Windows Server speeds along at 64 bit

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: NETWORK PRODUCT TEST RESULTS
07/05/05

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Clear Choice Test of Microsoft's recently released 64-bit
  edition of Windows Server 2003
* Links related to Network Product Test Results
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus:

Windows Server speeds along at 64 bit

By Tom Henderson

In our Clear Choice Test of Microsoft's recently released 64-bit
edition of Windows Server 2003, we found that when you employ
optional, kernel-mode processing features, the operating system
flies. When you don't, it runs a bit slower than other 64-bit
server operating systems we've tested recently.

These Windows 2003 Server x64 kernel options let certain
processes run at the kernel code level - in our test case SSL
certificate processing, caching and session handling. When you
combine these options with mandated 64-bit hardware drivers and
the vast amount of memory that a 64-bit processor can address,
you can get some of the best performance we've seen on Intel/AMD
architectures.

When we used kernel SSL processing, the number of sustained
users climbed by 90% over 32-bit Windows Server 2003 processing.
When compared with other 64-bit operating systems (Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 4.0 [RHEL 4.0] Advance Server and Solaris 10),
Windows Server 2003 x64 has a 15% to 20% performance advantage.

Without the kernel processing options, Windows Server 2003 x64
performed slightly under par with competitive 64-bit operating
systems in our testing.

The downside to these performance gains is incompatibility
issues in terms of the hardware Windows Server 2003 x64 can run
on and some of the applications it can support.

The two generic AMD64 white-box systems we tested were
incompatible with Windows Server 2003 x64. One wouldn't start
the kernel or boot through a kernel load. The other had constant
crashes after installation that seemed to be related to
motherboard memory timing and additional SCSI hardware driver
issues.

For the complete test results, please see:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlprodrev2965>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact:

Henderson is principal researcher for ExtremeLabs in
Indianapolis. He can be reached at thenderson@extremelabs.com
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia
Empower Your Mobile Enterprise

Nokia believes that business mobility will fundamentally change
the way work gets done-and for the better. To allow the entire
organization to get the most from this paradigm shift in
productivity, Nokia Enterprise Solutions focuses on delivering
increased efficiency through enhanced mobility. Learn more by
downloading this white paper today!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=107711
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ARCHIVE LINKS

Clear Choice Tests archive:
http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/index.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
FOCUS ON RECOVERY

IT professionals are changing the way they back up and recover
data, experts say, with new emphasis on the speedier fetching of
data made possible by advancing technologies. At a recent
storage conference in Orlando, disk-based backup solutions were
touted - find out if attendees agreed and if faster storage
solutions will soon be available. Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/062005-data-recovery.html>
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