Now virtual workstations can be tested the same as physical workstations.
The SPEC Graphics Performance Characterization Group (SPECgpc) has released a new version of its SPECviewperf benchmark that extends performance measurement from physical to virtualized workstation configurations.
The new benchmark measures the 3D graphics performance of systems running under the OpenGL and Direct X application programming interfaces. The benchmark’s workloads, called viewsets, represent graphics content and behavior extracted from actual applications.
The ability to measure graphics performance for virtualized workstations comes at a time when the market is in its early growing stages. Jon Peddie Research (publisher of this news site) predicts virtualization will grow rapidly in the next few years, especially for computer-aided design (CAD), digital content creation (DCC), medical, and energy. The benchmark supports various hypervisors for creating and running virtual machines. Viewsets within the benchmark cover applications.
The latest version of the benchmark also includes GUI improvements and new automation for results reporting. Reports generated by the SPECviewperf 12.0.2 benchmark enumerate all available GPUs visible to the operating system, including virtual devices and configurations with multiple GPUs installed, and the reports document various memory types with greater accuracy.
The SPECviewperf 12.0.2 benchmark runs under the 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows 7 SP1. Results in V12.0.2 remain comparable to those from V12.0.1, as viewsets are unchanged.
The SPECviewperf 12.0.2 benchmark is available for immediate download under a two-tiered pricing structure: free for non-commercial users and $2,500 for commercial entities. Commercial entities are defined as organizations using the benchmark for the purpose of marketing, developing, testing, and consulting for and/or selling computers, computer services, graphics devices, drivers or other systems in the computer marketplace.
