissions made with v1.4.2 will continue to be accepted until midnight June 12th, 2013. All SPECpower_ssj2008 submissions on or after September 18th, 2013 must be made with v1.6.0 of PTDaemon.

SPECpower_ssj2008 is the first industry-standard SPEC benchmark that evaluates the power and performance characteristics of volume server class  and multi-node class computers.  With SPECpower_ssj2008, SPEC is defining server power measurement standards in the same way we have done for performance.

The drive to create the power and performance benchmark comes from the recognition that the IT industry, computer manufacturers, and governments are increasingly concerned with the energy use of servers.  Currently, many vendors report some energy efficiency figures, but these are often not directly comparable due to differences in workload, configuration, test environment, etc.  Development of this benchmark provides a means to measure power (at the AC input) in conjunction with a performance metric.  This should help IT managers to consider power characteristics along with other selection criteria to increase the efficiency of data centers.

The initial benchmark addresses only one subset of server workloads: the performance of server side Java.  It exercises the CPUs, caches, memory hierarchy and the scalability of shared memory processors (SMPs) as well as the implementations of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler, garbage collection, threads and some aspects of the operating system.  The benchmark runs on a wide variety of operating systems and hardware architectures and should not require extensive client or storage infrastructure.  Additional workloads are planned.

Since this is the first power-performance benchmark, a general methodology  for power measurement has been documented to assist other benchmark developers interested in measuring power and in the hopes of establishing a common set of practices in this new area of benchmarking.

Results

Submitted Results
Text and HTML reports for the SPEC power_ssj2008 metrics; includes all of the results submitted to SPEC from the SPEC member companies and other licensees of the benchmark. 

Information

SPEC power_ssj2008 Benchmark Press Releases
Press release material, documents, and announcements:  

• SPEC ships power_ssj2008 v1.10   (PDF) (04/15/2009)
• SPEC's Response on the fourth Draft of the EPA's Energy Star for Servers Specification (PDF) (03/18/2009)
• SPEC ships power_ssj2008 v1.00   (PDF) (12/11/2007)

SPEC power_ssj2008 Benchmark Documentation
SPEC power_ssj2008 technical and support documents, run and reporting rules, etc.
All documentation available on the CD is also available here.

Quick Start Guide
User Guide
Power Measurement Setup Guide
Run and Reporting Rules  (PDF)
Result File Field descriptions 
Technical Design Documents:   
          Design Overview
          CCS Design
          PTDaemon Design
          SSJ Design
Power and Performance Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ  (PDF)

Accepted Measurement Devices

Related Publications 

    Coming Soon.

Support

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ - Installation, build, and runtime issues raised by users of SPEC power_ssj2008.
Power Measurement Setup Guide
Errata list

Ordering

You can purchase this or any other SPEC benchmark by using the online order form.