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IBM Servers Place First in Performance Study
On December 22, 1998 -- IBM received the highest overall ranking for
its UNIX servers in an innovative benchmark-testing study of server performance.
The independent study, conducted by D.H. Brown Associates, ranked IBM’s two
high-end UNIX servers -- the RS/6000 S70 and the RS/6000 SP systems-- number one (63) with
a 14-point lead over its closest competitor Sun Microsystems (49).
This first-of-its-kind study compares server performance using a weighted average of
several industry-standard benchmark results that measure general commercial applicability,
online transaction processing, decision support, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and
scientific applications. The result is an overall numerical ranking, or a "Composite
Performance Metric" (CPM), that is designed to help IT managers gauge all-around
server performance.
Following IBM and Sun were the high-end servers from Hewlett Packard (44), Compaq (41),
Silicon Graphics Inc. (40) and NCR (21) respectively.
"The IBM RS/6000 achieved the number one position in our initial rankings by
maintaining balance with solid scores in all areas important to IT managers," said
Richard Partridge, senior research analyst for D.H. Brown. "IBM’s lead shows the
versatility of the RS/6000 family, and for users who wish to deploy a variety of
applications on one platform, versatility is an important attribute."
According to D.H. Brown, the composite was developed to help IT managers focus
benchmark data into an overall ranking that gives them better information to formulate
purchasing strategies and in turn deliver benefits to their businesses.
As a follow up to the study, D.H. Brown plans to continue refining the CPM with an
update scheduled for early 1999.
Additional information can be found at the IBM
RS/6000 Web site or at the D.H. Brown Web site.
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