[Beowulf] MPI application benchmarks

[Martin Siegert]

Hi,

this is partially triggered by the mentioniong of the SPEC MPI2007
benchmark: what are people using as a benchmark suite for RFP purposes?

We will be purchasing a shared cluster for a wide community (currently
more than 1000 users). Thus, the common response on this list to evaluate
hardware - "use your own application as benchmark" - does not work:
users change, users' applications change, etc., etc. Thus, I need a
benchmark suite that tests a wide spectrum of properties.

In that respect the SPEC MPI2007 benchmark appears to be ideal. Alas,
it does not appear to be open source (please correct me if I am wrong)
- so far I have not even been able to figure out which applications are
being used in that benchmark suite. Thus, although RFP evaluations
are mentioned first under likely uses for SPEC MPI2007, not being
open source seems to contradict that statement.

Thus: what are people using?
I have seen the HPC Challenge Benchmark.
We almost certainly will include gromacs as an application benchmark.
Which other applications do you suggest?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Martin

-- 
Martin Siegert
Head, HPC at SFU
WestGrid Site Lead
Academic Computing Services                phone: (604) 291-4691
Simon Fraser University                    fax:   (604) 291-4242
Burnaby, British Columbia                  email: siegert at sfu.ca
Canada  V5A 1S6