Workload And Performance; Commercial Processing Workload - IBM i series Handbook

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Workload and Performance

Workload and performance are critical considerations in selecting an iSeries server. This

chapter discusses some of the tools and factors to take into account, including workload

ratings and processor positioning. Detailed performance information is in iSeries

Performance Capabilities Reference , SC41-0607, which is located on the Web at:

http://www.iseries.ibm.com/developer/performance/index.html

http://www.ibm.com/eserver/iseries/library

For sizing recommendations, consult with your IBM Marketing Representative and service

When the AS/400 system was announced in 1988, the Relative Performance Rating (RPR) or

Relative System Performance (RSP) of different models was measured using a RAMP-C

workload. This workload is representative of general commercial processing. RPR figures for

AS/400 models have been expressed relative to the 9404 Model B10, which was the initial

entry model for the AS/400 range in 1988. It had a RPR rating of 1.0.

The AS/400e product line continues to grow in power with the PowerPC RISC processors and

24- and 12-way processors. With the increased processing power and more applications

using vital technologies, such as Web serving, client/server, and multimedia, the point was

reached when RAMP-C was no longer a valid means for measuring relative performance.

Therefore, RAMP-C was replaced by a workload measurement called Commercial

Processing Workload (CPW) in the second half of 1996.

Relative performance measurements are derived from commercial processing workload on

the AS/400e. CPW is representative of commercial applications, particularly those that do

significant database processing in conjunction with journaling and commitment control.

CPW contains a number of advantages over RAMP-C for measuring the iSeries and AS/400e

servers, such as:

• Inclusion of a batch component

• Increased numbers of transaction types

• Support for journaling and commitment control

• Increased path lengths

• More complex file and terminal I/O

These enhancements mean that CPW exercises hardware and software paths that more

closely match the paths exercised by our customers' current installations.

Workload and Performance

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