Comparisons of Mach distributed performance using the WPI Benchmark Suite

A set of programs, the WPI Benchmark Suite (WBS), was developed with the specific objective of comparing the performances of Unix-like operating systems running on identical hardware platforms. Performance results from running parts of the WBS under Mach 2.5, Mach 3.0, and SunOS 4.1.1 on HP 386 PCs, HP 486 PCs, and Sun 3/60 workstations are presented. The focus is on the WPI benchmarks designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different operating system mechanisms for distributed applications. The results identify strengths and weaknesses of these operating systems. The results show that Mach 3.0 does not perform as well as Mach 2.5 on benchmarks involving network communications or local socket communication. Mach 3.0 does outperform Mach 2.5 on a benchmark which involves extensive disk input/output (I/O). The Jigsaw benchmark demonstrates that Mach 3.0 has difficulty with heavy paging activity. Additionally, SunOS 4.1.1 performs better that Mach 2.5 for certain interprocess communication methods