On Tue, 8 May 2012, Alex Adriaanse wrote:
I'm currently spec'ing out a Sandy Bridge Xeon server that would most likely run Illumos / SmartOS. This server will initially be running Windows Server 2008 R2 / Exchange Server and a Debian Linux distribution inside of KVM. I'm currently deciding between the Xeon E3-1220 (no Hyper-Threading) and E3-1230 (Hyper-Threading). What's the consensus on HT on Illumos/KVM - could I get a significant performance gain from turning on HT, or is it better to leave it off? The VMs are not going to be running any intensive multithreaded applications.
Hyperthreading will not gain any raw CPU performance but it may help for certain threaded database and networking loads where more threads can help with overlapping I/O or memory accesses. I have only observed a few algorithms in my own software which definitely benefit and these are threading memory accesses and floating point ops.
If skipping the hyperthreading will allow you to buy more memory, then buy more memory. Definitely make sure to use only ECC memory.
Also, I'm planning on getting a SuperMicro X9SCM-F motherboard. It is my understanding there are no known incompatibilities between this motherboard and recent releases of Illumos, is that correct?
This board seems highly likely to work without problems (http://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/OS/C204.cfm).
Bob -- Bob Friesenhahn [email protected], http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/ GraphicsMagick Maintainer, http://www.GraphicsMagick.org/ ------------------------------------------- illumos-discuss Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/182180/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/182180/21175430-2e6923be Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21175430&id_secret=21175430-6a77cda4 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
