SPEC Releases SFS 3.0 Software

Latest version of NFS performance evaluation software corrects problems; improves operations and provides portability to Linux, FreeBSD clients

WARRENTON, Va., September 26, 2001 - The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp.'s Open Systems Group (SPEC/OSG) has released System File Server 3.0 (SFS 3.0), an update to its industry-standard software for evaluating the speed and request-handling capabilities of NFS (network file server) computers.

SPEC SFS 3.0 measures the throughput and response time of NFS fileservers. The benchmark's metric is SPECsfs97_R1. SPEC SFS 3.0 uses the same operation mix as SFS 2.0, but includes minor changes to rate-regulation and file-selection algorithms to fix problems SPEC discovered in the previous version.

SFS 2.0 was withdrawn by SPEC in June because many of its results could not be compared accurately. In particular, the set of distinct data files - called the "working set" - accessed by the SFS 2.0 benchmark was often smaller than its designers intended. Also, the distribution of accesses among files was sensitive to the number of load-generating processes specified by the tester. Technical analysis of these defects is available online at http://www.spec.org/sfs97/sfs97_defects.html.

In addition to correcting problems, SPEC SFS 3.0 includes better validation of servers and clients, reduced client memory requirements, portability to Linux and FreeBSD clients, new submission tools, and revised documentation. Further details about these changes can be found in the SPEC SFS 3.0 User's Guide included with the software.

SPEC SFS 3.0 is available immediately on CD for $900, with a discount price of $450 for universities and other non-profit organizations. Current SPEC SFS 2.0 licensees will receive a free upgrade to SFS 3.0. To order, contact the SPEC office: SPEC, 6585 Merchant Pl., Ste. 100, Warrenton, VA 20187, USA; tel: +1 540 349-7878; fax: +1 540 349-5992; email: info@spec.org.

SPEC is a non-profit corporation formed to establish, maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks that can be applied to the newest generation of high-performance computers. SPEC's membership includes computer hardware and software vendors, leading universities, and research facilities worldwide.

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