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Accepted Measurement Devies & PTDaemon Update Process

Accepted Measurement Devices  &  PTDaemon Update Process


Device Ordering Considerations

Multiple SPEC benchmarks provide infrastructure software to connect, control, and collect data from power and temperature measurement devices.  All measurement devices must be equipped with at least one of the communication interfaces supported by the benchmark. 

When ordering devices for use with this benchmark, be aware that some of these devices can be ordered in multiple configurations, including configurations with no interface or an unsupported communication interface.  Only base configurations of the devices listed below are supported and must include a supported communications interface.  Additional options such as external current transformers are presently not supported.  Please contact SPEC support if you have questions.

Power analyzers are available with wide ranges of capabilities and capacities.  Computer systems have a wide range of power requirements.  Global standards for line voltage are quite different from one country to another.  Therefore, users should be aware that any one combination of the three above contributing factors may not provide the capability or required accuracy to measure very high or sometimes very low power. 

The list of analyzers below have been tested and found to function well for a relatively narrow range of power provider and power consumption conditions, essentially for volume server class computers in the one to four socket range, including similar blade configurations.   The list of accepted power analyzers below also indicates which analyzers have specific limitations which impact compliance with the run and reporting rules for SPEC benchmarks.  When using one of these analyzers, one must ensure that the listed limitations are not violated.  Results will be invalidated in cases where one of these analyzers was used and the system under test (SUT) exceeded the current limits of said analyzer. 

Additional setup instructions specific to each power analyzer can be found in the Measurement Setup Guide, formerly called the Hardware Setup Guide.

Prior to purchase of a power analyzer, SPEC recommends that the user consult with a qualified electrical engineer.

BE SURE to read, understand, and follow all of the safety rules and installation instructions that come with your power analyzer and system under test (SUT).

DO NOT USE PTDaemon WITH DC VOLTAGE SOURCES!  SPEC’s PTDaemon is designed only to measure AC power, and will initialize power analyzer settings for AC power measurement.  Using PTDaemon to attempt to measure DC power will not work correctly and may cause damage to your power analyzer.


List of Accepted Power Analyzers


Manufacturer

Model
Minimum
PTDaemon version

Restrictions on Use with SPECpower_ssj2008
Chroma
66202
v1.3.9
Valid only for low shunt ranges (0.01, 0.1, 0.4, 2.0 A RMS) and the 20A RMS high shunt range.  Cannot use auto ranging.
Hioki
3334
v1.3.10
Valid only for load currents less than 14.167A.  With PTDaemon versions >=v1.4.0 and Hioki firmware version v1.10, the maximum valid load current must be less than 17.334A.  Cannot use auto ranging.
Infratek
107A-1
v1.2
Valid only for load currents less than half the selected current range in order to satisfy the required minimum crest factor value of 3.  Cannot use auto ranging.
Instek
GPM-8212 v1.2
Valid only for load currents less than 10A.    Cannot use auto ranging.
Xitron 2802
v1.3
May only use one of the channels at a time.  Cannot use auto ranging.
Yokogawa WT210 v1.0
Cannot use auto ranging.  External current sensors are not currently supported.  In the case where the external current sensor option is installed but is disabled, the minimum PTDaemon version required is v1.3.10.
Yokogawa
WT500
v1.3.9
May only use one of the channels at a time.  Cannot use auto ranging.  External current sensors are not currently supported.  In the case where the external current sensor option is installed but is disabled, the minimum PTDaemon version required is v1.3.10.
ZES Zimmer LMG95 v1.2
Cannot use auto ranging.
ZES Zimmer LMG450

1-Ch
v1.0
May only use any one channel at a time.  Cannot use auto ranging.
4-Ch
v1.4.0
Not yet supported by SPECpower_ssj2008.  Cannot use auto ranging.
3-Phase
v1.4.0
Requires using summation feature for up to 3 channels so as to appear as a single "virtual" channel to PTDaemon.  With SPECpower_ssj2008 v1.10, only supports cases where identical range settings are used for all channels.  Cannot use auto ranging.
ZES Zimmer LMG500
v1.2
May only use one of the channels at a time.  Cannot use auto ranging.



List of Accepted Temperature Sensors


Manufacturer

Model
Minimum
PTDaemon version

Restrictions on Use with SPECpower_ssj2008
Digi
Watchport/H v1.0

Temperature@lert
TM-STD30 v1.0



Compatibility Across OS and Connection Types


Power Analyzers
Windows
x86
Linux
x86
Solaris
x86
Solaris
SPARC
Manufacturer
Model
Mode
Chroma
66202
G



Hioki
3334
S
G
S
S
S
Infratek
107A-1
S
S
S
S
INstek
GPM-8212
S
S
S
S
Xitron
2802
G, S
S
S
S
Yokogawa
WT210
G, S
S
S
S
Yokogawa
WT500 Single Channel
E, G, U
U1


ZES Zimmer
LMG95
S
G
S
S
S
ZES Zimmer LMG450 1-Ch
S
G
S
S
S


4-Ch
S
G
S
S
S


3-Phase
S
G
S
S
S
ZES Zimmer LMG500 1-Ch
S
G
S
S
S

Temperature Sensors
Windows
x86
Linux
x86
Solaris
x86
Solaris
SPARC
Digi
Watchport/H
U
U2


Temperature@lert
TM-STD30
U
U
U3
U3

Key
 Notes:
  Connection:
  E = Ethernet
  G = GPIB
  S = Serial(RS232)
  U = USB
Tested
1 USB only using USB TMC driver from Agilent
2 Requires io-ti driver;  included in most recent Linux distributions
3 Requires FTDI driver;  included in SunOS 5.11
Untested
No driver
Support



SPEC Power Temperature Daemon (PTDaemon) Update Process

The SPEC PTDaemon software which controls the power analyzers is occasionally updated to support new analyzers and features.  The current version of PTDaemon is v1.4.0, released on July 2, 2010.  All licensees are encouraged to update to v1.4.0 immediately for all future submissions as this new release of PTDaemon impacts the use of the previous two versions of PTDaemon as follows: 
  • v1.3.9 is officially retired (as of May 18th, 2010) and will not be accepted for SPECpower_ssj2008 submissions nor will it be officially supported going forward.
  • v1.3.10 will temporarily continue to be accepted for SPECpower_ssj2008 submissions until it is retired on October 5th, 2010.  Support of v1.3.10 will continue until it is retired.
Licensees can follow the instructions below to download and upgrade their existing version of PTDaemon to the latest version by applying an incremental patch.  Patches are used because PTDaemon is distributed as part of larger packages of licensed software, so the full PTDaemon binary is not available for direct download. 

The incremental update process utilizes an open-source binary difference tool called xdelta.  The latest binaries and source code for xdelta may be downloaded from http://code.google.com/p/xdelta/downloads/list.  The site provides precompiled binaries for Windows and source code for other operating systems and includes support for Linux and Solaris.   Please note that SPEC does not distribute xdelta.   Refer to the xdelta web site for instructions on compiling binaries.


To apply a PTDaemon update, do the following:
  1. The update process requires you to already have the full binary of a given version of PTDaemon .  If you do not know which version of PTDaemon you are starting with, run ptd with no parameters at the command line to display the version number.
  2. From the table below, download the zip update file (which includes the delta file) corresponding to your OS.  Be sure to also read about corresponding updates in the Measurement Setup Guide.  MD5 checksums for xdelta files are included with each zip file.

OS
Windows
x86
Linux
x86
Solaris
x86
Solaris
SPARC
Update Zip File
ptd-windows-x86-1.4.0
ptd-linux-86-1.4.0 ptd-solaris-x86-1.4.0 ptd-solaris-sparc-1.4.0
Please Read
The Measurement Setup Guide has been updated here

  1. Unzip the update file into the directory containing PTDaemon.  The zip file also contains MD5 checksums and a readme file which duplicates these update instructions.
  2. Depending on the version of PTDaemon you are starting with, it may be necessary to do multiple update iterations.  The names of xdelta files indicate which version the update must start with and which version it creates during the update.
  3. To apply the update, you will need to provide the starting filename, delta filename, and new filename.  For example, to update v1.3.8 to v1.3.10, do the following:
xdelta3 -v -d -s  {v1.3.8 binary filename}  {v1.3.10 delta filename}  {new filename}
  1. Since this process creates a new filename for the new version of PTDaemon, you should rename the original/starting version with a name that indicates its version number and backup status.  For example, in Windows, rename "ptd-windows-x86.exe" to "ptd-windows-x86.v1.3.8.exe" after the update.   You will then be able to use this starting version for future updates if necessary.
  2. Finally, rename the new PTDaemon filename created in step 3 to the original PTDaemon filename so that the scripts will call the new version from now on.
The latest documentation and technical support answers may be found on the SPEC web site at http://www.spec.org/specpower.

SPEC Acceptance Process for Power Analyzers

A process exists for a SPEC member or licensee to add software support for a power analyzer to the SPEC benchmark infrastructure and to submit tests for review and possible inclusion by SPEC as an accepted device.  Please see the Power Analyzer Acceptance Process page for the acceptance process.