In all but the Intel Iometer disk-performance tests, results were almost too close to call, with less than a 2 percent difference between the best and the worst performance. However, the Iometer tests did uncover some strengths and weaknesses. In the database test, for example, the Dell PowerEdge 6650 outperformed IBM's eServer xSeries x255 by about 25 percent across the board. The HP ProLiant DL580 G2 showed anomalous results in both the maximum I/O test--more than double the throughput of the IBM and Dell servers--and the sequential test--less than 30 percent of the throughput of its competitors. HP pinpointed the ProLiant's RAID controller as the underperformer, but was unable to explain the high maximum I/O score.
Intel Iometer Tests
We used three of the Iometer suite's basic tests--the database, maximum throughput and maximum I/O rate tests. We also customized a test. The database test used a 2-KB transfer request size with a mix of 67 percent reads and 33 percent writes. This proportion represents a typical database workload.
On the maximum throughput test, we used a 64-Kbps transfer request, and on the maximum I/O rate test, a 512-byte transfer request. On both tests we set the read/write distribution to 100 percent read and the random/sequential distribution to 100 percent sequential.
We performed our custom test in three ways. The first included a 512-byte transfer request size and distributions set at 100 percent read and 100 percent sequential. The second was a 2-KB transfer request with a 67 percent read-33 percent write distribution and 100 percent random. The third was a 64-KB request set back to 100 percent read and 100 percent sequential.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
