Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 08:20:51 +1000 (EST) From: User Ernie <ernie@qbic.eis.net.au> To: freebsd-performance@freebsd.org Subject: Performance of Folding@Home and Distributed Folding cleints Message-ID: <200311292220.hATMKpgM054884@qbic.eis.net.au>
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A question for the folks familiar with the Folding@Home protein folding
project.
I have been doing some performance testing of FreeBSD vs Linux in a couple
of the Distrbuted Computing projects particulary Folding@Home and
Distributed folding. The one that I am curios about is Folding@Home where
their is no specific FreeBSD client, instead it runs as a Linux client using
the linux_base-8 libraries from the ports collection. Under straight linux
redhat, CRUX, gentoo it takes about 13hours on a P4C 3.0Ghz for complete a
gromacs WU, the same hardware running either FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE or
5.1-RELEASE is takes about 26hours to do the same task. The only think I
have noticed is that under Linux the client says it's using the SSE
instructions, where under FreeBSD and the linux_base-8 libraries it does not
say that. The cleint runs multi threaded under Linux or FreeBSD.
I have also noticed quite a performance difference, though not as extreme,
between the OS's in the distributed folding project where there is a native
compile for FreeBSD. The benchmark suite says that FreeBSD is spending more
time in sys (I/O) releated ativities than Linux but is still takes more
hours to get through set of 250 generations than Linux does, the significant
figure is the Foldtraj/ Usr time which seems to relate how long it will take
to complete a generation.
Linux Benchmark P4C 3.0Ghz
Summary
-------
Usr time Sys time
-------- --------
Maketrj 2.670 0.710
Foldtraj 28.930 11.000
FreeBSD Benchmark P4 3.16GHz.
Summary
-------
Usr time Sys time
-------- --------
Maketrj 5.789 0.234
Foldtraj 36.867 1.523
I am curious if there are any performace tweaks for FreeBSD, other than
client settings or nice levels, to get more performance out of
either Folding@home or Distribute Folding clients?
I have asked this question on the respective forums, but the people there
are generally not FreeBSD gurus.
- Ernie.
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