Munich, February 16, 2005
The new Intel Xeon processors with a 2MB second-level cache (Irwindale) will be released for the PRIMERGY TX200 S2, TX300 S2, RX200 S2 and RX300 S2 and for the BX620 S2 server blade as of February 26, 2005.
In this 2-way server class, the PRIMERGY TX300 S2 again chalked up a world record of 8,208 MMB3 users in the Exchange Server 2003 Benchmark with the new 3.6GHz / 2MB SLC processors, beating its own world record of December 27, 2004.
The PRIMERGY TX300 S2 had already set a world record with a benchmark result of 7,500 MMB3 users on December 27, 2004 before exceeding it on February 3, 2005, with 8,208 MMB3 users.
Thanks to the new Intel Xeon processor with a 2MB second-level cache (SLC), the PRIMERGY TX300 S2 – which otherwise featured the identical working memory and disk subsystem in both benchmarks – was able to increase its performance by more than nine per cent. Despite the additional 708 MMB3 users, the response times were virtually identical (264ms compared with 255ms).
In both benchmarks, the PRIMERGY TX300 S2 was identically equipped (apart from its processors) with a 4GB working memory and six 36GB hard disks for the operating system and Active Directory. 7,500 MMB3 users were achieved with two Intel Xeon 3.6GHz processors with a 1MB SLC and 8,208 MMB3 users with two Intel Xeon 3.6GHz processors with a 2MB SLC. An SCSI-based disk subsystem comprising ten PRIMERGY SX30 with 140 18GB hard disks was used for the Exchange databases.
Full Disclosure Report One
Full Disclosure Report Two
Microsoft’s Exchange MMB3 benchmark
The MAPI Messaging Benchmark (MMB3) was developed by Microsoft to enable a performance comparison of server systems across vendors using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. Using the MMB3 user profile, the benchmark measures throughput during an eight-hour working day on the basis of a defined user profile that represents the mail traffic of a typical e-mail user, and comprises everyday mail activities such as sending, searching, reading, forwarding, as well as scheduling or the use of distribution lists.
More information:
Sizing in the Exchange MMB benchmark
The Microsoft Exchange MMB3 ranking