Vijay Tatkar's Blog

Dozen new World Records with Sun Studio + OpenSolaris at Nehalem Launch

Sun today launched x64 systems based on Intel Nehalem chip (aka Xeon Processor 5500 series) in grand style! Sun is calling these Open Network Systems to emphasize that its about much than just a chip upgrade alone. In particular, the message is around system design and innovation that encompasses " the convergence of open compute, storage, networking and software to deliver best application performance, simplicity and savings".
Application performance (and benchmarking performance) is best measured by what Sun highlighted today. Closer to (my)home, its a hit out of this park. Consider what the combination of Sun Studio 12 update 1 and OpenSolaris has cooked up:

• Best (World Record) SPECfp_rate2006, SPECfp_rate_base2006, SPECint_rate2006, SPECint_rate_base2006 performance
• Best (World Record) SPECompM2001, SPEcompL2001 x64 performance
• Best (World Record) SPECcpu performance on single-blade, workstation, and rackmount servers

All in all 13 World Records! Clearly what I would call game, set and match (Sorry about mixing up the sporting metaphors between baseball and tennis here).
You can find more performance briefs here. See here for a whitepaper on how Solaris optimizes for Nehalem.
This is a great chip to work on, and the Sun Studio team has done a wonderful job of delivering outstanding performance in utilizing its strengths.
Sun Studio 12 update 1 is currently in early access and you can join up to preview and take advantage of these performance benefits. Or you can get the same via Sun Studio Express 3/09, also currently available for downloads.

Required Disclosure: SPEC and the benchmark names SPECint, SPECfp and SPEComp are registered trademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation. Results from this announcement and www.spec.org, as of 04/12/09.
Sun Fire X4170 (2 chips / 8 cores / 16 threads, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 36.8 SPECint2006
Sun Fire X2270 (2 chips / 8 cores / 16 OMP threads, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 254,318 SPECompL2001
Sun Ultra 27 (1 chip / 4 cores / 8 threads, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 45.4 SPECfp2006. Sun Blade X6270 (2 chips / 8 cores / 16 threads, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 50.4 SPECfp2006
Sun Blade X6275 (2 chips / 8 cores / 16 OMP threads, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 48,097 SPECompM2001
Sun Blade X6275 (2 nodes with 2 chips / 8 cores / 16 threads each, OpenSolaris 2008.11, Studio 12 update 1) - 478 SPECint_rate2006, 355 SPECfp_rate2006

Posted by tatkar ( Apr 14 2009, 02:03:48 PM PDT ) Permalink Comments [2]

See you at Sun Tech Days Hyderabad 2009 in mid-Feb
I will be at Sun TechDays in Hyderabad, India around Feb 18-20th. This is now the third year in a row for me. Its a wonderful place to present and have some hearty discussions. The crowd is typically very hungry for knowledge, the organizers are super-efficient and the planning is just immaculate. I go to several TechDays, typically, but this one has impressed me with the size, quality of organization and the impact we can make in recruiting interest in Sun.
Hope to see a lot more of this again this year. Frankly, it charges me up as well after spending 3 days there! Its refreshing to see what direction the future of Software industry (at least in India) is headed.
This is also a good time for me to catch up with whats changing in my country of birth, especially with the global recession underway.
Posted by tatkar ( Feb 05 2009, 10:26:39 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Sun previews a Cloud Computing announcement
The cat is out of the bag now at SugarCRM's SugarCon 2009 conference in San Francisco with Sun preannouncing that it is taking to the Cloud.
There is a lot of Cloud action underway, especially after announcing the formation of a division dedicated entirely to Cloud Computing. Expect to see Sun play in IAAS, PAAS and SAAS layers; Sun has plenty of offerings up and down this stack and bringing them into the Cloud world could do interesting things in the market.
Expect to see a lot more details at CommunityOne event in March 2009.
Posted by tatkar ( Feb 05 2009, 12:22:42 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

xrandr is your(my) friend!
I have had considerable difficulty connecting laptops (particularly ATI-based) to projectors at various conferences (the most annoying ones are where the projector is connected through an intermediate switch that multiplexes inputs) in order to get twinviews on dual-displays. Cant tell you about how many hours I and some of my colleagues have spent configuring, tuning, hand-coding xorg.conf files(an extremely tedious task). This is all on Solaris/OpenSolaris, though in some cases, Linux and even Windows didnt do any better!
Over the past few months, we now have xrandr in OpenSolaris which detects and sets displays to specifications. The typically 1024x768 is still the best resolution I can get in most places, but thats not the utility's shortcoming; its just the nature of the equipment.
You can typically just type the command:

xrandr

to get a listing of connected devices and their possible resolutions. Then you can set the connection to the projector typically with a command like this:

xrandr --output VGA-0 --mode 1024x768

to get dual-display.
Yay, finally a solution that seems to work most of the time (there are still the odd times when I've found it doesnt get it right). The next trip to Sun TechDays in Hyderabad, India, would be a good test of this capability. I will be talking about Sun Studio compilers and tools again, this year. We have some new and cool features to talk about, so if you're in the area, drop in!
Posted by tatkar ( Feb 02 2009, 11:43:34 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Techtip: Mapping GCC options into Sun Studio Compiler options
A new paper by Diane Meirowitz, Sr Development Compiler engineer in Sun Studio division, talks about mapping GCC options to Sun Studio options.
I know there are users/Sun customers who were looking for such tips, so I thought I'd pass it on here.
Posted by tatkar ( Jan 26 2009, 02:00:15 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Clarifying some terminologies over Cloud Computing
Its not unusual that a new technology trend like Cloud Computing has a whole slew of confusing terms and acronyms for some fairly simple, straightforward concepts. Bugging, but not unusual :-)
So, if you're confused (like me), here are some pointers that might help.
I have found that this blog does a good job of Demystifying Iaas, PaaS, SaaS and other terms . . These are the three major categories.
Moreover, Peter Laird, has done a remarkable job of creating a Visual Map of Cloud Computing Landscape".
Thank you, Roman, for this recommendation!
Both of these are good overviews. Hope it helps you as it has helped me understand the overall picture.
Posted by tatkar ( Jan 09 2009, 11:41:49 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Where is Sun headed with Cloud Computing?
Life just got interesting in Sun Cloud Computing with this acquisition of Q-layer, a Belgium-based organization. The acquisition brings to Sun an immediate ability to offer efficient, full datacenter virtualization, a key aspect of Cloud Computing. The Q-layer software supports instant provisioning of services such as servers, storage, bandwidth and applications, enabling users to scale their own environments.
To our new brethren: Welcome aboard and I hope you have a fun ride here. We are pleased to have your expertise here and I'm equally sure that you will like the culture and engineering talent at Sun.
On a broader theme ...
If you'd like to read more about the overall vision, I'd recommend looking at these slides from Dave Douglas's presentation to Sun Analysts in November 2008 after the reorg announcement. [Dave Douglas is head of the Cloud Computing Group within Sun].
You may also want to hear this interesting podcast by Lew Tucker, CTO of Cloud Computing (at Sun). Together, they give a good sense of what Sun is attempting to do in 2009 as it re-enters the Cloud Computing area in a bigger way.
For more details on Sun's Cloud Computing initiative, you can you find more details here.
Posted by tatkar ( Jan 07 2009, 08:13:29 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [2]

Cloud Computing: the hot trend of 2008 and pick of 2009!
Cloud Computing has turned out to be the hottest trend for 2008. Google searches for the term skyrocketed (with Bangalore, India and San Jose, CA leading the trend!).
Several interesting announcements helped: IBM, Google/Salesforce deal,  Yahoo/Intel/HP alliance, VMware, , Microsoft's Azure,  and Sun all announced major new activities.
Despite some significant glitches which didnt go unnoticed, all indications are that this trend is here to stay. Or, more accurately, grow in 2009, judging from these 8 IT analysts who all had Cloud Computing in their Top 5 predictions for 2009.
Now, thats saying something!
Posted by tatkar ( Jan 06 2009, 08:36:20 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

A new gig in the new year
20 years after developing and managing within the Sun Developer Platforms group, particularly, Compilers and Tools, I am now moving to the Cloud Computing Group. This move is part of a business streamlining plan Sun outlined in mid November (the main idea being to re-align Sun's business with changing global picture and to invest in high-growth areas).
Cloud Computing has the potential for realizing significant revenues for Sun which is now increasing focus its on it.
Personally, this is an exciting new area for me and my team. This will mean moving away from an area where I helped my teams establish World Record application performance over the past few years and navigate C and C++ compilers through interesting transitions, especially through new language standards and a new business model, and I'm sad about leaving that behind me. However, all that experience will be invaluable in the new world of Cloud Computing where Sun has plenty of unique things to offer.
So, with a bit of trepidation and a lot of optimism, its time to look forward to the challenges and excitement of 2009.

Posted by tatkar ( Jan 05 2009, 01:05:11 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [2]

Happy New Year, its 2009!
Its time to look forward and its time to reflect on what has, and may have, happened in the past year. There are significant lessons to carry forward.
I expect many changes on the immediate horizon for the industry, for Sun and I know there are upcoming changes for me. (More on this soon, ...).
But, for now, heres hoping to much success in the year ahead!
Posted by tatkar ( Jan 01 2009, 11:48:07 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Browsable index to Sun Studio Tech Articles
There is now a browsable index to all the Sun Studio technical articles on SDN at:
http://developers.sun.com/sunstudio/documentation/techart/index.jsp

Kudos to the team on getting it there; it will now be easier to find Sun Studio tech articles!

Posted by tatkar ( Dec 18 2008, 09:34:34 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Toshiba laptop to factory preinstall OpenSolaris
Sun and Toshiba announced today a factory-ready laptop running OpenSolaris.
At last, at long last! Its high time we got a popular laptop maker to pre-install (Open)Solaris (they will actually start shipping in 2009). Reading some of the comments on blogs and news stories, reaction seems to be more on the positive side. Maybe, now I can find an excuse to upgrade my laptop, though its technically in reasonable running condition!
Posted by tatkar ( Dec 16 2008, 10:58:30 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [3]

Installed OpenSolaris 2008.11 with Sun Studio Express 11/08
I just installed OpenSolaris 2008.11 (you can get it here, tho I got mine from an internal Sun DVD Test/Evaluation CD) on my x86 laptop in addition to another laptop that I use for shows (like Sun TechDays) and customer presos etc. To confess, my dual-boot laptop was still booting SXDE from Build 70 (its currently at 101 and the builds are biweekly, so I was about a year off :-)
The installation went smoothly. I didnt expect any issues since I know Acer Ferrari 4000 laptop has all the right characteristics and devices that OpenSolaris recognizes. Here are some of my observations that I would like to share here:

• The LiveCD install took 25 minutes (yes, I timed it). No issues (no partitioning required since I was reusing my older partition)
• Then I installed  other desirable packages, using the GUI Package Manager. This GUI now works better than it did in the previous OpenSolaris(2008.05) release. This took me another 25 minutes or so (that would depend on the speed of the internet connection for most folks, I suspect). I installed the following packages:
• amp-dev
• ss-dev
• netbeans
• gcc-dev
• hpc-dev
• webstackui
• openoffice

I now have everything I need: OpenOffice, Developer Tools (Sun Studio, NetBeans and GNU toolchain), AMP/Web tools, HPC tools (Clustertools). Went without a hitch and I'm happier now with the new look-and-feel and overall functionality. I also have the WR breaking Sun Studio Express 11/08 installed.  Later, I hope to blog about features as I try them out.
I've heard some good things about the new ZFS Time Slider; thats the first one to check out.

Posted by tatkar ( Dec 12 2008, 12:46:43 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

3 new Sun Studio World Records with AMD quad-core Sun x64 servers
Sun announced today enhancements to the Sun Fire(TM) x64 servers and Sun Blade(TM) systems lineup.
The new lineup includes a newer rev of the quad-core Opteron chips, the so-called Shanghai processors.
The new world records are in the area of SPECint_rate, SPECompL2001 and SPECompM2001

• Sun Fire X4440 server's (16 cores/4 chips/16 threads) SPECompL2001 result of 175,648 makes it the best-performing x86 system on the planet.
• The versatile Sun Blade X6440 server module (16 cores/4 chips/16 threads) produced SPECompM2001 result of 35,896 is highest for a blade platform
• Sun Fire X4600 server, equipped with eight Dual-Core AMD Opteron model 8384 processors produced the World Record SPECint_rate2006 score of 386.

These benchmarks are with OpenSolaris 2008.05 OS and Sun Studio Express 11/08 compilers. You can download OpenSolaris here and Sun Studio Express compilers here.

Required Disclosures:
SPEC, SPECint, SPECjbb, SPECweb and SPEComp are registered trademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation.
Results from http://www.spec.org and this announcement as of 12/6/2008.

Sun Blade X6440 server module (4 chips, 16 cores, 16 OMP threads), 35896 SPECompMpeak2001.
Sun Fire X4600 M2 server, 386 SPECint_rate2006.
Sun Fire X4440 server (4 chips, 16 cores, 16 OMP threads),175,648 SPECompLpeak2001.
Posted by tatkar ( Dec 09 2008, 04:09:02 PM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Sun announced a slew of new solutions at Supercomputing 2008
Sun is finally back into the HPC market with a slew of new announcements that make it truly competitive in more than a decade. These systems/solutions (including storage, server clusters, blade servers, new software and interconnects) were showcased in Sun Technology Demos at Supercomputing 2008. Some of the new products include:

• Sun Constellation System - with double the storage capacity, double the cores and double the compute nodes of the original Sun Constellation System, the "Genesis" storage array, new "Magnum" switch solutions, the "Glacier" cooling door and storage flash arrays
• Sun Storage Cluster: Based on a previous Sun Unified Storage Systems announcement, this solution includes Solaris ZFS to transparently cache data on SSDs, and  reduce latencies and remove I/O bottlenecks. IMO, these recent solutions bring Sun back into the storage market, which Sun has gradually ceded over the past two decades (Sun used to be king of attached storage when I joined Sun, about 20 years ago).
  
• Sun Compute Cluster  is a pre-integrated  highly scalable system consisting of Sun Fire Servers and Sun Blade server modules with infiniband or ethernet connectors that can  handle large data sets and workloads.
• Lustre 1.8 with features such as  version-based recovery, interoperability with 1.6 clients, adaptive time-out.
• Sun HPC ClusterTools 8.1 now offers enhanced performance and scalability, including processor affinity support, a high-performance MPI and parallel job launcher.
• Sun HPC Software, Linux Edition 1.1 and Solaris Developer Edition Beta 1 is a new software bundle with a new OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution
• Sun Studio Express 11/08. I already outlined the main features in a previous blog. New tests continue to demonstrate a robust performance improvement from generation to generation of processor architectures by delivering a new World Record SPECompM2001score, as mentioned in a previous blog.
  
• Sun Shared Visualization Software 1.1.1 which enables users to remotely access and share 3D-accelerated applications that run on a central resource.

Posted by tatkar ( Nov 21 2008, 11:10:42 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [0]