Subj : A multithreading benchmark
To   : comp.programming.threads
From : chris noonan
Date : Mon Jun 06 2005 11:54 am

I am designing a benchmark program for investigating
multithreaded performance. I will use the program
for comparing various heap managers, but it is bound
to be useful for other purposes.

These are the design criteria I have so far:

1. The benchmark will be semi-synthetic, in that
it will be constructed for the stated purpose,
but will perform some useful task, and could be
mistaken for a 'real' application.

2. The program will take the server role of a
client-server system, and will run on a
thread-per-connection basis.

3. There will be a fixed amount of work, the
number of threads will be parameterisable for
each run of the benchmark, and the workload
will be divided between however many threads
there are.

4. The program will be coded in C++ in natural
style.

5. The dynamic memory profile of the running
benchmark will conform as far as possible to
empirical measurements of average allocation
size, duration etc. to be found in the
literature.

Anything else worth considering?

Initially the program will be targeted to
Microsoft Windows platforms, as there is a
dearth of suitable benchmarks.

Is there some way of simulating a number of
clients without the complication of having
multiple machines and real network connections?

TIA for your comments.

Chris

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