root/trunk/man/bps.1

.TH "bps" "1" "1.3" "Douglas Eadline" "Cluster Performance"
.SH "NAME"
bps, bps\-html
.SH "SYNTAX"
bps <options>
.br 
bps\-html log\-directory
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
Beowulf Performance Suite (BPS)

The Beowulf Performance Suite (BPS) was designed to
provide a comprehensive and comparative way of
measuring cluster performance. Although BPS contains
many benchmarking programs, BPS is not designed to
benchmark clusters. BPS is designed as an analysis tool
to measure differences due to hardware or software
changes on the same cluster. In addition, successfully
running all the tests provides some assurances that the
cluster is configured properly. The suite provides a
graphical user interface for running the programs as
well as generating HTML output files. The following
tests are available:

* bonnie \- hard drive performance

* stream \- memory performance

* netperf \- general network performance

* netpipe \- detailed network performance

* nas \- nas NASA parallel tests

* unixbench \- general Unix benchmarks

* lmbench \- micro Linux benchmarks
.SH "OPTIONS"
\-b <file system> run the bonnie++ benchmark

\-s run the stream benchmark

\-f <send node>,<receive node> run the netperf benchmark

\-p <send node>,<receive node> run the netpipe benchmark
.LP 
\-n <compiler>,<#processors),<testsize>,<MPI>,<machine1,machine2,...> 
run the NAS benchmark where:
     compiler={gnu,pgi,intel} 
     test size={A,B,C,dummy} 
     MPI={mpich,mpich2,lam,openmpi,mpichgm}

\-k keep NAS directory when finished

\-u run the unixbench benchmark

\-m run the lmbench benchmark

\-l <log_dir> benchmark log directory

\-w preserve existing log directory

\-i <mboard manufacturer>, <mboard model>,<memory>,<interconnect>,<linux ver>
 
   enter machine information with this option

\-v show version

\-h show this help
.SH "IMPORTANT NOTES"
All tests are archived in the /opt/bps/src directory.  
  
The bps suite is best run as a normal user, not root.
Some of the tests (i.e. NAS parallel) will not run as root.
  
Not all features of the command line interface are
possible with the GUI.

When using Netpipe and Netperf Benchmarks, rsh with no
password must be permitted between the nodes.

Under normal operation, bps will always overwrite the
existing log directory. You can use the \-w option to prevent
this from happening. In addition, 
copy previous log files (from older log directories) into
the current log directory for bps\-html conversion.

Also, the tests have been designed so that the BPS
rpm only needs to be installed on the master node.
For this to work, the BPS log directory must be
mounted on all nodes (e.g. under /home).

The NAS tests were originally designed to work with
LAM/MPI, MPICH, MPICH2, Open MPI, MPICH\-GM and GNU, PGI, and Intel compilers. 
Some combinations may not work.

If problems result when using the NAS Parallel Benchmarks, please
see the NAS documentation for more information. Normally issues involve running MPI/compiler configuration/linking issues.
To make it as easy as possible, the
benchmark scripts have been written to rely on the
two environment variables LAM_HOME, MPICH_HOME. MPICH2_HOME,
OMPI_HOME. These variables MUST point to the appropriate MPI
installation. If you are having problems with the NAS
benchmarks, extract the npb.ta r.gz archive in
the/opt/bps/src directory and try running the scripts
manually. (You may also use the \-k option to preserve the directory from which the NAS tests where run. This directory
will be under your bps\-log directory. Consult the README.bps file for more
information. 

Also, if you wish to use the Portland
Group or the Intel Compilers make sure they are
properly configured. You may need to build specific versions of MPI libraries for these compilers to work.

Finally, always consult the bps\-logs directory for the test results. Each test creates a log and/or data file which can
be consulted for the source of problems. 


.SH "FILES"
/usr/share/doc/bps\-1.3/LICENSE
/usr/share/doc/bps\-1.3/README
/usr/share/doc/bps\-1.3/tests.html
.SH "EXAMPLES"
To run the stream benchmark:

  bps \-s

To run two benchmarks (Unix bench, netperf): 

  bps \-u \-f kronos01,kronos04

To run the NAS suite:

bps \-n gnu,8,A,lam,kronos,kronos00,kronos01,kronos02,kronos03,kronos04,kronos05,kronos06 \-k

To view the results first make the html:

  bps\-html bps\-logs


Then use a browser to view the file bps\-logs/index.html
.SH "IN CASE OF PROBLEMS"
The BPS suite is a collection of many tests. You should
have minimal or no problems with the single machine
tests. As more machines become involved with the tests,
there is room for more configuration errors to arise.
If a test does not run, check the test_name.log file in
the log directory. In the case of the NAS tests, the
results are in the form
npb.COMPILER.MPI.CLASS.PROCESSORS.

In general, if you have problems with a test it may be
best to run it from the command line. In the case of
the NAS suite, the \-k option will keep the npb
directory in the log directory so you can run the tests
more directly by using the run_suite script in the npb
directory. Also the README.bps file in the npb
directory should provide more information on how the
tests are run and how to resolve possible problems.

.SH "SEE ALSO"
Additional benchmark information:

General Information (Contact Author)
  http://www.basement\-supercomputing.com

bonnie++ Hard drive performance \-
  http://www.coker.com.au/bonnie++

stream Memory performance 
  http://www.cs.virginia.edu/stream

netperf General network performance
  http://www.netperf.org/netperf/NetperfPage.html

netpipe Detailed network performance
  http://www.scl.ameslab.gov/Projects/ClusterCookbook/nprun.html

unixbench General Unix benchmarks 
  http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Benchmarking\-HOWTO.html
  
LMbench Low level benchmarks 
  http://www.bitmover.com/lmbench
  
NAS Parallel tests 
  http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Software/NPB