Subject: Don and Ron's suggestions...

From: Spatch <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 6 May 2000 22:48:32 -0700 (MST)

I did some re-benchmarking tonight with the same exact configurations, but
with suggestions from Don and Ron.

Take note in table 3 for 7.6.1n, 8.6, and 8.6n for the newest additions.

Here are my results:

How to read this document:
You can use the benchmarks here to do a number of comparisons (in order
of what my goals were):
1)	Network card, hub/switch comparison between 10 and 100base-T
	Compare Table 1 to Table 2
2)	Comparing Mac OS 8.1's thruput to 7.6.1's thruput
	Compare the internal times of any table for this.
3)	Comparing WIndows 95a to WIndows 95b's thruput.
	Use Table 3 between 95a to 95b.
4)	Compare faster server harddrive and updated server software to old.
	Compare Table 2 to Table 3.
5)	Compare Mac thruput to PC thruput.  This is by the way, the least fair
	test since the Mac is so much slower than the PC, at least in
	clock speed, and because the server side apps are written by
	different groups and will likely themselves cause different times
	to come out.  This is why I used the ftp method of copying one
	file in Table 3.  Both the Mac and PC use the same server FTP software.

This is a list of thruput rates measured in seconds (see note at the end
of this document to lean of how this was done) calculated into actual
KB/s.

Table 1:
With the old network cards and the old hub, copying from the server to a
freshly booted client, (server using Conner 540MB CF540A ISA HD, 516MB
w/64kB Cache, PIO Mode 3):
OS-Platform	# files		Size	Time (in seconds)	Thruput
Windows 95a	898 files	48.6 MB	99, 106, 105 = 103	483 KB/s	
Windows 95a	1 file		39.9 MB	63, 64, 63 = 63		648.5 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	898 files       48.6 MB	233, 252, 277 = 254	196 KB/s	
Mac-OS 8.1	1 file          39.9 MB	90, 96, 96 = 94		434.6 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	898 files       48.6 MB	209, 211, 215 = 212	234 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	1 file          39.9 MB	86, 79, 85 = 83		492 KB/s

Table 2:
With the new network cards on the new switch, copying from the server
to a freshly booted client (server using Conner 540MB CF540A, 516 MB
w/64kB Cache, PIO Mode 3):
OS-Platform	# files		Size	Time (in seconds)	Thruput
Windows 95a	898 files	48.6 MB 57, 58, 56 = 57		873 KB/s
Windows 95a	1 file		39.9 MB 24, 24, 25 = 24.3	1,681.4 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	898 files	48.6 MB	194, 207, 213 = 204.7	243 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	1 file		39.9 MB	55, 70, 77 = 67.3	607 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	898 files	48.6 MB	171, 174, 174 = 173	287.7 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	1 file		39.9 MB 51, 59, 57 = 55.7	728 KB/s

Table 3:
With the new network cards on the new switch, copying from the server to a
freshly booted client (IBM-DJNA-351520, 14664MB w/430kB Cache, PIO mode 4):
OS-Platform	# files		Size	Time (in seconds)	Thruput
Windows 95a	898 files	48.6 MB	35, 34, 34 = 34		1,463.7 KB/s
Windows 95a	1 file		39.9 MB	17, 15, 16 = 16		2,553.6 KB/s
Windows 95b	898 files	48.6 MB 35, 34, 35 = 34.7	1,434.2 KB/s
Windows 95b	1 file		39.9 MB	16, 17, 17 = 16.7	2,446.6 KB/s
Windows 95b	1 file ftp'd	39.9 MB	22			1,857.2 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.6n	898 files	48.9 MB	103, 103, 104 = 103	486.2 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.6n	1 file		39.9 MB	29, 29, 29 = 29		1,409 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.6	898 files	48.6 MB	101, 103, 102 = 102	487.9 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.6	1 file		39.9 MB	29, 28, 29 = 29		1,409 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.6	1 file ftp'd	39.9 MB	28			1,459 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1o	898 files       48.6 MB	111, 118, 110 =	113	440.4 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1o	1 file          39.9 MB	26, 26, 27 = 26.3	1,553.5 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	898 files	48.6 MB	182, 176, 182 = 180	276.5 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	1 file		39.9 MB	55, 57, 54 = 55		742.9 KB/s
Mac-OS 8.1	1 file ftp'd	39.9 MB	25			1,634 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1n	898 files	48.6 MB	105, 104, 104 = 104	478.5 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1n	1 file		39.9 MB	25, 26, 27 = 26		1,571 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1o	898 files	48.6 MB	144, 142, 142 = 143	348 KB/s	
Mac-OS 7.6.1o	1 file		39.9 MB	23, 23, 22 = 23		1,776.4 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	898 files	48.6 MB	155, 156, 155 = 155	321 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	1 file		39.9 MB	50.5, 50.5, 52 = 51	801 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1	1 file ftp'd	39.9 MB 22.5			1,816 KB/s

Table 4:
With the new network cards on the new switch, copying from the server to a
freshly booted 6100 client (IBM-DJNA-351520, 14664MB w/430kB Cache, PIO
mode 4):
OS-Platform     # files         Size    Time (in seconds)       Thruput
Mac-OS 7.6.1o   898 files       48.6 MB ?
Mac-OS 7.6.1o   1 file          39.9 MB ?
Mac-OS 7.6.1    898 files       48.6 MB 251, 253, 269 = 257.7	193 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1    1 file          39.9 MB 99, 99.5, 99 = 99	412 KB/s
Mac-OS 7.6.1    1 file ftp'd    39.9 MB 

Windows 95a Configuration:
Microsoft Windows 95, 4.00.950, Genuine Intel Pentium MMX CPU @ 200 MHz, 
512 KB of pipeline burst L2 cache, 48 MB 60 ns EDO DRAM, VIA VT 580 ver
4.0 IDE controller running in PIO Mode 4, Maxtor 82160E2 2111 MB HD
Typical role of the machine was set to Network Server, Virtual memory was 
set to Custom: 24 MB Minimum, 48 MB Maximum.
Old network card: Linksys Ether16 ISA LAN Card, file sharing is on.
New network card: D-Link DFE-530TX Dual Speed 10/100 Mbps ethernet PCI
		  adapter running at 100 Mbps in full duplex mode
		  (according to new switch), file sharing is off.

Windows 95b Configuration:
Microsoft Windows 95, 4.00.1111, [same hardware with new network card]
Typical role of the machine was set to Desktop Computer, Virtual memory
was set to Custom: 48 MB Minimum, 96 MB Maximum.  These windows 95 patches
were also installed: w95ws2setup.exe, msdun13.exe, secupd.exe, secupd2.exe

FTP client used was ftp.exe that comes with windows 95.

Macintosh hardware configuration:
Power Macintosh 7200/90, PowerPC 601 @ 90 MHz, 512 K 10 ns External L2
cache, 96 MB 60 ns FPM DRAM, Apple Computer Internal SCSI controller NCR
53c96, Seagate ST15230W SUN 4.2 GB Ultra Wide SCSI SCA Drive, Disk cache
was set to 4 MB, virtual memory is off.
Old network card: Built in Apple 10Base-T ethernet, file sharing is off.
New network card: AsanteFAST Rev B 10/100 PCI ethernet adapter running at
		  100 Mbps in full duplex mode (according to new switch),
		  file sharing is off.
FTP client used was Anarche 3.7.  Fetch 3.0.3's thruput was worse than
                  Appletalks thruput, and so therefore not tested.

Mac-OS 7.6.1 software configuration:
AppleShare version: 3.6.5, Appletalk driver version:  60.1.2, Open
Transport and TCP/IP version: 1.1.2, Speed Doubler 8.1.2 using faster
network copy protocol, using TCP/IP if available, System Suitcase
version 7.6.1, Finder version 7.5.6.

Mac-OS 7.6.1o (optimized) software configuration:
The only difference is that I installed AppleShare version 3.8.3.

Mac-OS 7.6.1n (not using part of Speed Doubler) software configuration:
Due to requests by Don Chmara of [email-masked], I disabled
"using faster network copy protocol" in Speed Doubler 8.1.2.

Mac-OS 8.1 software configuration:
AppleShare version: 3.7.4, Appletalk driver version: 60.3, Open Transport
and TCP/IP version: 1.3, Speed Doubler 8.1.2 using faster network copy
protocol, using TCP/IP if available, System Suitcase version 1.0, Finder
version 8.1.

Mac-OS 8.1o (optimized) software configuration:
The only difference is that I installed AppleShare version 3.8.3.

Mac-OS 8.6 software configuration:
AppleShare version: 3.8.3, Appletalk driver version: 60.0a6, Open
Transport and TCP/IP version: 2.0.2, Speed Doubler 8.1.2 using faster
network copy protocol, using TCP/IP if available, System Suitcase version
8.6, Finder version 8.6.

Mac-OS 8.6n (not using part of Speed Doubler) software configuration:
Due to requests by Don Chmara of [email-masked], I disabled
"using faster network copy protocol" in Speed Doubler 8.1.2.

Linux Hardware configuration:
CiruxInstead PR6x86LX 166 at 133 MHz, CPUType=M586, 512 KB of Pipeline
burst L2 cache, 64 MB 60 ns EDO DRAM, VIA IDE controller running at
different PIO Modes for different HD's.

Linux Slackware 4.0 configuration (on the Conner 540MB HD):
16,384 MB of swap, Kernel 2.2.6 (with VIA82C586 chipset support, IP
always defragment), Samba version 2.0.3, netatalk version 1.4b2, wu-ftpd
2.4.2-VR16.
Old network card: Digital Equipment DE201 EtherWorks Turbo ISA.
New network card: D-Link DFE-530TX Dual Speed 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PCI
                  adapter running at 100 Mbps in full duplex mode
                  (according to new switch).

Linux Slackware 7.0 configuration (on the IBM 15GB HD):
65,536 MB of swap, Kernel 2.2.13 (with VIA82C586 chipset support, IP
always defragment), Samba version 2.0.5a, netatalk version 1.4b2, wu-ftpd
2.6.0.
New network card: RealTek 8129/8139 Dual Speed 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PCI
                  adapter running at 100 Mbps in full duplex mode
                  (according to new switch).  I couldn't get the D-Link
                  DFE-530TX adapter working because of an unstable Linux
                  driver.

Old hub:  GallantHUB 8 port 10Base-T ethernet hub
New hub:  SohoWare 8 port 10/100 auto-sensing switch

General notes on the methods used for timing file transfers:
All file transfer times were gauged by my reaction time and my
stopwatch.  Assuming my reaction time and stopwatch are constant, there
were no unanticipated variables introduced:  Different programs
calculating times differently, etc.  All transfers were timed between my
forefinger letting go of the mouse dropping the file to its new location,
and when the dialog box that says how long the copy operation is going to
take goes away.  All times were clocked at least three times between
successive client reboots.  When there was an anomalous reading, slowest
times were kicked out (one time it took twice as long as all the rest,
etc).  All other computers were unplugged from the network hub/switch
before timing, and connections to the internet were cut off:  turned off
the modem, disconnected the cable modem, etc.

If you must know how I am personally biased, I make no attempt to hide the
fact that I prefer Mac's to Windows.  If there was any unconscious bias
introduced into this testing it would have been pro-mac, however, the
numbers dictate otherwise.  I did have to struggle with getting the Mac
times that I did.  When I installed the 3.8.3 client in Mac OS 7.6.1, I
wasn't getting any better thruput than before, but after I had it
installed for awhile I saw my times for single file transfers almost
double.  I decided to try to do a 7.6.1 benchmark with the appleshare
3.8.3 client.

---

From: Sak Wathanasin <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 7 May 2000 12:31:46 +0100

In reply to Spatch's message of the 06/05/2000 at 22:48 -0700,

>                  Appletalks thruput, and so therefore not tested.

I'd be deeply suspicious of this: the problem with Fetch is that it 
will inist on doing a dir listing after each xfer, which depresses 
its overall throughput, but the actual file xfer rate matches 
Anarchie. I regularly get 9+ Mbyte/sec from my G4 and iMac over 100 
mbps ethernet to my Linux server, both with FTP and ASIP. Make sure 
you have set the buffer sizes appropriately see Preferences).

Sak Wathanasin
Network Analysis Limited
178 Wainbody Ave South, Coventry CV3 6BX, UK

Internet: [email-masked]
Phone: (+44) 2476 419996        Mobile: (+44) 7970 751912 
Fax: (+44) 2476 690690

---

From: Donald Lee <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 00:15:58 -0500

> [etc...]

Some of the numbers for the macs look awfully low.

I just tried my setup.  My server is a PowerCenter 132 running
netatalk 2.1.3.  Network interface is 10BaseT.

Client is 7200/120 w/ Asante 10/100 card.  MacOS 8.1.  VM is on.
Disk is on internal SCSI.  It's a slow Quantum drive, I think.
(I don't remember...)

Switch is an Asante 10/100 8 port and an Asante 8+2 (8 10baseT and 2 100BaseT)
these are daisy chained, and the client is on the 8 port, and the server is
on the 8+2 on one of the half-duplex 10base-T ports.  Not exactly optimal.

In any case, with this setup, I can get a 24 Mbyte file copied to and
from the server with Appleshare (IP connection) in 25 to 26 seconds.
That's easily 900 KB/s in both directions.

I think it's likely that you've got some issue on your network.  I can't
guess what it might be, but I know the 7200/90 had some serious ethernet
issues.  (That should not be a problem wth the Asante card used though...)

The first time I ran, I was running the 7200 on DHCP with an internal
NAT gateway as a "hop" on my internal network between the server and
the client (even though they're on the same physical segment.
I have to be frugal with IPs)  That gave me 900 KB/s server ->client, and
about 300Kb/s client ->server with ASIP.  I then gave the 7200 its own
IP (no NAT box in the way) and the ethernet pegged nicely at over 900
both ways.  The primary reason the NAT hop was so deadly was that
it caused a lot of collisions.)

Benchmarking is so much fun! :-}

-dgl-

---

From: Patrik Schindler <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 08:00:46 +0200

>That's easily 900 KB/s in both directions.

Oh, via 10 the results are more consistent with the network speed as opposed to 100.

:wq! PoC

---

From: Marcus Radich <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 20:04:10 +1200

>Oh, via 10 the results are more consistent with the network speed as 

I must say that we are getting over 9000k/sec to and from our servers 
on 100baseT.  Just to keep it in the same picture, here is the 
results of a helios lantest to a fast 10baseT server...I ran 2 
iterations...

Date		Time		Read	Write
08.05.2000	18:47:04		989.01	1104.29
08.05.2000	18:47:10		989.01	1111.11

As you can see, over 900k/sec reads and 1MB/sec writes....

I will get 100BaseT Benchmarks tommorrow....
-- 
========================================================

"Always ask the question, never assume the answer."
		Marcus Radich 1999

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