LADDIS: The Next Generation in NFS File Server Benchmarking

The ability to compare the performance of various NFS file server configurations from several vendors is critically important to a computing facility when selecting an NFS file server. To date, nhfsstone has been a popular means of characterizing NFS file server performance. However, several deficiencies have been found in nhfsstone. The LADDIS NFS file server benchmark has been developed to resolve nhfsstone’s shortcomings and provide new functionality. The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) released the System File Server (SFS) Release 1.0 benchmark suite, which contains 097.LADDIS, as an industry-standard file server benchmark in April 1993. This paper describes the major technical issues involved in developing the benchmark and the rationale used to establish default 097.LADDIS workload parameter values. Where appropriate, areas for further research are identified and encouraged. Permission has been granted by the USENIX Association to reprint the above paper/article. This paper/article was originally published in the USENIX Association Conference Proceedings, 1993. Copyright © USENIX Association, 1993