IBM Sets New Web Serving Benchmark
IBM’s eServer has displaced a Sun UltraSparc-based system as the world’s fastest Web-serving machine measured under the SPECweb99 benchmark. The benchmark record comes as IBM prepares to release its new lineup of POWER4-based systems in the fourth quarter.
An IBM eServer p680 12-way system running Zeus 3.3.8.4 Web server software supported 9,106 simultaneous connections compared with 8,739 connections for a 12-way Sun Fire 4800. IBM expects to improve upon this performance in the fourth quarter when it brings its POWER4 systems to market.
The SPECweb99 benchmark simulates a server that supports multiple Web home pages with rotating advertisements, customized page creation, user registration and other dynamic operations. IBM credits the eServer’s SPECweb99 performance largely to its copper and silicon-on-insulator microprocessor. Silicon-on-insulator is processing technology developed in IBM research labs that keeps chips cooler than traditional aluminum, allowing servers to achieve higher levels of performance and up-time.
For more information on the SPECweb99 benchmark, visit www.spec.org/osg/web99/ (new window).