Iometer Users Guide

Version 2003.12.16
Iometer project, iometer-[user|devel]@lists.sourcefore.net

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction....................................................................................6
1.1 2&out t"is 3ocument................................................................................. 6
1.2 2&out Iometer............................................................................................ 6
1.3 4"!t5s ne#6.............................................................................................. 7
1.8 ,'stem 9e:uirements............................................................................... 7
1.; <&t!inin Iometer...................................................................................... 7
1.6 =icense 2reement.................................................................................... 7
1.6.1 >u 9eports !nd ?e!ture 9e:uests................................................ @
1.6.2 Ase of Iometer 9esults.................................................................... @
2. Installing Iometer...........................................................................8
3. Running Iometer............................................................................8
4. Quick Start ...................................................................................10
5. Using Iometer...............................................................................13
;.1 *ool&!r B Introduction............................................................................ 18
;.2 ,t!tus >!r B Introduction........................................................................ 1;
;.3 *opolo' C!nel B Introduction................................................................ 16
;.8 3is. *!rets *!& B Introduction............................................................. 17
;.; $et#or. *!rets *!& B Introduction....................................................... 10
;.6 2ccess ,pecific!tions *!& B Introduction............................................... 21
;.7 (dit 2ccess ,pecific!tion 3i!lo B Introduction..................................... 23
;.@ 9esults 3ispl!' *!& B Introduction......................................................... 2;
;.0 Cresent!tion Deter 3i!lo B Introduction............................................... 27
;.10 *est ,etup *!& B Introduction.............................................................. 2@
;.11 ,!ve *est +onfiur!tion ?ile B Introduction......................................... 30
;.12 <pen *est +onfiur!tion ?ile B Introduction......................................... 31
6. Toolbar Reference .................................................................33
7. Status Bar Reference..............................................................35
8. Topology Panel Reference.....................................................36
9. Disk Targets Tab Reference...................................................38
0.1 *!rets.................................................................................................... 3@
0.2 D!%imum 3is. ,iEe................................................................................. 30
0.3 ,t!rtin 3is. ,ector................................................................................. 80
0.8 F of <utst!ndin I-<s............................................................................... 80
0.; *est +onnection 9!te.............................................................................. 80
10. Network Targets Tab Reference..........................................42
10.1 *!rets.................................................................................................. 83
10.2 $et#or. Interf!ce to Ase for +onnection............................................... 88
10.3 D!% F <utst!ndin ,ends...................................................................... 8;
10.8 *est +onnection 9!te............................................................................ 8;
11. Access Specifications Tab Reference.................................46
11.1 Glo&!l 2ccess ,pecific!tions =ist.......................................................... 86
11.2 2ssined 2ccess ,pecific!tions =ist...................................................... 87
11.3 2ccess ,pecific!tions >uttons............................................................... 8@
12. Edit Access Specification Dialog Reference......................49
12.1 $!me..................................................................................................... 80
12.2 3ef!ult 2ssinment................................................................................ ;0
12.3 2ccess ,pecific!tion =ines.................................................................... ;0
12.8 *r!nsfer 9e:uest ,iEe........................................................................... ;0
12.; Cercent of 2ccess ,pecific!tion............................................................. ;0
12.6 Cercent 9e!d-4rite 3istri&ution............................................................ ;1
12.7 Cercent 9!ndom-,e:uenti!l 3istri&ution............................................... ;1
12.@ >urstiness.............................................................................................. ;2
12.0 2lin I-<s <n......................................................................................... ;2
12.10 9epl' ,iEe............................................................................................ ;2
12.11 <H !nd +!ncel.................................................................................... ;3
13. Results Display Tab Reference............................................54
13.1 9esults ,ince......................................................................................... ;8
13.2 Apd!te ?re:uenc'................................................................................. ;;
13.3 >!r +"!rts............................................................................................. ;;
13.8 ,electin ! D!n!er or 4or.er for 3ispl!'........................................... ;6
13.; ,electin ! ,t!tistic for 3ispl!'.............................................................. ;6
14. Presentation Meter Dialog Reference.................................59
18.1 Deter..................................................................................................... ;0
18.2 9esult to 4!tc"..................................................................................... ;0
18.3 9!ne.................................................................................................... 60
18.8 ,"o# *r!ce........................................................................................... 60
18.; *est +ontrols......................................................................................... 60
15. Test Setup Tab Reference....................................................61
1;.1 *est 3escription..................................................................................... 61
1;.2 9un *ime............................................................................................... 61
1;.3 9!mp Ap *ime...................................................................................... 62
1;.8 $um&er of 4or.ers to ,p!#n 2utom!tic!ll'......................................... 62
1;.; 9ecord 9esults...................................................................................... 62
1;.6 +'clin <ptions...................................................................................... 62
1;.7 4or.ers................................................................................................. 66
1;.@ *!rets.................................................................................................. 66
1;.0 F of <utst!ndin I-<s............................................................................. 66
16. Save Test Configuration File Reference..............................67
16.1 Iometer.icf.............................................................................................. 67
16.2 ,ettins to ,!ve..................................................................................... 67
16.3 *est ,etup *!& ,ettins........................................................................ 6@
16.8 9esults 3ispl!' *!& ,ettins................................................................. 6@
16.; Glo&!l 2ccess ,pecific!tion =ist............................................................ 6@
16.6 D!n!ers !nd 4or.ers......................................................................... 6@
16.7 2ccess ,pecific!tion 2ssinments........................................................ 6@
16.@ *!ret 2ssinments............................................................................... 60
17. Open Test Configuration File Reference..............................70
17.1 +urrent ,ettins..................................................................................... 70
17.2 ,ettins to 9estore................................................................................ 70
17.3 *est ,etup *!& ,ettins........................................................................ 71
17.3.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 71
17.8 9esults 3ispl!' *!& ,ettins................................................................. 71
17.8.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 71
17.; Glo&!l 2ccess ,pecific!tions =ist.......................................................... 71
17.;.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 71
17.6 D!n!ers !nd 4or.ers......................................................................... 71
17.6.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 72
17.6.2 Implement!tion 3et!ils................................................................ 73
17.7 2ccess ,pecific!tion 2ssinments........................................................ 73
17.7.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 73
17.@ *!ret 2ssinments............................................................................... 78
17.@.1 9epl!ce-Dere............................................................................ 78
18. Iometer Command Line Options..............................................75
1@.1 Gettin +omm!nd =ine ,'nt!% Inform!tion........................................... 7;
1@.2 ,pecif'in ! +onfiur!tion ?ile.............................................................. 7;
1@.3 ,pecif'in ! 9esults ?ile........................................................................ 76
1@.8 ,pecif'in ! *imeout V!lue................................................................... 76
1@.; <mittin ,#itc"es.................................................................................. 76
1@.6 >!tc" Dode............................................................................................ 76
19. Dynamo Command Line Options.............................................78
10.1 Gettin +omm!nd =ine ,'nt!% Inform!tion........................................... 7@
10.2 ,pecif'in ! +omputer $!me................................................................ 7@
10.3 ,pecif'in ! D!n!er $!me.................................................................. 7@
10.8 ,pecif'in ! D!n!er $et#or. $!me................................................... 7@
10.; ,pecif'in e%cluded files'stem t'pes..................................................... 7@
10.6 <mittin ,#itc"es.................................................................................. 70
20. The Iometer Configuration File (.icf)........................................80
20.1 Version.................................................................................................. @0
20.2 ?ile ,ections.......................................................................................... @0
20.3 >!c.#!rd +omp!ti&ilit'.......................................................................... @1
21. Configuring Windows NT* and Windows 2000* to Collect
Network Performance Statistics..................................................82
21.1 *o confiure 4indo#s $*1I................................................................... @2
21.2 *o confiure 4indo#s 20001I................................................................ @2
22. Using Iometer to Simulate a Real Workload...........................83

1. Introduction
Iometer is an I/O subsystem measurement and characterization tool for single and
clustered systems. Iometer is pronounced eye-OM-i-ter, to rhyme with
thermometer. Iometer does for a computers I/O subsystem what a dynamometer
does for an engine! it measures performance under a controlled load. Iometer was
formerly "nown as #alileo.
Iometer is both a workload generator $that is, it performs I/O operations in order to
stress the system% and a measurement tool $that is, it e&amines and records the
performance of its I/O operations and their impact on the system%. It can be configured
to emulate the dis" or networ" I/O load of any program or benchmar", or can be used
to generate entirely synthetic I/O loads. It can generate and measure loads on single or
multiple $networ"ed% systems.
Iometer can be used for measurement and characterization of!
'erformance of dis" and networ" controllers.
(andwidth and latency capabilities of buses.
)etwor" throughput to attached dri*es.
+hared bus performance.
+ystem-le*el hard dri*e performance.
+ystem-le*el networ" performance.
1.1 About this Document
,his document is a combination -sers #uide and .&ternal 'roduct +pecification for
Iometer. It pro*ides a description of each e&ternal interface element $#-I control% and
some guidance on using the controls to achie*e desired results.
,his *ersion of the document is dated December 16, 2003.
1.2 About Iometer
Iometer consists of two programs, Iometer and Dynamo.
Iometer is the controlling program. -sing Iometers graphical user interface, you
configure the wor"load, set operating parameters, and start and stop tests. Iometer
tells /ynamo what to do, collects the resulting data, and summarizes the results in
output files. Only one copy of Iometer should be running at a time0 it is typically
run on the ser*er machine.
Dynamo is the wor"load generator. It has no user interface. 1t Iometers
command, /ynamo performs I/O operations and records performance information,
then returns the data to Iometer. ,here can be more than one copy of /ynamo
running at a time0 typically one copy runs on the ser*er machine and one additional
copy runs on each client machine.
/ynamo is multithreaded0 each copy can simulate the wor"load of multiple client
programs. .ach running copy of /ynamo is called a manager0 each thread within a
copy of /ynamo is called a worker.
1.3 What's ne!
,he current *ersion of Iometer is 2003.12.16. 2ere are some of the more significant
changes since the last *ersion $3445.46.74%!
New features:
.normous code changes due to code cleanup and portability enhancements.
Bug fixes:
8i&ed the 3 #( limit in the /is" ,arget tab $Ma& /is" +ize field%.
+olaris! 8i&ed segmentation fault when ha*ing multiple swap de*ices.
8or a complete list of all enhancements and bug fi&es since the pre*ious *ersion, please
see the file 9:21)#.;O#9.
"#T$
It is important to keep in mind, that resuls might not be comparable between
two different Iometer versions. For example if there was an error in the old
version you might see this effect.
1.% &'stem (e)uirements
Iometer currently runs under <indows ),= >.4. It re?uires a screen resolution of at
least @44&A44, and needs appro&imately > M( of free memory.
/ynamo currently runs under <indows ), >.4. It needs appro&imately 3 M( of free
memory, plus > M( of memory per wor"er.
+ome testing has been done under (eta releases of <indows 3444. ,his *ersion of
Iometer ran properly under the most recent release tested, but it may not wor" with
other releases. 'lease report any problems you may encounter.
1.* #btainin+ Iometer
,he latest *ersion of Iometer, including the documentation, can be obtained from the
Iometer proBect <eb +ite at the following -C;!
http://www.iometer.org/
1., -icense A+reement
If you use Iometer, you agree to be bound by the Intel Open +oftware ;icense that is
displayed the first time you run a new *ersion of Iometer. +ome important terms of the
agreement are highlighted below!
7. Iometer is pro*ided as-is, without warranty or guarantee of any "ind.
3. Intel does not endorse, support, or guarantee Iometer performance results.
1.,.1 .u+ (e/orts and 0eature (e)uests
Iometer is provided as-is, but shure we are interested in input from you. If you ha*e
a problem while running Iometer our found a bug you should consult the !now Issues
page first!
http!//www.iometer.org/doc/issues.html
,here you will find wor"arounds for this "nown issues. If you ha*e a new issue you
might Boin the iometer-user mailing list $see http!//lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/
iometer-user% and as" the community for help. If it is a real bug, then please pro*ide a
patch or go ahead and file the bug at!
http!//sourceforge.net/proBects/iometer
<e cannot promise to fi& any bugs or pro*ide any re?uested features, but we try to
read and respond to all our mail. (e sure to include all information necessary to
reproduce the problem, including the *ersion number of Iometer. If you arenDt using
the current *ersion, you will be as"ed to reproduce the problem using the current
*ersion before any action is ta"en on the bug report.
1.,.2 Use of Iometer (esults
Intel does not endorse, support, or guarantee performance results obtained using
Iometer. ,his means that you can do anything you want with the results, including
presenting them to the public and using them in ad*ertising, but Intel is not liable for
any damages resulting from such use. 1ny Iometer results that are presented to the
public should be accompanied by the following statement! ,hese results were
obtained using Iometer *ersion yyyy.mm.dd, :opyright date by Intel :orporation. Intel
does not endorse any Iometer results.
2. Installin+ Iometer
Once you ha*e downloaded the Iometer pac"age and uncompressed the files, all that is
necessary to install Iometer is to place the files Iometer.exe and Dynamo.exe in
the same directory. If you want to run /ynamo on multiple machines, Dynamo.exe
must be a*ailable on each machine $on either a local or networ"ed dis"%.
1 properly-configured ,:'/I' networ" must be pro*ided between the systems on
which Iometer and /ynamo are to be run. )o networ" is needed if Iometer and
/ynamo are run on a single system.
3. (unnin+ Iometer
,o run Iometer, double-clic" on Iometer.exe. ,he Iometer #-I appears, and
Iometer starts one copy of /ynamo on the same machine.
Eou can also start Iometer and immediately load a sa*ed setup file by double-clic"ing
on an .icf file, dragging an .icf or.txt file to the Iometer.exe icon, or
specifying an .icf or.txt file as a command-line argument. 8or e&ample!
C:\> iometer myconfig.icf
If other machines will be used during testing, start a copy of /ynamo on each,
pro*iding the name of the machine running Iometer as a command-line argument. 8or
e&ample!
C:\> dynamo IOServer
Eou do not need to start more than one copy of /ynamo on any one machine. ,o
increase the number of wor"ers on a machine, use Iometer to start additional wor"er
threads within that machines single copy of /ynamo.
+ee the Iometer :ommand ;ine Options section for more details.
Eou can start Iometer in 9batch mode9 by using command line parameters to specify
both a configuration file and a results file. ,his allows Iometer to complete a series of
tests and record the results without any user interaction. 8or e&ample!
C:\> iometer /c bigtest.icf /r bigtest_results.csv
+ee 9(atch Mode9 for more details.
%. 1uic2 &tart
,his section is a rapid introduction to Iometer that will help you get up and running
fast.
To test disk performace:
/ouble-clic" on Iometer.exe. ,he Iometer main window appears, and a
/ynamo wor"load generator is automatically launched on the local computer.
:lic" on a manager $the name of the local computer% in the ,opology panel on the
left side of the Iometer window. ,he managers a*ailable dis" dri*es appear in the
/is" ,argets tab. (lue icons represent physical dri*es0 they are only shown if they
ha*e no partitions on them. Eellow icons represent logical $mounted% dri*es0 they
are only shown if they are writable. 1 yellow icon with a red slash through it
means that the dri*e needs to be prepared before the test starts0 see the /is"
,argets ,ab F Ceference section for more information on preparation.
In the /is" ,argets tab, select a dis" or dis"s to use in the test $use +hift-clic" and
:ontrol-clic" to select multiple dis"s%. ,he selected dis"s will be automatically
distributed among the managers workers $threads%.
+witch to the 1ccess +pecifications tab. /ouble-clic" on /efault in the #lobal
1ccess +pecifications list $the one with the globe icon%. ,he .dit 1ccess
+pecification dialog appears.
,he .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog shows you how the dis" will be accessed.
,he default is 3-Gilobyte random I/Os with a mi& of AHI reads and 55I writes,
which represents a typical database wor"load. Eou can lea*e it alone or change it.
'ress OG to close the dialog when you are through.
8or ma&imum throughput $Megabytes per second%, try changing the ,ransfer
Ce?uest +ize to A>G, the 'ercent Cead/<rite /istribution to 744I Cead, and
the 'ercent Candom/+e?uential /istribution to 744I +e?uential.
8or the ma&imum I/O rate $I/O operations per second%, try changing the
,ransfer Ce?uest +ize to 673 bytes, the 'ercent Cead/<rite /istribution to
744I Cead, and the 'ercent Candom/+e?uential /istribution to 744I
+e?uential.
+witch to the Cesults /isplay tab. +et the -pdate 8re?uency to 74 seconds.
'ress the +tart ,ests button $green flag%. 1 standard +a*e 8ile dialog appears.
+elect a file to store the test results $default results.csv%.
1fter 74 seconds the first test results appear in the Cesults /isplay tab, and they
are updated e*ery 74 seconds after that. 'ress the button to the left of each bar
chart for a menu of the different results you can display. Eou can also drag a
wor"er or manager from the ,opology panel to a bar chart to see the results of Bust
that wor"er or manager.
'ress the +top ,est button $stop sign%. ,he test stops and the final results are
sa*ed in the results.csv file. ,his is a comma-separated te&t file that can be
*iewed in any te&t editor or imported into a spreadsheet.
To test etwork performace betwee two computers !" ad B#:
On computer 1, double-clic" on Iometer.exe. ,he Iometer main window
appears and a /ynamo wor"load generator is automatically launched on computer
1.
On computer (, open an M+-/O+ :ommand 'rompt window and e&ecute
/ynamo, specifying computer 1s name as a command line argument. 8or
e&ample!
C:\> dynamo computer_a
On computer 1 again, note that computer ( has appeared as a new manager in the
,opology panel. :lic" on it and note that its dis" dri*es appear in the /is" ,argets
tab.
<ith computer ( selected in the ,opology panel, press the +tart )etwor" <or"er
button $picture of networ" cables%. ,his creates a networ" ser*er on computer (.
<ith computer ( still selected in the ,opology panel, switch to the )etwor"
,argets tab, which shows the two computers and their networ" interfaces. +elect
one of computer 1s networ" interfaces from the list. ,his creates a networ" client
on computer 1 and connects the client and ser*er together.
+witch to the 1ccess +pecifications tab. /ouble-clic" on /efault in the #lobal
1ccess +pecifications list. In the .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog, specify a
,ransfer Ce?uest +ize of 673 bytes. 'ress OG to close the dialog.
+witch to the Cesults /isplay tab. +et the -pdate 8re?uency to 74 seconds.
'ress the +tart ,ests button. +elect a file to store the test results. If you specify an
e&isting file, the new results will be appended to the e&isting ones.
<atch the results in the Cesults /isplay tab.
'ress the +top ,est button to stop the test and sa*e the results.
To import a resu$ts.cs% fi$e ito a &icrosoft' "ccess' database usig t(e )mport
*i+ard:
/ouble-clic" on Wizard.mdb to open 1ccess. $If you use 1ccess 3444, you will
be notified that the database is not in 1ccess 3444 format. It does not ha*e to be in
order to perform the import.% ,he first page of the wizard appears.
+pecify the results file to import. -se the (rowse button to locate it if it isnt in
the same directory as the Wizard.mdb file. 'ress )e&t.
+elect the test$s% from the file that you want to import. 'ress )e&t.
+elect :reate a new database. 'ress )e&t.
+pecify the new .mdb file to import into. ,his must be a different file from
Wizard.mdb. 'ress )e&t.
Ce*iew your settings and press 8inish. ,he results are imported into the specified
database.
To grap( imported resu$ts ito a &icrosoft ,xce$' spreads(eet usig t(e -rap(
*i+ard:
Open Wizard.mdb in 1ccess, if necessary.
:lic" the #raph /ata button.
+pecify the database file that contains your imported data. ,his must be a
database produced by the Import <izard. 'ress )e&t.
+elect the test$s% from the database that you want to graph. 'ress )e&t.
,his list shows predefined graph types that you can use. 'ress )ew to define a
new graph type.
+elect the J /is"s database field to graph on the K a&is. 'ress )e&t.
,ype a name to label the K a&is, or accept the field name as the default. 'ress
)e&t.
:hec" 1llow multiple E *alues. +elect the IOps and M(ps database fields
to graph on the E a&is. 'ress )e&t.
:lic" on the M(ps field and press .dit selected label. :lic" Cight a&is to
graph this field on the right a&is of the graph. :hange the name to be displayed on
the E a&is label if you li"e. 'ress OG, then )e&t.
,he grouping criterion can be used to group the data into se*eral distinct lines on
the graph. 8or now, lea*e )one selected. 'ress )e&t.
;ea*e the grouping criterion label blan". 'ress )e&t.
,ype a name for the graph type you ha*e Bust defined, or accept the default. 'ress
)e&t.
Eou ha*e now defined a new graph type that you can edit or re-use in the future.
+elect it from the list $if it isnt already selected%. 'ress )e&t.
+pecify an .xls file to recei*e the graph. ,his can be a new or e&isting file0 if
the file e&ists, the graph will be added to it. 'ress )e&t.
Ce*iew your settings and press 8inish. ,he graph is created in the specified
spreadsheet. $If you Bust imported the results from one or two tests, it is probably a
*ery boring graph with only one or two pointsL ,he #raph <izard is most useful
in graphing the results of multiple tests against each other.%
*. Usin+ Iometer
,his section pro*ides an introduction to Iometers graphical user interface. :omplete
details on each component are pro*ided later in the document.

,he Iometer user interface has the following maBor components!
,oolbar! 'erforms common operations such as starting and stopping tests.
+tatus bar! +hows which test in a test series is currently running.
,opology panel! /isplays the a*ailable managers $/ynamos% and wor"ers
$threads%. 1ctions in the toolbar, /is" ,argets, )etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess
+pecifications tabs apply to the manager$s% or wor"er$s% selected in this panel, and
this panel is used to select managers and wor"ers for the Cesults /isplay tab.
,abbed panels! +e*eral different tabs to control the parameters of the test!
/is" ,argets tab! +pecifies the dis"s used by each dis" wor"er.
)etwor" ,argets tab! +pecifies the networ" interfaces used by each networ"
wor"er.
1ccess +pecifications tab! +pecifies the type of I/O operations each wor"er
performs to its targets.
Cesults /isplay tab! /isplays performance data during the test.
,est +etup tab! +pecifies the tests to be performed in a test series.
.ach of these components is described in the following pages. 8or complete details on
each component, see the corresponding Ceference section later in this document.
*.1 Toolbar 3 Introduction

,he toolbar pro*ides buttons for common commands.

.pe Test /ofiguratio 0i$e F Cestores a pre*iously-sa*ed set of test
configuration parameters from a file. +ee the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile M
Introduction section for further details.

1a%e Test /ofiguratio 0i$e F +a*es the current test configuration
parameters to a file. +ee the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Introduction
section for further details.

1tart New &aager F +tarts a new manager $copy of /ynamo% on the
machine Iometer is running on.

1tart Disk *orker F +tarts a new dis" wor"er $thread% in the manager
selected in the ,opology panel.

1tart Network *orker F +tarts a new networ" ser*er $thread% in the
manager selected in the ,opology panel.

Dup$icate 1e$ected *orker F +tarts an e&act duplicate of the wor"er
selected in the ,opology panel, on the same manager.

1tart Tests F +tarts a series of tests. 'rompts for a file to sa*e the test
results.

1top /urret Test ad 1a%e 2esu$ts F +tops the currently-running test,
sa*ing its results, and begins running the ne&t test in the current series.

"bort "$$ Tests F +tops the currently-running test, discarding its results. )o
more tests are run.

2eset *orkers F Cesets the wor"er configuration of all managers to the
default state.

Discoect 1e$ected *orker or &aager F ,erminates the wor"er$s% or
manager$s% selected in the ,opology panel.

,xit F ,erminates Iometer and all connected /ynamo processes.

"bout )ometer F /isplays *ersion and copyright information for Iometer.
8or complete details, see the ,oolbar F Ceference section later in this document.
*.2 &tatus .ar 3 Introduction

<hene*er you press the +tart ,ests button, Iometer runs a series of tests, as specified
by the 1ccess +pecifications and ,est +etup tabs. .ach access specification is run
once0 each test is run once for each access specification. ,he current test number and
the total number of tests to be run are displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the
Iometer window.
8or complete details, see the +tatus (ar F Ceference section later in this document.
*.3 To/olo+' 4anel 3 Introduction

,he ,opology panel displays a hierarchical list of managers $/ynamos% and wor"ers
$threads% currently acti*e.
:lic" on a wor"er, manager, or 1ll Managers to see and change its settings in
the /is" ,argets, )etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess +pecifications tabs.
If you clic" on a wor"er, targets $dis"s or networ" interfaces% selected in the
/is" ,argets or )etwor" ,argets tab are used by that wor"er. ,he other
controls in the /is" ,argets, )etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess +pecifications tabs
show current settings for that wor"er0 any changes are applied to that wor"er.
If you clic" on a manager, targets selected in the /is" ,argets or )etwor"
,argets tab are distributed in a round-robin fashion among the managers dis"
or networ" wor"ers $as appropriate%. ,he other controls in the /is" ,argets,
)etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess +pecifications tabs display the common settings
of all the managers wor"ers of the appropriate type $a *alue is shown if all
wor"ers ha*e the same *alue, or the control is blan" if not all wor"ers ha*e the
same *alue%. 1ny changes you ma"e are applied to all the managers wor"ers
of the appropriate type.
If you clic" on 1ll Managers, no targets are shown in the /is" ,argets or
)etwor" ,argets tab, because managers target lists may be different. ,he
other controls in the /is" ,argets, )etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess +pecifications
tabs display the common settings of all wor"ers of the appropriate type0 any
changes you ma"e are applied to all wor"ers of the appropriate type.
/ouble-clic" on a manager or 1ll Managers to hide or display its children.
Cight-clic" on a manager to update its target lists.
/rag a wor"er, manager, or 1ll Managers to a bar chart in the Cesults /isplay
tab to see its results as the test is running.
8or complete details, see the ,opology 'anel F Ceference section later in this
document.
*.% Dis2 Tar+ets Tab 3 Introduction

,he /is" ,argets tab lets you see and control the dis"s used by the dis" wor"er$s%
currently selected in the ,opology panel.

:lic", +hift-clic", and :ontrol-clic" to
select any number of dri*es to be used by
the selected wor"er$s% during the test.
'hysical dri*es are displayed with a blue
dis" icon and the name
'2E+I:1;/CIN.!n $only if they
contain nothing but free space%.
;ogical dri*es are displayed with a yellow
dis" icon and a dri*e letter and optional
name $only if they are writable%.
;ogical dri*es are accessed by writing to a
file called \iobw.tst. If this file does
not e&ist, the dri*es icon has a red slash
through it. 1t the start of the test the file
will be created and grown until the dis" is
full.
Cunning with physical dri*es is
recommended.

+ets the number of sectors used during the
test $4 O all sectors%.

+ets the starting dis" sector used during
the test $4 O beginning of physical dis" or
iobw.tst file%.

+ets the number of simultaneous
outstanding I/Os per dis".
+pecifies whether or not each dis" should
be opened and closed repeatedly during the
test, and sets the number of transactions
$re?uest P reply% issued between each open
and close.
8or complete details, see the /is" ,argets ,ab F Ceference section later in this
document.
"#T$
If the total number of outstanding I"#s in the system is very large, Iometer or
$indows may hang, thrash, or crash. %he exact value of very large
depends on the disk driver and the amount of physical memory available.
%his problem is due to limitations in $indows and some disk drivers, and is
not a problem with the Iometer software. %he problem is seen in Iometer and
not in other applications because Iometer makes it easy to specify a number
of outstanding I"#s that is much larger than typical applications produce.
*.* "etor2 Tar+ets Tab 3 Introduction

,he )etwor" ,argets tab lets you see and control the networ" interfaces used by the
networ" ser*er$s% currently selected in the ,opology panel.

:lic" to select networ" interfaces for
networ" ser*er$s% $at most one per ser*er%.
:ontrol-clic" to deselect the currently-
selected interface. 1 networ" client is
automatically created on the selected
manager to communicate through the
selected interface on that manager.

+pecifies the networ" interface used by the
selected networ" wor"er for its end of the
connection.

+pecifies the ma&imum number of
messages a networ" wor"er will send to a
NI target before waiting for an
ac"nowledgement.
+pecifies whether or not the connection
should be opened and closed repeatedly
during the test, and sets the number of
transactions $re?uest P reply% issued
between each open and close.
If a networ" client is selected in the ,opology panel, the )etwor" ,argets tab displays
the clients configuration, but you cannot change it $a clients configuration is always
the same as its ser*er%. If a manager that has networ" clients is selected, the clients
configuration is not included in the )etwor" ,argets tab, and any changes you ma"e in
the )etwor" ,argets tab do not affect the clients.
8or complete details, see the )etwor" ,argets ,ab F Ceference section later in this
document.
*., Access &/ecifications Tab 3 Introduction

,he 1ccess +pecifications tab lets you control the type of I/O each wor"er performs to
its selected target$s%. .ach named access specification controls!
,he percent of transfers that are a gi*en size.
<hat percent of those are reads or writes.
<hat percent of accesses are random or se?uential.
2ow many transfers occur in a burst.
2ow long to wait between bursts.
,he alignment of each I/O on the dis".
,he size of the reply, if any, to each I/O re?uest.
Multiple access specifications can be assigned, resulting in multiple tests being run.

;ists the access specifications assigned to the
wor"er$s% selected in the ,opology panel.

:opies the selected access specification$s% from
the #lobal list to the 1ssigned list. Eou can also
drag access specifications from one list to the
other.

Cemo*es the selected access specification$s% from
the 1ssigned list. Eou can also drag access
specifications out of the list to remo*e them.

;ists all the currently-defined access
specifications.

:reates a new access specification and edits it.

.dits the definition of the selected access
specification in the #lobal list.

Ma"es a copy of the selected access specification
in the #lobal list and edits it.

/eletes the selected access specification$s% in the
#lobal list.

Mo*es an access specification up or down in the
1ssigned list.
,he )ew, .dit, and .dit :opy buttons pop up the .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog.
*.5 $dit Access &/ecification Dialo+ 3 Introduction

,he .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog lets you see and change the definition of an
access specification.

,he name of the access specification.

<hich wor"ers are automatically assigned
this access specification when they are
created. $/oes not affect e&isting
wor"ers.%

One or more lines that define what "ind of
I/O to perform. In this e&ample!
3H I of accesses are 7 M(, H5I are
A> G(.
1ll 7 M( transfers and 6@I of A>G(
transfers are reads.
AHI of 7 M( transfers and @4I of
A>G( transfers are random to dis".

-se these buttons to delete the current
access specification line, add a new line
abo*e the current line, or add a new line
below the current line.

+ets +ize, the number of bytes in each I/
O re?uest for the current line.

+ets I 1ccess, the percentage of the
access specification represented by the
current line. ,he I 1ccess *alues of
all lines must add up to 744I.

+ets I Cead, the percentage of accesses
from the current line that are reads rather
than writes. .ach operation is randomly
selected, with a I Cead chance of being
a read. 8or networ" wor"ers, write
operations are sends and read
operations are recei*es. )etwor" clients
always read when the corresponding
ser*er is writing, and *ice *ersa.

+ets I Candom, the percentage of
accesses from the current line that are
random-access rather than se?uential.
.ach operation is randomly selected, with
a I Candom chance of being random-
access. $Ignored by networ" wor"ers.%

+ets /elay, the time in milliseconds
between each burst of I/O operations, and
(urst, the number of I/O operations
after each delay, for the current line.
$/elay O 4 causes continuous operation.%

+ets 1lignment, which determines how
each I/O is aligned on the dis". $Ignored
by networ" wor"ers.%

+ets Ceply, which determines the size
of the reply $an immediately following I/O
in the opposite direction%, if any, for each
re?uest. ,he re?uest and reply together
ma"e up a transaction.
8or complete details, see the 1ccess +pecifications ,ab F Ceference section later in
this document.
*.6 (esults Dis/la' Tab 3 Introduction

,he Cesults /isplay tab displays performance statistics while a test is running. Eou
can change the settings of all controls in the Cesults /isplay tab while the test is
running. 1ny changes you ma"e ta"e effect immediately.

/etermines whether the displayed
performance statistics are an a*erage
$or sum, as appropriate% of the data
collected o*er the entire test, or the
*alues since the last update.

+pecifies how often, in seconds, the
displayed statistics are updated. ,he
default is oo $infinity%, meaning
that the display is updated only at the
end of each test.

,o the left of each bar chart is a
button to pop up a menu of many
different statistics that can be
displayed. 8or details on each, see
+electing a +tatistic for /isplay in
the Cesults /isplay ,ab F
Ceference section later in this
document.

,he left end of each bar chart shows
whose statistics are displayed in that
chart! a wor"er, a manager, or all
managers. ,o change, drag an item
from the ,opology panel to the bar
chart.

,he middle of each bar chart shows
the current numeric *alue of the
selected statistic.

,he right end of each bar chart shows
the ma&imum displayable *alue for
the selected statistic. ,his may
change as the test runs.

'ops up the 'resentation Meter
dialog with the corresponding
statistic.
8or complete details, see the Cesults /isplay ,ab F Ceference section later in this
document.
"#T$
#btaining run-time statistics affects the performance of the system. $hen
running a significant test series, the &pdate Fre'uency slider should be set
to oo (infinity). *lso, you should be careful not to move the mouse or to
have any background processes (such as a screensaver or FindFast) running
while testing, to avoid unnecessary +,& utili-ation and interrupts.
"#T$
$hen testing network I"#, the total I#ps and ./ps values for a manager or
*ll .anagers include both network servers and the corresponding
network clients. For example, suppose a network server on one manager is
writing 0 ./ps to its client on another manager, which is reading 0 ./ps.
In this case, the *ll .anagers value for total ./ps will be 12 ./ps (even
though only 0 ./ps is flowing across the network). 3ou can determine the
actual total throughput by examining the I"# of only one worker at a time, or
by examining only reads or only writes.
*.7 4resentation 8eter Dialo+ 3 Introduction

,he 'resentation Meter dialog displays a single statistic from the Cesults /isplay tab in
a large size. ,his is useful for presentations to groups of people.

+elects the statistic to display. +ee
+electing a +tatistic for /isplay in the
Cesults /isplay ,ab F Ceference section
for more details.

+pecifies the upper bound of the meter.
,he lower bound is always zero.

If chec"ed, a blue arc mar"s the highest and
lowest *alues displayed during the test.

'ress +tart to start the test, or +top to stop a
running test. If a series of tests is running,
the +tart button changes to )e&t and the
+top button aborts the test series.
8or complete details, see the 'resentation Meter /ialog F Ceference section later in
this document.
*.19 Test &etu/ Tab 3 Introduction

,he ,est +etup tab controls the tests that are run for each access specification in the
1ccess +pecifications tab, and a number of other details about how Iometer wor"s.

1 te&t field in which you can type any te&t
you li"e to describe the current series of
tests. ,his te&t is sa*ed to the results file.

+pecifies the run time for each test in the
series. Qero means that each test runs until
you press the +top button.

+pecifies the number of seconds Iometer
waits before beginning to record statistics on
each test. Eou can use this field to a*oid
recording any statistics during an initial
ramp-up period.

+pecifies what information is recorded in the
results file. .ach wor"ers results are a
summary of its targets0 each managers results
are a summary of its wor"ers0 the all
managers results are a summary of all
managers. If you select )one, you will not
be prompted for a results file when you start
the test.

+pecifies the number of wor"ers that is gi*en
to a manager when the manager is created.


+pecifies the series of tests that is run for
each access specification. :ycling options
can be used to automatically collect data on a
*ariety of different loads for the current
configuration. 8or details, see :ycling
Options in the ,est +etup ,ab F Ceference
section later in this document.

+pecifies the initial number of wor"ers, step
size, and stepping type $linear or e&ponential%
for the test types :ycle <or"ers and :ycle
,argets and <or"ers. It is disabled for all
other test types.


+pecifies the initial number of targets, step
size, and stepping type for the test types
:ycle ,argets, Increment ,argets 'arallel,
Increment ,argets +erial, :ycle ,argets
and <or"ers, and :ycle J Outstanding I/Os
and ,argets. It is disabled for all other test
types.

+pecifies the initial and final number of
outstanding I/Os, step size, and stepping type
for the test types :ycle J Outstanding I/Os
and :ycle J Outstanding I/Os and ,argets.
It o*errides the J of Outstanding I/Os field in
the /is" ,argets tab for these test types0 it is
disabled for all other test types. It has no
effect on networ" wor"ers $networ" wor"ers
always ha*e a J Outstanding I/Os *alue of 7%.
8or complete details, see the ,est +etup ,ab F Ceference section later in this
document.
*.11 &a:e Test Confi+uration 0ile 3 Introduction

'ressing the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile toolbar button brings up the +a*e ,est
:onfiguration 8ile dialog. Eou may choose which settings to include in the sa*ed file.
8or further details, see the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section.

,he state of each of these chec"bo&es
determines whether the corresponding
information is to be included in the sa*ed
file.
,he last two chec"bo&es determine which
additional details about the wor"ersD setups
are to be sa*ed in the file. ,hese
chec"bo&es will be disabled unless the
9Managers and <or"ers9 chec"bo& is
chec"ed.
Iometer does not prompt you to sa*e changes that you ma"e to any test settings. Eou
must initiate the sa*e yourself by pressing the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile toolbar
button.
*.12 #/en Test Confi+uration 0ile 3 Introduction

'ressing the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile toolbar button brings up the Open ,est
:onfiguration 8ile dialog. Eou may choose which settings to restore from a sa*ed file,
and whether those settings replace, or are merged with, the current settings.

,he state of each of these chec"bo&es
determines whether the corresponding
information is to be restored from the
configuration file.
,he last two chec"bo&es determine which
additional details about the wor"ersD setups
are to be restored from the file. ,hese
chec"bo&es will be disabled unless the
9Managers and <or"ers9 chec"bo& is
chec"ed.

/etermines whether the loaded settings for
the selected sections replace the current
settings for those sections, or are merged
with the current settings for those sections.
Ceplace/merge doesnt apply to the ,est
+etup and Cesults /isplay tabs. ,hese
settings, when restored, always replace the
current settings.
8or further details, see the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section.
,. Toolbar 3 (eference

,he Iometer toolbar pro*ides buttons for common commands. ,o perform any of these
commands, clic" once on the button. 8or a brief e&planation $,ool,ip% of each button,
let the mouse pointer rest, without mo*ing, on the button for a moment.
,he buttons in the toolbar perform the following functions!

.pe Test /ofiguratio 0i$e F Cestores a pre*iously-sa*ed set of test
configuration parameters. 8or further details, see the Open ,est :onfiguration
8ile M Ceference section.

1a%e Test /ofiguratio 0i$e F +a*es the current test configuration
parameters to a file $default setup.icf in the current directory%. 8or
further details, see the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section.

1tart New &aager F +tarts a new manager $copy of /ynamo% on the same
machine as Iometer. ,he new manager has the same name as the machine on
which it is running. ,he number and type of wor"ers in the new manager is
determined by the )umber of <or"ers to +pawn 1utomatically control in the
,est +etup tab.

1tart Disk *orker F +tarts a new dis" wor"er $thread% on the selected
manager, or the same manager as the selected wor"er. .ach new wor"er is
named <or"er n, where n is the ne&t a*ailable number, and has the default
configuration $e.g. no dis"s selected% ,his button is disabled unless a manager
or wor"er is selected in the ,opology panel.

1tart Network *orker F +tarts a new networ" ser*er on the selected
manager. 1part from the wor"er type, this button wor"s the same as the +tart
/is" <or"er button.

Dup$icate 1e$ected *orker F /uplicates the selected wor"er by creating a
new wor"er thread of the same type $dis" wor"er or networ" ser*er% on the
same manager. ,he new wor"er has the same name and configuration as the
selected wor"er. If the selected wor"er is a networ" ser*er, its corresponding
client $if any% is also duplicated. ,his button is disabled unless a dis" wor"er
or networ" ser*er is selected in the ,opology panel.

1tart Tests F +tarts a series of tests $as specified by the current settings in
the 1ccess +pecifications and ,est +etup tabs%.
(efore any tests are run, you will be presented with a standard +a*e 8ile
dialog to specify where the results of the tests are to be sa*ed $default
results.csv in the current directory%. $If the Cecord Cesults control is set
to 9)one9, no results are sa*ed, and a +a*e 8ile dialog does not appear.% If
you specify a new file, the results are sa*ed to that file. If you specify an
e&isting file, the results are appended to that file. If you press :ancel, the tests
are still started, but the results are not sa*ed.

1top /urret Test ad 1a%e 2esu$ts F +tops the currently-running test,
sa*es whate*er results it has gathered so far to the results file, and begins
running the ne&t test in the current series $if any%.

"bort "$$ Tests F +tops the currently-running test and discards its results,
writing a test aborted record to the results file. )o more tests are run, but
the results of any tests completed before the current test started are still
written to the results file.

2eset *orkers F Cesets the wor"er configuration of all managers to the
default state. 1ll e&isting wor"er threads are terminated, and their
configurations are lost0 each manager is then gi*en the default number of
wor"ers, each with the default configuration.

Discoect 1e$ected *orker or &aager F If 1ll Managers is selected in
the ,opology panel, terminates all /ynamo processes and all their threads. If
a manager is selected, terminates the corresponding /ynamo process and all
its threads. If a wor"er is selected, terminates the corresponding thread. ,he
configuration of the terminated wor"er$s% or manager$s% is lost.

,xit F ,erminates Iometer and all connected /ynamo processes.

"bout )ometer F /isplays *ersion and copyright information for Iometer.
1ll buttons e&cept Open, +a*e, +tart )ew Manager, .&it, and 1bout Iometer are
grayed out if there are no managers in the ,opology panel. 1ll buttons e&cept +top,
1bort, .&it, and 1bout Iometer are grayed out when a test is running. ,he +top and
1bort buttons are grayed out when no test is running.
5. &tatus .ar 3 (eference

<hene*er you press the +tart ,ests button, Iometer runs a series of tests, as specified
by the 1ccess +pecifications and ,est +etup tabs. .ach access specification is run
once0 each test is run once for each access specification. ,he current test number and
the total number of tests to be run are displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the
Iometer window.
8or e&ample, if there are two access specifications selected for each wor"er in the
1ccess +pecifications tab and two tests specified by the ,est +etup tab $see the
description of the :ycling Options control group for information on determining the
number of tests%, Iometer will run a total of four tests!
7. 1ccess specification J7, test J7 $shown as Cun 7 of >%
3. 1ccess specification J7, test J3 $shown as Cun 3 of >%
5. 1ccess specification J3, test J7 $shown as Cun 5 of >%
>. 1ccess specification J3, test J3 $shown as Cun > of >%
.ach test runs for the time specified by the Cun ,ime control group in the ,est +etup
tab. If the run time is set to zero, each test runs until you press the +top button.
,he status bar may also display other messages, such as ,est 1borted or 'reparing
/ri*es. ,he 'reparing /ri*es message indicates that the iobw.tst file is being
created on a logical dri*e, as described in the /is" ,argets ,ab F Ceference section.
6. To/olo+' 4anel 3 (eference

,he ,opology panel displays a hierarchical list of the managers $copies of /ynamo%
and wor"ers $threads within each copy of /ynamo% currently acti*e. ,his panel is a
hierarchical list li"e the one used in <indows .&plorer. ,o display or hide a managers
wor"ers, double-clic" on the managers name, or clic" the plus or minus sign to the left
of the managers name.
,he icons that appear in the ,opology panel are as follows!

1ll managers connected to this copy of Iometer.

1 manager.

1 dis" wor"er.

1 networ" ser*er.

1 networ" client $created automatically when you select a
target for a networ" ser*er%. Its name reflects the name of its
corresponding networ" ser*er.
)etwor" ser*ers and networ" clients are both referred to as network workers.
Iometer starts a single manager, on the same machine as Iometer, when it starts up. ,o
add a manager on the same machine as Iometer, press the +tart )ew Manager button on
the toolbar. ,o add a manager on another machine, start /ynamo on the desired
machine, pro*iding the name of the machine running Iometer as a command-line
argument $as described under Cunning Iometer abo*e%0 additional managers can be
started before or after Iometer. ,o remo*e a manager, clic" on the manager and press
the /isconnect button on the toolbar0 this terminates the specified /ynamo process.
,o remo*e all managers, clic" on 1ll Managers and press the /isconnect button on
the toolbar.
(y default, each manager starts off with one dis" wor"er for each processor on the
managers machine. ,o add a wor"er to a manager, clic" on the manager or any of its
wor"ers and press the +tart /is" <or"er or +tart )etwor" <or"er button on the
toolbar. ,o remo*e a wor"er, clic" on the wor"er and press the /isconnect button on
the toolbar.
(y default, each manager has the same name as the machine on which it is running,
and each wor"er has the name <or"er n. Eou can change the name of a manager or
wor"er by clic"ing on the name when the manager or wor"er is selected $you will ha*e
to wait a moment for the name to highlight%. ,he name of 1ll Managers cannot be
changed.
1t most one list item $manager, wor"er, or 1ll Managers% can be selected at a time.
,he settings for the selected wor"er or the selected managers or managers wor"ers
are shown in the /is" ,argets, )etwor" ,argets, and 1ccess +pecifications tabs.
Cight-clic"ing on a manager pops up a menu with one item! Cefresh ,arget ;ists.
+electing this item causes the manager to update its lists of dis"s and networ"
interfaces. Eou can use this to update Iometers *iew of the manager if the target
status for a manager changes $for e&ample, if you create an iobw.tst file or mount a
logical dis"%.
7. Dis2 Tar+ets Tab 3 (eference

,he /is" ,argets tab lets you see and control the dis"s used by the dis" wor"er$s%
currently selected in the ,opology panel. Eou can control which dis"s are used, how
much of each dis" is used, the ma&imum number of outstanding I/Os per dis" for each
wor"er, and how fre?uently the dis"s are opened and closed.
If a dis" wor"er is selected in the ,opology panel, that wor"ers current configuration
is displayed in the /is" ,argets tab0 any changes you ma"e affect only that wor"er. If
a manager or 1ll Managers is selected, the dis" wor"ers common configuration is
displayed! controls $other than ,arget assignments% for which all wor"ers ha*e the
same setting show that setting, while controls for which not all wor"ers ha*e the same
setting are blan". 1ny changes you ma"e in the /is" ,argets tab are applied to all of
the selected manager or managers wor"ers.
If a networ" wor"er is selected in the ,opology panel, the /is" ,argets tab is disabled.
:lic"ing on a networ" wor"er while the /is" ,argets tab is displayed automatically
switches to the )etwor" ,argets tab. ,he same applies to a manager that has no dis"
wor"ers, or 1ll Managers if no manager has any dis" wor"ers.
7.1 Tar+ets
,he ,argets list displays the dis" dri*es a*ailable to the wor"er or manager selected in
the ,opology panel. /is"s that are selected $chec"ed% in the ,argets list will be used by
the wor"er$s% during the test.
Eellow dis" icons represent logical dri*es $i.e. those with a dri*e letter%. ,hey are
shown only if they are writable. /is" wor"ers access logical dri*es by reading and
writing a file called iobw.tst in the root directory of the dri*e. If this file e&ists, the
dri*e is shown with a plain yellow icon0 if the file does not e&ist, the dri*e is shown
with a red slash through the icon. $If this file e&ists but is not writable, the dri*e is
considered read-only and is not shown at all.%
If you select a dri*e that does not ha*e an iobw.tst file, Iometer will begin the test
by creating this file and e&panding it until the dri*e is full $this is shown as 'reparing
/ri*es in the status bar%. Eou can change the size of this file to control how much of
the dis" Iometer can use by setting the Ma&imum /is" +ize control to the desired size
$in sectors%.
(lue dis" icons represent physical dri*es. ,hey are shown only if they contain nothing
but free space $no defined partitions%. /is" wor"ers access physical dri*es by writing
direct to the raw dis". 'hysical dri*es do not use an iobw.tst file. Cunning with
physical dri*es is recommended.
Eou can select any number of dri*es0 by default, no dri*es are selected. :lic" on a
single dri*e to select it0 +hift-clic" to select a range of dri*es0 :ontrol-clic" to add a
dri*e to or remo*e a dri*e from the current selection. Eou can also use the arrow "eys,
2ome and .nd "eys, and the space bar to mo*e the highlight and select/deselect dis"s,
or press R:ontrol-1S to select all dri*es $this re?uires the "eyboard focus to be in the
/is" ,argets tab%.
If a dis" wor"er is selected in the ,opology panel, the ,argets list displays the
dis"s a*ailable to that wor"er. /ri*es that you select in the ,argets list are used by
that wor"er during the test.
If a manager is selected in the ,opology panel, the ,argets list displays the dis"s
a*ailable to that manager. /ri*es that you select in the ,argets list are used by that
managers dis" wor"ers during the test. $)etwor" wor"ers are not affected.% ,he
selected dri*es are distributed in a round-robin fashion among the managers dis"
wor"ers0 any pre*ious dri*e assignments for those wor"ers are replaced by the new
assignment. 8or e&ample, suppose the selected manager has four dis" wor"ers and
you select se*en dri*es. In this case, dri*es 7 and 6 will be used by <or"er 70
dri*es 3 and A will be used by <or"er 3, dri*es 5 and H will be used by <or"er 5,
and dri*e > will be used by <or"er >.
)ote that if you clic" on a manager, the selected dis"s for that managers wor"ers
are shown only if the dri*es are distributed among the wor"ers in a round-robin
fashion. If this is not the case, all the chec" bo&es are gray, and you must clic" on
an indi*idual wor"er to see its selected dis"s.
If 1ll Managers is selected in the ,opology panel, the ,argets list is disabled.
7.2 8a;imum Dis2 &i<e
,he Ma&imum /is" +ize control specifies how many dis" sectors are used by the
selected wor"er$s%. ,he default is 4, meaning the entire dis" or \iobw.tst file
$beginning with the +tarting /is" +ector%. If you specify a *alue other than zero,
Iometer uses the specified number of 673-byte dis" sectors, beginning with the +tarting
/is" +ector. If the specified *alue would e&tend beyond the end of the dis" or file, it is
silently ignored, and the default of 4 is used.
8or e&ample, if +tarting /is" +ector is 6 and Ma&imum /is" +ize is 74, the selected
wor"er$s% will use sectors 6-7> of the dis" or \iobw.tst file.
<hen preparing an unprepared logical dri*e $that is, the iobw.tst file does not e&ist%,
Iometer uses the sum of the *alues of the Ma&imum /is" +ize P +tarting /is" +ector
controls as an upper bound on the size of iobw.tst. ,he iobw.tst file is created with this
size $or a*ailable space, if smaller%. If the file already e&ists $the dri*e has already
been prepared%, changing this control will not resize iobw.tst.
"#T$=
$hen two or more workers are assigned to the same unprepared logical
drive, the .aximum Disk 4i-e 5 4tarting Disk 4ector of the first worker
6!/78 determines the si-e of iobw.tst.
7.3 &tartin+ Dis2 &ector
,he +tarting /is" +ector control specifies the lowest-numbered dis" sector used by the
selected wor"er$s% during the test. ,he default is 4, meaning the first 673-byte sector
in the dis" or \iobw.tst file.
7.% > of #utstandin+ I?#s
,he J of Outstanding I/Os control specifies the ma&imum number of outstanding
asynchronous I/O operations per disk the selected wor"er$s% will attempt to ha*e acti*e
at one time. $,he actual ?ueue depth seen by the dis"s may be less if the operations
complete *ery ?uic"ly.% ,he default *alue is 7.
)ote that the *alue of this control applies to each selected worker and each selected
disk. 8or e&ample, suppose you select a manager with > dis" wor"ers in the ,opology
panel, select @ dis"s in the /is" ,argets tab, and specify a J of Outstanding I/Os of 7A.
In this case, the dis"s will be distributed among the wor"ers $3 dis"s per wor"er%, and
each wor"er will generate a ma&imum of 7A outstanding I/Os to each of its dis"s. ,he
system as a whole will ha*e a ma&imum of 73@ outstanding I/Os at a time $> wor"ers =
3 dis"s/wor"er = 7A outstanding I/Os per dis"% from this manager.
,his control can be o*erridden by the J of Outstanding I/Os control group in the ,est
+etup tab $depending on the :ycling Options%.
"#T$
If the total number of outstanding I"#s in the system is very large, Iometer or
$indows may hang, thrash, or crash. %he exact value of very large
depends on the disk driver and the amount of physical memory available.
%his problem is due to limitations in $indows and some disk drivers, and is
not a problem with the Iometer software. %he problem is seen in Iometer and
not in other applications because Iometer makes it easy to specify a number
of outstanding I"#s that is much larger than typical applications produce.
7.* Test Connection (ate
,he ,est :onnection Cate control specifies how often the wor"er$s% open and close
their dis"$s%. ,he default is off, meaning that all the dis"s are opened at the beginning
of the test and are not closed until the end of the test. If you turn this control on, you
can specify a number of transactions to perform between opening and closing. $1
transaction is an I/O re?uest and the corresponding reply, if any0 see the Ceply field in
the .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog for more information%.
If ,est :onnection Cate is on, the wor"er opens all its dis"s at the beginning of the
test. <hen the specified number of transactions has been performed to a particular
dis", that dis" is closed, and is re-opened again Bust before the ne&t I/O to the dis". ,he
number of transactions can be zero, in which case the wor"er Bust opens and closes the
dis"s repeatedly.
.ach open P transactions P close se?uence is called a connection. ,he time from the
initiation of the open to the completion of the corresponding close is recorded for each
connection, and the ma&imum and a*erage connection time and the a*erage
connections per second are reported.
19. "etor2 Tar+ets Tab 3 (eference

,he )etwor" ,argets tab lets you see and control the networ" interfaces used by the
networ" wor"er$s% currently selected in the ,opology panel. Eou can control which
networ" interface is used on each end of the connection and how fre?uently the
networ" connection is opened and closed. Iometer currently supports the ,:'/I' and
Nirtual Interface 1rchitecture networ" protocols.
NI 1rchitecture testing re?uires an implementation that conforms to re*ision 4.T6 of
the Intel 9irtual Interface *rchitecture Implementation :uide and supports reliable
deli*ery. NI )I:s will be automatically detected if they are named VII!n, nicn, or
\\.\VIn. If your )I:s use any other name, you can set the en*ironment *ariable
VII!n to the name of your )I: number n. ,his en*ironment *ariable must be set on
the machine on which /ynamo is running, and must be set before /ynamo is launched.
If a networ" ser*er is selected in the ,opology panel, that wor"ers current
configuration is displayed in the )etwor" ,argets tab0 any changes you ma"e affect
only that wor"er. If a networ" client is selected, its configuration is displayed, but
cannot be changed $a networ" clients configuration is always the same as its
corresponding ser*er%. If a manager or 1ll Managers is selected, the networ"
ser*ers common configuration is displayed! controls for which all ser*ers ha*e the
same setting show that setting, while controls for which not all ser*ers ha*e the same
setting are blan". 1ny changes you ma"e in the )etwor" ,argets tab are applied to all
of the selected manager or managers networ" ser*ers $dis" wor"ers and networ"
clients are not affected%.
If a dis" wor"er is selected in the ,opology panel, the )etwor" ,argets tab is disabled.
:lic"ing on a dis" wor"er while the )etwor" ,argets tab is displayed automatically
switches to the /is" ,argets tab. ,he same applies to a manager that has no networ"
ser*ers, or 1ll Managers if no manager has any networ" wor"ers.
19.1 Tar+ets
,he ,argets list in the )etwor" ,argets panel displays the a*ailable networ" interfaces
on all managers. Only interfaces of types $,:'/I' or NI% supported by the selected
manager or wor"er are shown0 howe*er, there is no guarantee that all interfaces shown
will be accessible to the selected manager or wor"er $for e&ample, they may be on
different subnets%.
(y default, no interface is selected. :lic" on an interface to select it0 +hift-clic" to
select a range of interfaces0 :ontrol-clic" to add an interface to or remo*e an interface
from the current selection. Eou can also use the arrow "eys, 2ome and .nd "eys, and
the space bar to mo*e the highlight and select/deselect interfaces, or press R:ontrol-1S
to select all interfaces $this re?uires the "eyboard focus to be in the )etwor" ,argets
tab%.
If a networ" ser*er is selected in the ,opology panel, you can see and change the
currently selected interface in the ,argets list. Eou can select at most one
interface. <hen you select an interface, a networ" client is automatically created
on the corresponding manager to communicate o*er the selected interface during
the test. If you change the selection, the networ" client is reconfigured or mo*ed as
necessary. -sing :ontrol-clic" to deselect the currently-selected interface remo*es
the corresponding networ" client.
If a networ" client is selected in the ,opology panel, you can only see the
currently selected interface $that is, the corresponding ser*er% in the ,argets list.
,o ma"e any changes in a networ" clients configuration, you must change the
corresponding ser*er.
If a manager is selected in the ,opology panel, networ" interfaces that you select
in the ,argets list are used by that managers networ" ser*ers during the test. $/is"
wor"ers and networ" clients are not affected.% Eou can select any number of
interfaces, up to the number of networ" ser*ers the manager has. ,he selected
interfaces are assigned in order to the managers networ" ser*ers0 any pre*ious
assignments for those ser*ers are replaced by the new assignment. 8or e&ample,
suppose the selected manager has four networ" ser*ers and you select three
interfaces. In this case, the first selected interface in the list will be used by
<or"er 7, the second by <or"er 3, the third by <or"er 5, and <or"er > will be
idle. 1ny networ" clients that had pre*iously belonged to those ser*ers will be
remo*ed and replaced with new clients.
)ote that if you clic" on a manager, the selected interfaces for that managers
networ" ser*ers are shown only if the interfaces are assigned to the wor"ers in
order. If this is not the case, all the chec" bo&es are gray, and you must clic" on an
indi*idual wor"er to see its selected interface.
If 1ll Managers is selected in the ,opology panel, the ,argets list is disabled.
8or e&ample, suppose you ha*e two managers, IO1)1;E+I+ and IO;1(, and
IO1)1;E+I+ has one wor"er, a networ" ser*er called <or"er 7. If you clic" on
<or"er 7 and then select one of IO;1(s two networ" interfaces, the display might
loo" li"e this!

)ote that selecting one of IO;1(s interfaces automatically creates a networ" client,
called U<or"er 7V, on IO;1(. ,he name of the client is the name of the
corresponding ser*er in Ubrac"etsV. ,his display shows that the newly-created client
$U<or"er 7V on IO;1(% will use networ" interface 75H.37.AA.T6 to communicate with
its ser*er. Meanwhile, the ser*er $<or"er 7 on IO1)1;E+I+%, will use networ"
interface 75H.>A.73A.744 to communicate with its client $see the discussion of the
)etwor" Interface to -se for :onnection control, below%.
:lic"ing on the client shows the same connections from the other end!

)ote that the clients controls are grayed-out $inacti*e%. Eou cannot change a
connection from the client end, only from the ser*er end.
19.2 "etor2 Interface to Use for Connection
,he )etwor" Interface to -se for :onnection control applies only to networ" ser*ers.
It specifies which of the a*ailable networ" interfaces is used by the selected ser*er for
its end of the connection, as described in the ,argets for )etwor" <or"ers section
abo*e. ,he default is the first interface in the list.
If you clic" on an interface in the ,argets list that is of a different type $,:'/I' or NI%
from the selected interface in the )etwor" Interface to -se for :onnection control, the
)etwor" Interface to -se for :onnection changes to the first interface of the selected
type. If you select an interface in the )etwor" Interface to -se for :onnection control
that is of a different type than the current selection in the ,argets list, the selection in
the ,argets list is cleared.
19.3 8a; > #utstandin+ &ends
,he Ma& J Outstanding +ends control specifies the ma&imum number of messages a
networ" wor"er will send to a Nirtual Interface 1rchitecture target before waiting for
an ac"nowledgement. ,his control is disabled for wor"ers with no NI 1rchitecture
targets. ,he default *alue is 7.
In theNI 1rchitecture, a recei*e operation must be posted for each message before it is
recei*ed. ,he sending wor"er $which could be a ser*er or a client% sends at most the
specified number of messages before waiting for an ac"nowledgement that the
messages ha*e been recei*ed and it is OG to send more. ,he recei*ing wor"er begins
by pre-posting the specified number of recei*e operations. 1s each message is
recei*ed, a new recei*e operation is posted. <hen half the specified number of
messages has been recei*ed, the recei*er sends a control message to the sender
indicating that the messages ha*e been recei*ed. ,he intention is that the sender will
get this message before it finishes sending the other half, allowing it to continue
uninterrupted. ,he sender will bloc" only if it sends the Ma& J Outstanding +ends
without recei*ing a control message.
"#T$
%he .ax ; #utstanding 4ends for 9I targets is not the same as the ;
#utstanding I"#s for disks. +urrently Iometer supports only one outstanding
I"# at a time to network targets.
19.% Test Connection (ate
,he ,est :onnection Cate control specifies how often the selected wor"er$s% open and
close their networ" connection. ,he default is off, meaning that the connection is
opened at the beginning of the test and is not closed until the end of the test. If you
turn this control on, you can specify a number of transactions to perform between
opening and closing. $1 transaction is an I/O re?uest and the corresponding reply, if
any0 see the Ceply field in the .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog for more information%.
If ,est :onnection Cate is on, the wor"er opens its networ" connection at the
beginning of the test. <hen the specified number of transactions has been performed,
the connection is closed, and is re-opened again Bust before the ne&t I/O. ,he number
of transactions can be zero, in which case the wor"er Bust opens and closes the
connection repeatedly.
.ach open P transactions P close se?uence is called a connection. ,he time from the
initiation of the open to the completion of the corresponding close is recorded for each
connection, and the ma&imum and a*erage connection time and the a*erage
connections per second are reported.
11. Access &/ecifications Tab 3 (eference

,he 1ccess +pecifications tab lets you see and control the type of I/O each wor"er
performs to its selected target$s%.
,he #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list, on the right, shows all the access specifications
currently defined. ,he 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list, on the left, shows the
access specifications that are assigned to the wor"er$s% currently selected in the
,opology panel. Eou assign one or more access specifications to a wor"er by selecting
them in the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list and pressing the 1dd button, or by
dragging them from the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list to the 1ssigned 1ccess
+pecifications list. Eou can remo*e one or more access specifications from a wor"er
by selecting them in the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list and pressing the Cemo*e
button, or by dragging them out of the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list.
11.1 Global Access &/ecifications -ist
,he #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list shows all the access specifications currently
defined. .ach access specification is a named collection of I/O characteristics, such as
the size of each I/O operation, the ratio of reads to writes, the ratio of random access to
se?uential I/O, and the burstiness of the I/O. 1n access specification can specify a
single type of I/O or a mi& of different types.
(y default there are two access specifications, called Idle and /efault. ,he Idle access
specification does nothing0 it cannot be remo*ed, renamed, or edited. ,he /efault
access specification initially performs 3G random I/Os with a 3-to-7 mi& of reads and
writes, but you can change this. Eou can also create additional access specifications
for your own purposes.
.ach access specification has a name and an icon. ,he name is user-defined0 you
should choose a name that describes what the access specification does $such as >G
se?uential reads or <eb ser*er wor"load%. Eou cannot ha*e two access
specifications with the same name at the same time. ,he icon indicates the access
specifications default assignment, which determines which wor"ers are automatically
assigned the access specification when they are created!

/efault for wor"ers of all types.

/efault for dis" wor"ers.

/efault for networ" wor"ers.
)ot default for any wor"er.
Multiple access specifications can ha*e a default assignment at the same time. 8or
e&ample!

#i*en these fi*e access specifications, a new dis" wor"er would be gi*en access
specifications /efault, /atabase, and 8ile :opy, while a new networ" wor"er would be
gi*en access specifications /efault, /atabase, and <eb ,raffic.
)ote that an access specifications default assignment only determines whether or not
it is assigned to a wor"er when the worker is created. ,his occurs when you press the
+tart )ew Manager, Ceset <or"ers, +tart /is" <or"er, or +tart )etwor" <or"er
button on the toolbar or when a manager first ma"es contact with Iometer after being
started from the command line. :hanging an access specifications default assignment,
or creating a new access specification with a default assignment, does not affect the
access specifications of e&isting wor"ers.
11.2 Assi+ned Access &/ecifications -ist
,he 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list shows the access specifications that are
assigned to the wor"er$s% currently selected in the ,opology panel. ,hese determine
the I/O operations the wor"er$s% will perform during the test.
,he color of the ;./ $colored circle% to the left of each access specification in the
1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list indicates its status while the test is running!
B$ue for an access specification that has not yet run.
-ree for an access specification that is currently running.
2ed for an access specification that has completed running.
If there is more than one access specification in the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications
list, a series of tests will be performed. ,he access specifications are e&ecuted in
se?uence from top to bottom. /uring each access specification, Iometer runs one or
more tests $determined by the settings in the ,est +etup tab%0 if no run time is specified
in the ,est +etup tab, each test runs until you press the +top button on the toolbar.
Eou can assign different access specifications to different wor"ers. 8or e&ample, you
might ha*e your dis" wor"ers performing database-li"e I/O $defined by one access
specification%, at the same time as your networ" wor"ers are performing web-ser*er-
li"e I/O $defined by a different access specification%. If there are multiple access
specifications in the lists, all wor"ers perform the first access specification in their list
at the same time, then all perform the second, and so on. If the number of access
specifications is not the same for e*ery wor"er, the wor"ers with fewer access
specifications will be idle while the wor"ers with more access specifications are still
wor"ing. Eou can also assign the Idle access specification to force a wor"er to be idle
while others are wor"ing.
1 single access specification can be assigned more than once to the same wor"er. 8or
e&ample, if you ha*e two wor"ers $7 and 3% and two access specifications $1 and (%,
you might assign access specifications 1 and ( to wor"er 7 and two copies of access
specification 1 to wor"er 3. In this case two tests will be run! in the first test both
wor"ers run access specification 1, and in the second case wor"er 7 runs access
specification ( while wor"er 3 runs access specification 1 again.
If a manager or 1ll Managers is selected in the ,opology panel, this list is blan"
unless the managers or managers wor"ers all ha*e the same access specification list.
If you ma"e any change in this list while a manager or 1ll Managers is selected, the
new list resulting from the change will be assigned to all the managers or managers
wor"ers.
11.3 Access &/ecifications .uttons
,he buttons in the 1ccess +pecifications dialog let you manage the two lists of access
specifications.
,he buttons below the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list change the order in
which the assigned access specifications are e&ecuted!
,he &o%e 3p button mo*es the selected access specification up in the list.
,he &o%e Dow button mo*es the selected access specification down in the
list.
,he buttons to the right of the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list manage the global
access specifications list!
New! :reates a new access specification and opens it for editing.
,dit! Opens the selected access specification for editing. Eou can also
double-clic" on an access specification in the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list
to open it for editing.
,dit /op4! Ma"es a copy of the selected access specification and opens it for
editing.
De$ete! /eletes the selected access specification$s%.
<hen you open an access specification for editing, the .dit 1ccess +pecification
/ialog $described in the ne&t section% appears.
,he buttons between the two lists add and remo*e access specifications from the
1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list!
,he "dd button copies the selected access specification$s% from the #lobal
1ccess +pecifications list to the end of the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list.
,he 2emo%e button remo*es the selected access specification$s% from the
1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list.
Eou can also add access specifications by dragging them from the #lobal 1ccess
+pecifications list and dropping them in the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list.
Eou can remo*e access specifications by dragging them out of the 1ssigned
1ccess +pecifications list and dropping them anywhere.
In general, the selected access specification for these buttons is the one that is
highlighted blue in the rele*ant 1ccess +pecifications list. ,his only occurs when the
access specification is selected and the rele*ant list has the input focus $for e&ample,
when you ha*e Bust clic"ed in it%. If the list does not ha*e the input focus, any selected
access specification will be highlighted gray, and some or all of the buttons associated
with that list will be disabled. 8or e&ample, the .dit button is disabled unless there is a
blue highlighted access specification in the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list, which
only occurs when the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list has the input focus.

12. $dit Access &/ecification Dialo+ 3
(eference

,he .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog shows the definition of a single access
specification and lets you change it.
12.1 "ame
,he )ame control specifies the access specifications name. ,he default *alue for a
new access specification is -ntitled n. ,he name can be up to 73@ characters long,
and can contain any characters e&cept commas. It must be uni?ue $that is, you cant
ha*e two access specifications in the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list with the same
name at the same time%.
12.2 Default Assi+nment
,he /efault 1ssignment control specifies which wor"ers are assigned this access
specification by default when they are created! 1ll <or"ers, /is" <or"ers, )etwor"
<or"ers, or )one. ,he default is )one.
)ote that changing the default assignment does not affect the access specifications of
any e&isting wor"ers, only new wor"ers that are created after the change.
12.3 Access &/ecification -ines
In the middle of the .dit 1ccess +pecification dialog is a table that shows the I/O that
is performed by the access specification. ,his table consists of a series of lines, each
of which has se*eral fields. ,o select a line, you must clic" on its +ize field.
,o change the field *alues of the selected line, use the controls below the table.
,o add a new line, press the Insert (efore or Insert 1fter button. ,hese buttons
insert a copy of the selected line before or after the selected line. $If there are no
lines in the list, the Insert 1fter button can be used to insert a line with all default
*alues.%
,o delete the selected line, press the /elete button.
,o change the width of a column, drag the di*ider between the columns heading
and the ne&t columns heading.
If you select more than one line $using +hift-clic" or :ontrol-clic"%, any action you
ta"e e&cept /elete applies only to the first selected line.
12.% Transfer (e)uest &i<e
,he ,ransfer Ce?uest +ize control group specifies the number of bytes read or written
in each I/O re?uest, shown in the 1i+e field in the access specification table $default 3G
bytes%. Eou can select any *alue from 7 byte $4 M( P 4 G( P 7 byte% to almost 7
#igabyte $7435 M( P 7435 G( P 7435 bytes%, limited only by the amount of *itual
memory a*ailable.
12.* 4ercent of Access &/ecification
,he 'ercent of 1ccess +pecification slider specifies the percentage of the current
access specification specified by this line, shown in the 5 "ccess field $default 744I%.
Eou can select *alues from 7I to 744I by increments of 7I, or clic" on the slot to
the left or right of the slider to mo*e it up or down by 74I. ,he I 1ccess *alues of
the lines of a single access specification must sum to e&actly 744I.
If an access specification consists of more than one line, the I 1ccess field of each
line determines the probability of any gi*en I/O operation being controlled by that
line. ,hese probabilities are combined with the probabilities in the I Cead and
I Candom fields. 8or e&ample, consider the following three-line access
specification $only the first few fields of each line are shown%!

In this case, each I/O operation has a 54I chance of being a A>-G( read, a 64I chance
of being a 673-byte write, and a 34I chance of being a 7-G( read or write $with an
e?ual chance of a 7-G( read or a 7-G( write, as discussed below%. ,he se?uence of
operations is random, but o*er the length of the test, this access specification will
a*erage 54I A>-G( reads, 64I 673-byte writes, 74I 7-G( reads, and 74I 7-G(
writes.
)ote that the more comple& an access specification is, the longer the test should run $to
ma"e sure that the randomly-selected operations will closely approach the selected
o*erall percentages%.
12., 4ercent (ead?Write Distribution
,he 'ercent Cead/<rite /istribution slider specifies the percentage of read operations,
shown in the 5 2ead field $default 744I%. 8or e&ample, a I Cead *alue of 54
specifies 54I reads and H4I writes. Eou can select *alues from 4I <rite/
744I Cead to 744I <rite/4I Cead by increments of 7I, or clic" on the slot to
the left or right of the slider to mo*e it up or down by 74I. $8or networ" wor"ers,
write operations are sends and read operations are recei*es. )etwor" clients
always read when the corresponding ser*er is writing, and *ice *ersa.%
,he I Cead field wor"s by specifying the probability that any gi*en I/O operation
will be a read rather than a write0 the actual operation for each I/O is chosen at
random. 8or e&ample, if I Cead is set to >4I, each I/O operation has a >4I chance
of being a read and a A4I chance of being a write. ,his means that the se?uence of
reads and writes is random, but o*er the length of the access specification Iometer will
a*erage >4I reads and A4I writes $a 3!5 read-to-write ratio%.
)etwor" ser*ers and clients are coordinated by using the same seed *alue for the
random-number generator on both ends of the connection. ,his results in the same
operations on both ends $the client always reads when the ser*er is writing, and *ice
*ersa%, but the actual se?uence of operations is not predictable.
12.5 4ercent (andom?&e)uential Distribution
,he 'ercent Candom/+e?uential /istribution slider specifies the percentage of random
accesses, shown in the 5 2adom field $default 744I%. 8or e&ample, a I Candom
*alue of A4 specifies A4I random accesses and >4I se?uential accesses. Eou can
select *alues from 4I +e?uential/744I Candom to 744I +e?uential/4I Candom
by increments of 7I, or clic" on the slot to the left or right of the slider to mo*e it up
or down by 74I. $,his *alue is ignored by networ" wor"ers.%
,he I Candom field wor"s by specifying the probability that a gi*en I/O operation
will begin at a randomly-chosen address rather than the address following the end of
the pre*ious operation $se?uential I/O%. 8or e&ample, if I Candom is set to 74I,
there is a 74I chance that any gi*en I/O operation will begin at a random address and
a T4I chance that it will be se?uential.
2int! ,o access a dis" dri*e se?uentially, select it with a single wor"er using a J of
Outstanding I/Os *alue of 7.
12.6 .urstiness
,he (urst ;ength control specifies the number of I/O operations performed in a row in
each burst, shown in the Burst field $default 7%. If the Ceply field is nonzero, this is
a number of transactions $re?uest P reply% rather than a number of simple I/Os. Eou
can type in any non-negati*e *alue.
,he ,ransfer /elay control specifies the delay before each burst of I/O operations,
shown in the De$a4 field $default 4%. Eou can type in any non-negati*e *alue in
milliseconds $7444 O 7 second%.
If the ,ransfer /elay *alue is 4, the (urst ;ength is not significant because there is no
delay between bursts.
12.7 Ali+n I?#s #n
,he 1lign I/Os On control group specifies the alignment of each I/O on the dis",
shown in the "$igmet field $default +ector (oundaries%. If the *alue of this field is
n bytes, e*ery I/O will begin at a multiple of n bytes from the beginning of the dis".
Eou can select any *alue from 7 byte to 7435 M( P 7435 G( P 7435 bytes, but the
specified *alue must be a multiple of the dis"s sector size. .ntering the *alue 4 or
selecting the +ector (oundaries radio button causes I/Os to be aligned on sector
boundaries. $,his *alue is ignored by networ" wor"ers.%
)ote! If the 1lignment field is set to a *alue other than +ector (oundaries and the +ize
*alue is not a multiple of the 1lignment *alue, se?uential I/Os will not be truly
se?uential. 8or e&ample, if the +ize is 5G( and the 1lignment is 3G(, each se?uential
5G( I/O will be followed by a 7G( hole before the beginning of the following I/O.
12.19 (e/l' &i<e
,he Ceply +ize control group specifies the size of the reply to each I/O re?uest, shown
in the 2ep$4 field $default )o Ceply%. Eou can select any *alue from 7 byte to 7435
M( P 7435 G( P 7435 bytes, limited only by the amount of *irtual memory a*ailable.
.ntering the *alue 4 or selecting the )o Ceply radio button causes no reply to be sent.
If the Ceply field is set to a nonzero *alue, whene*er an I/O re?uest completes, it is
immediately followed by a reply in the opposite direction F that is, a read will be
followed by a write, or a write will be followed by a read. ,he size of the re?uest is
specified by the +ize field, and the size of the reply is specified by the Ceply field. ,he
re?uest and reply together are called a transaction. ,he time from the initiation of the
re?uest to the completion of the corresponding reply is recorded for each transaction,
and the ma&imum and a*erage transaction time and the a*erage transactions per second
are reported.
If a reply is specified, the direction $read or write% of the reply is always the opposite of
the corresponding re?uest, while the alignment and random/se?uential nature of the
reply are the same as the corresponding re?uest. If (urstiness is also specified, the
(urst field specifies a number of transactions $re?uest P reply% rather than a number of
simple I/Os.
,his feature can be used to determine round-trip latency in networ" testing, or to
specify a strict alternation of reads and writes in dis" testing.
12.11 #@ and Cancel
,he OG button sa*es any changes you ha*e made and closes the dialog. ,he :ancel
button closes the dialog without sa*ing changes.
13. (esults Dis/la' Tab 3 (eference

,he Cesults /isplay tab displays performance statistics while a test is running. Eou
can choose which statistics are displayed, which managers or wor"ers are included, and
how often the display is updated.
Eou can change the settings of all controls in the Cesults /isplay tab while the test is
running. 1ny changes you ma"e ta"e effect immediately.
,he settings of the Cesults /isplay tab ha*e no effect on the results file that you
specified when you started the current series of tests, as described for the +tart ,ests
button abo*e. ,he results file is updated at the end of each test0 it includes the final
*alue for the test of each statistic for each wor"er and manager and for all managers
$unless otherwise specified by the Cecord Cesults control in the ,est +etup tab%.
Iometer does not begin recording data for any wor"er until all wor"er threads are
running.
13.1 (esults &ince
,he 9Cesults +ince9 group bo& lets you select the period spanned by the displayed
statistics.
1tart of Test! /isplays the a*erage or sum of the data gathered since the
beginning of the test.
6ast 3pdate! /isplays the statistics collected since the pre*ious update. 8or
e&ample, if the -pdate 8re?uency is set at 6 seconds, the *alues displayed will
be the a*erage or sum of the data collected during the last 6 seconds.
13.2 U/date 0re)uenc'
,he -pdate 8re?uency slider specifies how often, in seconds, the displayed statistics
are updated. ,he default is oo $infinity%, meaning that the display is updated only at
the end of each test.
<hen the 9Cesults +ince9 selected is 9+tart of ,est9, each time the display is updated,
the displayed *alues show the average $for most statistics% of the chosen statistics from
the beginning of the current test to the present, not the current $instantaneous% *alue.
8or this reason, the displayed *alues will often fluctuate widely at the beginning of a
test when the -pdate 8re?uency is small, but settle down as the test goes on. 1ll
*alues are reset to zero at the beginning of each test.
"#T$
#btaining run-time statistics affects the performance of the system. $hen
running a significant test series, the &pdate Fre'uency slider should be set
to oo (infinity). *lso, you should be careful not to move the mouse or to
have any background processes (such as a screensaver or FindFast) running
while testing, to avoid unnecessary +,& utili-ation and interrupts.
13.3 .ar Charts
,here are si& bar charts in the display, which can display a *ariety of different
statistics. .ach bar chart has the following components!
+tatistic displayed by the chart $button to the left of the chart%. 'ressing this
button pops up a hierarchical menu that lets you select a different statistic for the
chart. ,he defaults for the si& charts are as follows!
,otal I/Os per +econd
,otal M(s per +econd
1*erage I/O Cesponse ,ime $ms%
Ma&imum I/O Cesponse ,ime $ms%
:'- -tilization $total%
,otal .rror :ount
Manager or wor"er whose statistics are displayed $left-hand label abo*e chart%.
,he default for all charts is 1ll Managers.
:urrent *alue $center label abo*e chart%. ,his *alue changes only when the
display is updated, as specified by the -pdate 8re?uency slider.
+cale factor $right-hand label abo*e chart%. ,his number is the *alue represented
by a bar that goes all the way across the chart to the right-hand edge0 the left-hand
edge of the chart always represents the *alue zero. ,he scale factor for each chart
is determined by the statistic displayed by that chart.
,he chart itself.
1 button to pop up the 'resentation Meter dialog with the same statistic as the
chart.
+ee +electing a +tatistic for /isplay below for an e&planation of each statistic that can be
displayed.
13.% &electin+ a 8ana+er or Wor2er for Dis/la'
,o choose the manager$s% or wor"er$s% whose statistics are displayed by a particular
chart, drag the desired wor"er, manager, or 1ll Managers from the ,opology panel to
the desired chart or the corresponding button. If you choose a manager or 1ll
Managers, the displayed *alue is the a*erage for the selected managers or all
managers wor"ers.
:lic"ing on the manager or wor"er name abo*e a bar chart selects the associated
manager or wor"er in the topology tree. ,his is handy if you ha*e two managers or
wor"ers with the same name, and you are unsure which instance is associated with the
bar chart.
13.* &electin+ a &tatistic for Dis/la'
,he following statistics can be displayed in the bar charts!
.peratios per 1ecod submenu!
Tota$ )7.s per 1ecod! 1*erage number of I/O operations per second,
a*eraged o*er the length of the test so far.
2ead )7.s per 1ecod! 1*erage number of read operations per second.
*rite )7.s per 1ecod! 1*erage number of write operations per second.
Trasactios per 1ecod! 1*erage number of transactions $re?uest P reply%
per second. If there are no replies in the access specification, this is the same
as ,otal I/Os per +econd.
/oectios per 1ecod! 1*erage number of connections $open target,
perform I/O, close target% per second. If ,est :onnection Cate is not selected
for any targets, this *alue is zero.
&egab4tes per 1ecod submenu!
Tota$ &Bs per 1ecod! 1*erage number of Megabytes read and written per
second, a*eraged o*er the length of the test so far. 1 Megabyte is 7,4>@,6HA
bytes $743> = 743>%.
2ead &Bs per 1ecod! 1*erage number of Megabytes written per second.
*rite &Bs per 1ecod! 1*erage number of Megabytes read per second.
"%erage 6atec4 submenu!
"%erage )7. 2espose Time !ms#! 1*erage time between initiation and
completion of an I/O operation, a*eraged o*er the length of the test so far, in
milliseconds.
"%g. 2ead 2espose Time !ms#! 1*erage time between initiation and
completion of a read operation.
"%g. *rite 2espose Time !ms#! 1*erage time between initiation and
completion of a write operation.
"%g. Trasactio Time !ms#! 1*erage time between initiation of a re?uest
and completion of the corresponding reply. If there are no replies in the access
specification, this is the same as 1*erage I/O Cesponse ,ime.
"%g. /oectio Time !ms#! 1*erage time between initiation of a connection
$opening the target% and completion of the connection $closing the target after
all I/O for the connection has been performed%. If ,est :onnection Cate is not
selected for any targets, this *alue is zero.
&aximum 6atec4 submenu!
&aximum )7. 2espose Time !ms#! Ma&imum time between initiation and
completion of an I/O operation during the test so far, in milliseconds.
&ax. 2ead 2espose Time !ms#! Ma&imum time between initiation and
completion of a read operation.
&ax. *rite 2espose Time !ms#! Ma&imum time between initiation and
completion of a write operation.
&ax. Trasactio Time !ms#! Ma&imum time between initiation of a re?uest
and completion of the corresponding reply. If there are no replies in the access
specification, this is the same as Ma&imum I/O Cesponse ,ime.
&ax. /oectio Time !ms#! Ma&imum time between initiation of a
connection $opening the target% and completion of the connection $closing the
target after all I/O for the connection has been performed%. If ,est :onnection
Cate is not selected for any targets, this *alue is zero.
/83 submenu!
5 /83 3ti$i+atio !tota$#! 'ercentage of processor time spent e&ecuting
threads other than the Idle thread $in other words, time spent doing useful
wor"%. 1lso "nown as I 'rocessor ,ime.
5 3ser Time! 'ercentage of processor time spent in -ser Mode $including
application and subsystem code, the graphics engine, graphics de*ice dri*ers,
printer de*ice dri*ers, and the window manager%.
-nder ;inu& we count the time spend in user space as well as user space with
low priority $nice%.
5 8ri%i$eged Time! 'ercentage of processor time spent in 'ri*ileged Mode
$including the <indows ), ser*ice layer, the .&ecuti*e routines, the
<indows ), Gernel, and de*ice dri*ers for most de*ices other than graphics
adapters and printers%.
-nder ;inu&, this is the time spend in system mode $"ernel%.
5 D8/ Time! 'ercentage of processor time spent in /eferred 'rocedure
:alls. )ot supported under ;inu& M reports 4.4I all the time.
5 )terrupt Time! 'ercentage of processor time spent handling hardware
interrupts. )ot supported under ;inu& M reports 4.4I all the time.
)terrupts per 1ecod! 1*erage number of interrupts per second, a*eraged
o*er the length of the test so far. If there are multiple processors, this is the
total number of interrupts for all processors.
/83 ,ffecti%eess! ,otal I/Os per +econd di*ided by I :'- -tilization,
gi*ing a measure in I"#s per second per percent +,&. Indicates how efficient
the I/O subsystem is in :'- utilization.
,he :'- -tilization, I -ser ,ime, I 'ri*ileged ,ime, I /': ,ime, I Interrupt
,ime *alues displayed in the Cesults /isplay tab are a*eraged o*er the length of
the test so far. If there are multiple processors, these are the average *alues for all
processors.
,he I -ser ,ime and the I 'ri*ileged ,ime, added together, sum to the :'-
-tilization. ,he I /': ,ime and I Interrupt ,ime are subsets of the I
'ri*ileged ,ime $but they are not the only components of 'ri*ileged ,ime%.
)ote that the I Interrupt ,ime and Interrupts per +econd statistics include all
interrupts, not Bust those interrupts resulting from I/O.
Network submenu!
Network 8ackets per 1ecod! ,he rate that pac"ets are sent and recei*ed on
the networ" interface.
8acket ,rrors! ,he number of pac"ets that were chosen to be discarded e*en
though no errors had been detected to pre*ent their being transmitted. One
possible reason for discarding such a pac"et could be to free up buffer space.
T/8 1egmets 2etras. per 1ec.! ,he rate that segments are retransmitted,
that is, segments transmitted containing one or more pre*iously transmitted
bytes.
,he )etwor" 'ac"ets per +econd, 'ac"et .rrors, and ,:' +egments Cetrans. per
+ec. statistics are not collected by default and need to be enabled. -ntil they are
enabled, they will always be reported as zero. 8or instructions on how to enable
them, see the :onfiguring <indows ), to :ollect )etwor" 'erformance +tatistics
section later in this document.
,rrors submenu!
Tota$ ,rror /out! ,otal number of I/O errors that ha*e occurred during the
test $normally zero%.
2ead ,rror /out! ,otal number of errors during read operations.
*rite ,rror /out! ,otal number of errors during write operations.
,he errors that are counted are only those that cause the Cead8ile or <rite8ile call
to return an error code. Iometer does not perform data *erification to ma"e sure
the data was read/written properly.
"#T$
$hen testing network I"#, the total I#ps and ./ps values for a manager or
*ll .anagers include both network servers and the corresponding
network clients. For example, suppose a network server on one manager is
writing 0 ./ps to its client on another manager, which is reading 0 ./ps.
In this case, the *ll .anagers value for total ./ps will be 12 ./ps (even
though only 0 ./ps is flowing across the network). 3ou can determine the
actual total throughput by examining the I"# of only one worker at a time, or
by examining only reads or only writes.
1%. 4resentation 8eter Dialo+ 3 (eference

,he 'resentation Meter dialog displays a single statistic from the Cesults /isplay tab in
a large size. ,his is useful for presentations to groups of people.
-se the <indows controls at the right end of the title bar to mimimize or close the
dialog. Eou can ha*e at most one 'resentation Meter dialog on the screen at a time.
,he update fre?uency for the 'resentation Meter dialog is determined by the -pdate
8re?uency slider in the Cesults /isplay tab.
1%.1 8eter
,he meter in the center of the dialog displays the current *alue of the selected statistic
graphically.
1%.2 (esult to Watch
,he result to watch button in the +ettings control group selects the statistic to
display, the same as the corresponding buttons in the Cesults /isplay tab. +ee
+electing a +tatistic for /isplay in the Cesults /isplay ,ab F Ceference section for
more details. (y default, the 'erformance Meter dialog displays the same statistic as
the bar chart whose button you pressed to pop up the dialog.
,he selected statistic is always displayed for the wor"er, manager, or 1ll Managers
selected for the bar chart whose button you pressed to pop up this dialog. ,o display
statistics for a different wor"er, manager, or 1ll Managers, you must close the
'resentation Meter dialog, drag the desired item from the ,opology panel to a bar chart
$if necessary%, and then pop up the 'resentation Meter dialog again.
1%.3 (an+e
,he Cange control specifies the upper bound of the meter. If the *alue of the selected
statistic is abo*e the Cange *alue, the needle pegs at its upper bound, but the te&t
label below the meter displays the correct *alue. ,he default *alue for this control is
7440 the lower bound is always zero.
-nli"e the bar charts in the Cesults /isplay tab, the meter in the 'resentation Meter
dialog does not automatically adBust itself to fit the *alue displayed. ,his lets you
select an upper bound that displays the statistic appropriately for your purposes. It also
lets you display the same statistic for two different runs, or on two different machines,
and be sure that the two meter positions will be directly comparable.
1%.% &ho Trace
,he +how ,race control selects display of the history trace for the meter. If this
control is chec"ed, a blue arc mar"s the range between the highest and lowest *alues
displayed during the current test.
1%.* Test Controls
,hese two buttons let you start and stop the test without closing the 'resentation Meter
dialog.
If no test is running, the 1tart button starts the test series $the same as the +tart
,ests button on the toolbar% and the 1top button is disabled.
If a series of tests is running, the +tart buttons label changes to )e&t. 'ressing
the Next button stops the current test and starts the ne&t one $the same as the +top
:urrent ,est button on the toolbar%0 the 1top button aborts the test series $the same
as the 1bort 1ll ,ests button on the toolbar%.
If a single test, or the last test of a series, is running, the Next button is disabled
and the 1top button stops the test $the same as the +top :urrent ,est button on the
toolbar%.
1*. Test &etu/ Tab 3 (eference

,he ,est +etup tab controls the tests that are run for each access specification in the
1ccess +pecifications tab, and a number of other details about how Iometer wor"s.
$<hene*er you press the +tart ,ests button, Iometer runs a series of tests. .ach access
specification is run once0 each test is run once for each access specification. ,he
current test number is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Iometer window.%
1*.1 Test Descri/tion
,he ,est /escription field is a te&t field in which you can type any te&t to describe the
current series of tests. ,his te&t is sa*ed to the results file $specified when you press
the +tart ,ests button%, and can be used to record the current system configuration, test
parameters, or any other information you would li"e.
1*.2 (un Time
,he Cun ,ime control group specifies the run time $in hours, minutes, and seconds% for
each test in the series. ,he default *alue is zero, which means that each test runs until
you press the +top button.
,ypical run times *ary from 76 to A4 seconds. :omplicated access specifications or
large systems may re?uire longer times.
1*.3 (am/ U/ Time
,he Camp -p ,ime field specifies the number of seconds Iometer waits, after all
wor"ers report that they ha*e begun wor"ing, before beginning to record statistics on
each test. Eou can use this field to a*oid recording any statistics during an initial
ramp-up period $for e&ample, while caches are filled with data%. ,he default *alue is
zero.
,ypical ramp-up times *ary from 76 to A4 seconds. Camp-up time may need to be
increased for caching controllers, large ser*ers, or clustered systems.
1*.% "umber of Wor2ers to &/an Automaticall'
,he )umber of <or"ers to +pawn 1utomatically control group specifies the number of
dis" and networ" wor"ers that are created on a manager by default. ,his *alue is used
when you press the +tart )ew Manager or Ceset <or"ers button on the toolbar, and
when a manager first ma"es contact with Iometer after being started from the command
line. Eou can specify a number of wor"ers, or select J of :'-s to specify one
wor"er for each processor on the managers machine. ,he default *alue is J of
:'-s dis" wor"ers and zero networ" wor"ers.
,hese controls do not affect the +tart /is" <or"er, +tart )etwor" <or"er, or
/uplicate +elected <or"er button. <hen you press any of these buttons, e&actly one
wor"er of the selected type is created.
1*.* (ecord (esults
,he Cecord Cesults control specifies what information is recorded in the results file
$specified when you press the +tart ,ests button%. )ormally, results are recorded for
each target, each wor"er, each manager, and all managers. .ach wor"ers results are a
summary of its targets0 each managers results are a summary of its wor"ers0 the all
managers results are a summary of all managers. $+ummary means the total,
a*erage, or ma&imum for each statistic, as appropriate.%
,his control has the following options!
"$$! Cecords results for each target, wor"er and manager and all managers. $,his
is the default.%
No Targets! Cecords results for each wor"er and manager and all managers.
No *orkers! Cecords results for each manager and all managers.
No &aagers! Cecords only the summary of all managers.
Noe! /oes not record anything. Eou will not be prompted to select a results file
when you start the test.
1*., C'clin+ #/tions
,he :ycling Options control group specifies the series of tests that is run for each
access specification. It can be used to automatically collect data on a *ariety of
different loads for the current configuration. /ata from each test in the series is
recorded separately in the results file.
1ll test types e&cept )ormal specify a series of tests in which one or more of the
following ?uantities is *aried in each test!
)umber of wor"ers per manager.
)umber of targets per wor"er.
)umber of outstanding I/O operations per target $dis" wor"ers only%.
1ny of these ?uantities that is not *aried by the test type is set to its default $ma&imum%
*alue for all tests.
8or each of these ?uantities, you can specify the starting *alue, the stepping type
$linear or e&ponential%, and the step *alue $the amount added each step for linear
stepping, or the power base for e&ponential stepping% in the <or"ers, ,argets, and J of
Outstanding I/Os control groups. 8or e&ample, if the starting *alue is 5, the stepping
type is linear, and the step *alue is 3, the resulting se?uence is 5, 6, H, TW. If the
starting *alue is 7, the stepping type is e&ponential, and the power base is 3, the
resulting se?uence is 7, 3, >, @W. <or"ers are added in the order they are shown in the
,opology panel0 selected targets are added to each wor"er in the order they are shown
in the /is" ,argets or )etwor" ,argets tab for that wor"er.
,he ending *alue for each se?uence is determined differently for each ?uantity. 8or
the number of wor"ers per manager, it is determined by the manager with the most
wor"ers in the ,opology panel. 8or the number of targets per wor"er, it is determined
by the wor"er with the most targets selected in the /is" ,argets or )etwor" ,argets
tab. 8or the outstanding I/Os per target, it is determined by the J of Outstanding I/Os
control group in the ,est +etup tab. If not all managers ha*e the same number of
wor"ers, or not all wor"ers ha*e the same number of targets, those managers/wor"ers
with less than the ma&imum number of wor"ers/targets will repeat at their highest
*alue while other managers/wor"ers continue to increase.
"#T$
<etwork clients are ignored when cycling workers or targets. For example,
suppose you have five managers= four managers with one network server
each, and one manager with four network clients (each associated with one
of the other managers> network servers). ?unning a +ycle $orkers test in
this configuration will run only one test, because the maximum number of
network servers per manager is one (the manager with four network clients
is treated as though it had no workers at all).
,he following test types are a*ailable. 8or simplicity, the e&ample for each test
assumes that for all ?uantities the starting *alue is 7, the stepping type is linear, and the
step *alue is 7.
Norma$ 99 ru a$$ se$ected targets for a$$ workers.
,his test type runs one test with the default *alues for all ?uantities! all wor"ers are
acti*e in all managers, all selected targets are used by each wor"er, and the number
of outstanding I/Os per dis" is specified by the J of Outstanding I/Os field in the
/is" ,argets tab.
,his test type can be used for a ?uic" test of the current system configuration. ,his
is the default test type.
/4c$e Targets 99 add step targets for a$$ workers at a time.
,his test type increases the number of targets for each wor"er in each test. ,he
number of tests is determined by the ma&imum number of targets per wor"er. 8or
e&ample, if each wor"er has three selected targets, this test type will run three tests!
7. 1ll wor"ers use 7 target $the first selected target in the /is" ,argets or
)etwor" ,argets tab%.
3. 1ll wor"ers use 3 targets $the first two selected targets%.
5. 1ll wor"ers use 5 targets $all three selected targets%.
,his test type can be used in se*eral different ways. 8or e&ample!
1ssign wor"ers to dis" dri*es from different adapter cards to show system
scalability with wor" distributed o*er adapter cards.
1ssign wor"ers to the same dri*es to see results of ha*ing increased
transferred re?uest ?ueues.
'lace wor"ers on separate systems to see scaling effects on a shared bus.
/4c$e *orkers 99 add step workers usig a$$ se$ected targets at a time.
,his test type increases the number of wor"ers for each manager in each test. ,he
number of tests is determined by the ma&imum number of wor"ers per manager.
8or e&ample, if each manager has three wor"ers, this test type will run three tests!
7. 1ll managers use 7 wor"er $the first wor"er shown in the ,opology panel%.
3. 1ll managers use 3 wor"ers $the first two wor"ers%.
5. 1ll managers use 5 wor"ers $all three wor"ers%.
2ere are some ways this test type can be used!
If wor"ers are on separate systems, allows testing of shared buses.
1ssign wor"ers to dis" dri*es on different adapters to show interaction of
hea*ily loaded cards within the same system.
1ssign wor"ers to the same dri*es to see the results of increasing the re?uest
?ueue.
)cremet Targets 8ara$$e$ 99 add step targets to a$$ maagers at a time.
,his test type increases the number of targets for each manager in each test,
distributed o*er the managers wor"ers. ,he number of tests is determined by the
product of the ma&imum number of targets per wor"er and the ma&imum number
of wor"ers per manager. 8or e&ample, if each manager has two wor"ers and each
wor"er has two targets, this test type will run four tests!
8ana+er 1 8ana+er 2 Tar+ets /er
Test
>
Wor2er 1 Wor2er 2 Wor2er 1 Wor2er 2 8ana+er
1 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 1 t!ret
2 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 2 t!rets
3 2 t!rets 1 t!ret 2 t!rets 1 t!ret 3 t!rets
8 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 8 t!rets
,his test type can be used to determine the effect of increasing load on the ser*er
from all clients at once.
)cremet Targets 1eria$ 99 add step targets at a time.
,his test type increases the total number of targets for all managers in each test,
distributed o*er each managers wor"ers. ,he number of tests is determined by the
product of the number of managers, the ma&imum number of wor"ers per manager,
and the ma&imum number of targets per wor"er. 8or e&ample, if each manager has
two wor"ers and each wor"er has two targets, this test type will run eight tests!
8ana+er 1 8ana+er 2 Total
Test
>
Wor2er 1 Wor2er 2 Wor2er 1 Wor2er 2 Tar+ets
1 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 1 t!ret
2 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 2 t!rets
3 2 t!rets 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 3 t!rets
8 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 8 t!rets
; 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 1 t!ret 0 t!rets ; t!rets
6 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 6 t!rets
7 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 1 t!ret 7 t!rets
@ 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets @ t!rets
,his test type can be used to determine the effect of total increasing load on the
ser*er from a number of clients.
/4c$e Targets ad *orkers 99 add step targets at a time spread across
workers.
,his test type increases the number of targets for one wor"er in each test, then
starts o*er and increases the number of targets for two wor"ers in each test, and so
on. ,he number of tests is determined by the product of the ma&imum number of
wor"ers per manager and the ma&imum number of targets per wor"er. 8or
e&ample, if each manager has three wor"ers and each wor"er has two targets, this
test type will run si& tests!
Test
> Wor2er 1 Wor2er 2 Wor2er 3
Tar+ets /er
8ana+er
1 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 1 t!ret
2 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 0 t!rets 2 t!rets
3 1 t!ret 1 t!ret 0 t!rets 2 t!rets
8 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 0 t!rets 8 t!rets
; 1 t!ret 1 t!ret 1 t!ret 3 t!rets
6 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 2 t!rets 6 t!rets
,his test type can be used for scalability characterization of buses and networ"s.
/4c$e : .utstadig )7.s 99 ru step outstadig )7.s o a$$ disks at a time.
,his test type increases the number of outstanding I/Os per dis" for each dis"
wor"er in each test $for networ" wor"ers, this *alue is always 7%. ,he number of
tests is determined by the J of Outstanding I/Os control group. 8or e&ample, if the
J of Outstanding I/Os .nd <ith setting is >, this test type will run four tests!
7. 1ll wor"ers use 7 outstanding I/O per target on all selected targets.
3. 1ll wor"ers use 3 outstanding I/Os per target on all selected targets.
5. 1ll wor"ers use 5 outstanding I/Os per target on all selected targets.
>. 1ll wor"ers use > outstanding I/Os per target on all selected targets.
)ote that the total number of outstanding I/Os seen by each target is the product of
the number of outstanding I/Os in each wor"er and the number of wor"ers using
that target.
/4c$e : .utstadig )7.s ad Targets 99 ru step outstadig )7.s o step
targets at a time.
,his test type increases the number of outstanding I/Os for all wor"ers using one
target, then increases the number of targets for all wor"ers, and begins again the
cycle of increasing the number of outstanding I/Os $for the increased number of
targets%, and so on. ,he number of tests is determined by the product of the
ma&imum number of targets per wor"er and the .nd <ith *alue in the J of
Outstanding I/Os control group. 8or e&ample, if each wor"er has two targets and
the J of Outstanding I/Os .nd <ith setting is 5, this test type will run si& tests!
7. 1ll wor"ers use 7 outstanding I/O per target on 7 target.
3. 1ll wor"ers use 3 outstanding I/Os per target on 7 target.
5. 1ll wor"ers use 5 outstanding I/Os per target on 7 target.
>. 1ll wor"ers use 7 outstanding I/O per target on 3 targets.
6. 1ll wor"ers use 3 outstanding I/Os per target on 3 targets.
A. 1ll wor"ers use 5 outstanding I/Os per target on 3 targets.
,his test type tests increasing load on the targets as well as buses.
1*.5 Wor2ers
,he <or"ers control group determines the initial number of wor"ers, the step size, and
the stepping type $linear or e&ponential% for the test types :ycle <or"ers and :ycle
,argets and <or"ers $see the test types, abo*e, for more information%. It is ignored
for all other test types. ,he default is a start *alue of 7, a step size of 7, and linear
stepping.
1*.6 Tar+ets
,he ,argets control group determines the initial number of targets, the step size, and
the stepping type $linear or e&ponential% for the test types :ycle ,argets, Increment
,argets 'arallel, Increment ,argets +erial, :ycle ,argets and <or"ers, and
:ycle J Outstanding I/Os and ,argets $see the test types, abo*e, for more
information%. It is ignored for all other test types. ,he default is a start *alue of 7, a
step size of 7, and linear stepping.
1*.7 > of #utstandin+ I?#s
,he J of Outstanding I/Os control group determines the initial and final number of
outstanding I/Os, the step size, and the stepping type $linear or e&ponential% for the test
types :ycle J Outstanding I/Os and :ycle J Outstanding I/Os and ,argets $see the
test types, abo*e, for more information%. It o*errides the J of Outstanding I/Os field in
the /is" ,argets tab for these test types0 it is ignored for all other test types. ,he
default is a start *alue of 7, an end *alue of 53, a power base of 3, and e&ponential
stepping.
,his *alue is ignored by networ" wor"ers0 networ" wor"ers always ha*e a J
Outstanding I/Os of 7.

1,. &a:e Test Confi+uration 0ile A
(eference

'ressing the +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile toolbar button brings up the +a*e ,est
:onfiguration 8ile dialog.
1,.1 Iometer.icf
<hen Iometer starts, it loo"s for a file named 9iometer.icf9 from which to load a
pre*iously sa*ed test configuration. $1 different filename can be specified by using a
command line parameter. +ee 9+pecifying a :onfiguration 8ile9 for further details.%
+a*e your test configuration to 9iometer.icf9 if you want the settings automatically
loaded. If the file does not e&ist, Iometer loads with internally created default settings.
1,.2 &ettin+s to &a:e
-se the chec"bo&es in this control group to specify which settings to include in the
sa*ed file.
1,.3 Test &etu/ Tab &ettin+s
If this option is selected, the current state of the ,est +etup tab will be preser*ed in the
file.
1,.% (esults Dis/la' Tab &ettin+s
If this option is selected, the current settings of the Cesults /isplay tab will be
preser*ed in the file. 1 results display performance bar can reflect the performance of
specific managers and wor"ers, and it is not possible to restore this information if the
specified manager or wor"er isnt currently logged into Iometer. ,his is e&plained in
more detail in the Cesults display tab settings section of Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile
M Ceference.
1,.* Global Access &/ecification -ist
If this option is selected, the #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list from the 1ccess
+pecifications tab will be preser*ed in the file. ,his includes all information needed to
restore these access specifications.
,o preser*e the assignments of these access specifications to wor"ers in the 1ssigned
1ccess +pecifications list, the 1ccess specification assignments chec"bo& must be
selected.
1,., 8ana+ers and Wor2ers
If this chec"bo& is not chec"ed, the two chec"bo&es below it cannot be chec"ed.
If this chec"bo& is selected, each manager and wor"er present in IometerDs ,opology
window is recorded in the file. ,he information recorded about each manager is the
managerDs name $which you see in the ,opology window% and the computer-le*el
address deri*ed from the address Iometer is using to tal" to that manager. ,his is not
necessarily the networ" address other managers are using to tal" to this manager $*ia
networ" wor"er pairs%.
1 9Manager I/9 is also sa*ed for each manager. ,his disambiguates managers with
the same name, with the same networ" address. ,his is )O, a uni?ue identifier at the
file scope. It is only uni?ue to managers with the same name and networ" address.
<hen restoring the manager/wor"er configuration, it may not be possible to e&actly
recreate the preser*ed state. +ee the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section
for details.
1,.5 Access &/ecification Assi+nments
If this option is selected, the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list from the 1ccess
+pecifications tab will be preser*ed in the file. ,his list can be different for each
wor"er, so separate 1ssigned access specifications information is sa*ed for each
<or"er.
<hen this list is sa*ed, only the names of the access specifications are recorded. If the
actual content of the access specifications should be preser*ed, the #lobal 1ccess
+pecification list chec"bo& should also be selected.
Only the names of the access specifications are stored because there are situations in
which you may wish to sa*e how the access specifications are assigned, but not
necessarily the content of the access specifications. +uppose, for e&ample, half of the
wor"ers should get access specification 7 and half should get access specification 3,
with nothing said in the sa*ed file about e&actly what those access specifications are.
+ee the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section for more details.
1,.6 Tar+et Assi+nments
If this option is selected, the assigned dis" and networ" targets for each wor"er will be
preser*ed in the file.
8or a dis" target, the only information stored is the name of the assigned dis".
8or a networ" target, the information stored is the name of the remote $target% networ"
adapter and the remote manager identification information, which consists of the
managers name, the networ" name used by Iometer to communicate with that
manager, and a disambiguating integer $see Managers and <or"ers section abo*e%.
It may not always be possible to recreate target assignments when a file is being
restored. +ee the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section for details.
15. #/en Test Confi+uration 0ile A
(eference

'ressing the Open ,est :onfiguration 8ile toolbar button brings up the Open ,est
:onfiguration 8ile dialog. In addition to the following, also see the Iometer
:onfiguration 8ile $.icf% section for further information.
15.1 Current &ettin+s
,he 9:urrent settings9 control group determines whether the restored settings replace,
or are merged with, the current settings.
+ee each settingDs descriptions $below% for information on how this 9Ceplace/Merge9
selection affects the loading of that setting.
15.2 &ettin+s to (estore
,he 9+ettings to restore9 control group allows you to choose which settings to restore
from a sa*ed file. If you select a setting to restore that is not present in the file being
opened, the selection is silently ignored. .&cept as noted below, if an error occurs
during the restore, the remainder of the configuration file will not be processed.
15.3 Test &etu/ Tab &ettin+s
If this option is selected, the state of the ,est +etup tab will be restored from the
configuration file.
15.3.1 (e/lace?8er+e
,he state of the replace/merge radio button has no effect on the ,est +etup settings.
1ll pre*ious settings will be lost.
15.% (esults Dis/la' Tab &ettin+s
If this option is selected, the state of the Cesults /isplay tab will be restored from the
configuration file.
,he performance bars on this tab can reflect the performance of specific managers and
wor"ers. If a bars specified manager cannot be found in the current Iometer setup, the
bar will be reset to monitor 1ll Managers. If a bars specified wor"er cannot be
found, an attempt will be made to find that wor"ers manager instead. If the manager
cannot be found, the bar will be reset to monitor 1ll Managers.
15.%.1 (e/lace?8er+e
,he state of the replace/merge radio button has no effect onthe Cesults /isplay
settings. 1ll pre*ious settings will be lost.
15.* Global Access &/ecifications -ist
If this option is selected, the sa*ed #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list will be restored
from the configuration file.
15.*.1 (e/lace?8er+e
If the replace radio button is selected, the current access specifications list and
wor"ers access specification assignments will be remo*ed before the sa*ed access
specifications are restored.
If the merge radio button is selected, the sa*ed access specifications will be added to
the current #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list. If an access specification in the
configuration file has the same name as an access specification that is already listed, it
will silently o*erwrite the old access specification.
15., 8ana+ers and Wor2ers
If this chec"bo& is not chec"ed, the two chec"bo&es below it cannot be chec"ed.
If this chec"bo& is selected, managers specified in the configuration file being opened
are matched to managers currently connected to Iometer $see Implementation /etails
below%, and the wor"er configurations for those managers are restored accordingly. If
a manager specified in the configuration file isnt logged into Iometer, it is placed on a
waiting list, and this dialog bo& appears.


Iometer e&amines each of the networ" addresses for the managers on the waiting list.
If the networ" address is local, Iometer starts a copy of /ynamo for that manager.
Iometer can start copies of Dynamo on the local machine only. Eou are responsible
for starting /ynamo on all other machines, specifying a command line parameter
indicating the computer name of the machine running Iometer. +ee 9+pecifying a
:omputer )ame9 below.
If a manager on the local machine has a nonstandard name $that is, a name other than
its hostname%, Iometer will use the /n switch to set the manager name as it starts
/ynamo. If a manager on a remote machine has a nonstandard name, you must use
the /n switch when you start it. +ee 9+pecifying a Manager )ame9 for more
information.
If you clic" 1bort, the dialog disappears and the file restore operation stops. 1n
automatic abort will occur after a number of seconds. ,he default for this timeout is 74
seconds, but another *alue can be specified on the command line. $+ee 9+pecifying a
,imeout Nalue9 below.%
1s managers log in, their entries are remo*ed from the waiting list. Once all managers
on the waiting list log in, the dialog disappears and the file restore operation continues.
15.,.1 (e/lace?8er+e
If the replace radio button is selected, all managers logged into Iometer but not
associated with managers in the configuration file for the restore operation are
disconnected from Iometer. 1ll wor"ers are remo*ed from the remaining managers,
including assigned targets and access specifications, and the wor"ers specified in the
configuration file are created. 1s described in 9Managers and <or"ers9, abo*e,
managers in the configuration file that are not currently logged in are created $if local%
or placed in a waiting list $if remote%.
If the merge radio button is selected, all managers remain connected and no wor"ers
are remo*ed. ,he wor"ers specified in the configuration file are added to the
managers wor"er lists. If a wor"er e&ists on a certain manager in both the current
Iometer setup and the configuration file, the two wor"ers are merged, including their
access specification assignments and target assignments. )o target will be selected
more than once. 1s described in 9Managers and <or"ers9, abo*e, managers in the
configuration file that are not currently logged in are created $if local% or placed in a
waiting list $if remote%.
15.,.2 Im/lementation Details
<hat follows is an e&planation of the rules used to match managers in a sa*ed file to
managers in the running copy of Iometer. It is necessary to read this only if you are
customizing the manager/wor"er configuration section of the file by hand and you need
to understand the meaning of the Manager I/ *alues specified in the file.
T(e geera$ ru$e: Managers can be restored only if the manager names UG(5V and
networ" addresses match. ,he networ" address, in this case, is the address Iometer
uses to tal" to /ynamo. $If the manager is running on a system with more than one
)I: or supporting more than one protocol, this may not be the same address as one that
is being used as a target by a networ" wor"er.%
If there is more than one manager with the same name, they are distinguished by
disambiguating Manager I/s. ,he first manager encountered with a gi*en name and
networ" address is assigned I/ 7, the second, I/ 3. $,here may be many managers
with the same I/, but the I/ will be uni?ue among managers of the same name.%
)etwor" wor"ers need these I/s to decide which manager to connect to in the e*ent
that there are se*eral with the same name.
1n error will be reported if there wasnt a connected /ynamo with the correct manager
name for e*ery entry in the configuration file.
T(e exceptio: If there is only one manager $/ynamo% connected to Iometer, and you
are restoring a file that contains only one manager, the settings for the sa*ed manager
are used to configure the single connected manager. ,he manager names and networ"
addresses do not ha*e to match.
15.5 Access &/ecification Assi+nments
,his chec"bo& corresponds to each wor"ers 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list in the
1ccess +pecifications tab.<hen the 1ssigned 1ccess +pecifications list is sa*ed, only
the names of the assigned access specifications are recorded. ,he information that
defines an access specification $transfer size, reply size, random/se?uential
distribution% is maintained only in the #lobal 1ccess +pecification list.
<hen restoring the access specification assignments, if a :lobal 1ccess +pecifications
list is a*ailable in the configuration file and is also being restored, wor"ers are assigned
the access specifications from the global list by name.
If the global list is not being restored at the same time as the access specification
assignments, the access specifications being assigned are assumed to be a*ailable
already in Iometers #lobal 1ccess +pecifications list. If, in this case, a specification
is named in a wor"ers access specification assignments section that doesnt already
e&ist in Iometers global access specifications list, an error will be reported and the
remainder of the file will continue to load.
+ee +a*e ,est :onfiguration 8ile M Ceference section for more information.
15.5.1 (e/lace?8er+e
+ee the Ceplace/Merge e&planation for Managers and <or"ers, abo*e.
15.6 Tar+et Assi+nments
,his chec"bo& corresponds to each wor"ers ,arget assignments subsection in the
configuration file.
If this option is selected, the assigned dis" and networ" targets for each wor"er will be
restored from the configuration file.
If a wor"er is being assigned a dis" target, the target in the sa*ed file must ha*e the
same name as the one Iometer displays in the ,argets list on the /is" ,argets tab. If
there is no dis" target by that name a*ailable to the wor"er, an error will be reported.
8our pieces of information are maintained about networ" targets! the target interface
$an I' or NI address%, the name of the manager that owns that interface, the networ"
address Iometer uses to tal" to that manager, and a disambiguating integer I/. $+ee
Managers and <or"ers abo*e for more information.% If the manager that owns the
specified networ" target cannot be found, an error is reported.
15.6.1 (e/lace?8er+e
+ee the Ceplace/Merge e&planation for Managers and <or"ers, abo*e.
16. Iometer Command -ine #/tions
16.1 Gettin+ Command -ine &'nta; Information
,o get synta& help, specify a ?uestion mar" on the command line used to start Iometer!
Iometer /?

16.2 &/ecif'in+ a Confi+uration 0ile
,o ha*e Iometer automatically open a configuration file at startup, specify the /c switch
and pro*ide the name of an Iometer configuration file. 8or e&ample!
iometer /c setup.icf
iometer /c "c:\This filename has spaces.icf"
"#T$=
If no configuration file parameter is specified, Iometer looks for an
iometer.icf file in the current directory. If this file is found, it restores it
automatically on startup. If this default configuration file is not found,
Iometer starts with its internal default values for all controls.
16.3 &/ecif'in+ a (esults 0ile
,o a*oid being prompted for a filename e*ery time you begin a test for which results
are to be recorded, specify the /r switch and pro*ide the name of a results file. If this
file e&ists, the new information is appended to the e&isting file. Otherwise, the file is
created. 8or e&ample!
iometer /r out.csv
iometer /r "c:\This filename has spaces.txt"
If no result file parameter is specified on the command line and the Cecord Cesults
option on the ,est +etup tab is set to record results, Iometer will prompt you for a
results filename e*ery time a test is started.
"#T$=
If you specify a results parameter on the Iometer command line and the
?ecord ?esults option on the %est 4etup tab is set to <one, Iometer
will ignore the setting and instead record all results (as if this option was set
to *ll).
16.% &/ecif'in+ a Timeout Balue
,o specify the amount of time the <aiting for Managers dialog will wait before
automatically aborting a configuration restore, specify the /t parameter and a number of
seconds the dialog should use as a countdown *alue. 8or e&ample
iometer /t 30
If no timeout parameter is specified, the timeout defaults to 74 seconds.!
16.* #mittin+ &itches
Eou may omit the command line switches if you prefer. Iometer assumes the first
parameter found is a configuration filename, the second $if one% is a results filename,
and the third $if one% is a timeout *alue. 8or e&ample!
iometer c:\iometer\bigtest.icf bigtest_results.csv 60
16., .atch 8ode
If both the configuration file and results file parameters are specified on the command
line, Iometer attempts to run in batch mode, in which it follows these steps!
<ait for necessary managers to log in. ,his will re?uire you to start managers
manually on any remote machines in*ol*ed in the testing. )ote that you may start
the managers before starting Iometer. Eou can control a multiple-machine test
from a batch file by using a third-party 9rsh9 ser*ice to start the remote /ynamos
before in*o"ing Iometer.
Cestore the specified Iometer configuration file $.icf%.
(egin testing.
+top each test when the specified run time $in ,est +etup tab% has elapsed.
<rite the results to the specified results file after each test completes.
:lose Iometer after the last test is complete.
Most error notifications are suppressed and are ?uietly appended to the result file.
2owe*er, if either the configuration file or the results file cannot be accessed, an error
message re?uiring user interaction will appear.
"#T$=
If the run time for a test is not set (is -ero), the testing phase will continue
indefinitely. .ake sure the configuration file you are restoring specifies a
non-ero run time in its %@4% 4@%&, section if you desire true batch
processing behavior. *ny interaction with the toolbar, including pressing
the A4topA or A4top *llA buttons, puts Iometer back in interactive mode.
8or e&ample!
iometer /c test.icf /r results.csv
iometer /r "test results.csv" /c test.icf
iometer /c iometer.icf /r results.csv /t 100
iometer iometer.icf results.csv /t 100
,he last 3 e&amples load the default .icf file $iometer.icf%, run the tests defined, sa*e
the results to 9results.cs*9, and e&it. Eou can load the default .icf file, run the tests in
interactive mode, and sa*e the results to 9results.cs*9, by not specifying the name of
the configuration file. $Cecall that to run Iometer in batch mode, both the
configuration filename and the results filename must be specified.% 8or e&ample!
iometer /r results.csv /t 30
17. D'namo Command -ine #/tions
17.1 Gettin+ Command -ine &'nta; Information
,o get synta& help, specify a ?uestion mar" on the command line used to start /ynamo.
Dynamo /?
17.2 &/ecif'in+ a Com/uter "ame
If you are e&ecuting /ynamo on a computer other than the one Iometer is running on,
you must specify the Iometer computer name. -se the /i switch followed by the name
of the computer running Iometer. 8or e&ample
dynamo /i xanadu
If you do not specify this parameter, /ynamo searches for Iometer on the local host
only.
17.3 &/ecif'in+ a 8ana+er "ame
Eou may specify the name of the /ynamo instance you are e&ecuting by using the /n
switch, followed by the desired name. 8or e&ample
dynamo /n genie
If you do not specify this parameter, /ynamo uses its hostname as the manager name.
17.% &/ecif'in+ a 8ana+er "etor2 "ame
Eou may specify the networ" name of the /ynamo instance you are e&ecuting by using
the /m switch, followed by the networ" name of the computer or its I' address. 8or
e&ample
dynamo /m 192.168.2.42
If you do not specify this parameter, /ynamo uses the I' address of the first networ"
interface card $)I:%.
17.* &/ecif'in+ e;cluded files'stem t'/es
8or the case, that you would li"e to e&clude different file systems from the de*ice
search $which later will be shown on the /is" ,argets tap of Iometer%, you can do this
with the /& switch. 8or e&ample
dynamo /x proc shm swap devpts nfs
'lease notice, that this switch is used for -)IK operating systems only. ,he default for
;inu& is proc shm swap de*pts and for +olaris we ha*e proc specfs config as a
default.
17., #mittin+ &itches
Eou may omit the command line switches if you prefer. /ynamo assumes the first
parameter found is a computer name, and the second $if one% is a manager name. ,he
third $if one% is the manager networ" name. 8or e&ample!
dynamo xanadu genie 192.168.2.42
,his loo"s for Iometer on machine 9&anadu9, then logs in using manager name 9genie9.
Iometer will use the I' address 7T3.7A@.3.>3 to address/communicate with the /ynamo
instance.
29. The Iometer Confi+uration 0ile C.icfD
1n Iometer :onfiguration 8ile $.icf% is a standard te&t file with rigid formatting rules.
If you intend to modify an .icf file using a te&t editor, care should be ta"en to preser*e
the formatting con*entions of the file.
+ome general guidelines follow!
On any line, leading and trailing whitespace $spaces and tab characters% is ignored.
:ase is ignored in comparisons, but preser*ed when appropriate.
/o not insert blan" lines in an .icf file.
<hen se*eral *alues are present on a single line $identifiers, integer *alues%, they
should be separated with commas and/or whitespace.
Identifiers that can contain special characters such as commas or spaces $test
description, manager/wor"er names, access specification names% are on lines by
themsel*es.
8ile sections $described below% can be in any order in the file.
;ines that begin with apostrophes are )O, ignored. ,hey are headers that
describe the format of the data.
20.1 Bersion
,he first and last lines in an .icf file are *ersion mar"ers. 1 *ersion mar"er loo"s li"e
this!
'Version yyyy.mm.dd
20.2 0ile &ections
1n .icf file has four sections!
,.+, +.,-'
C.+-;,+ /I+';1E
1::.++ +'.:I8I:1,IO)+
M1)1#.C ;I+,
.ach section of the file is identified in this way!
'4@+%I#< <*.@ ======================================
-ero or more lines of headers and data
'END section name
+ections may or may not be present in a file. If, when opening a file, you choose to
restore a section that isnt present in the file, no error is reported. $,he rationale is that
you should not ha*e to "now what is a*ailable in a gi*en file before choosing which
sections you would li"e to restore.%
20.3 .ac2ard Com/atibilit'
,his *ersion of Iometer can read sa*ed files generated by all pre*ious *ersions of
Iometer. .arlier *ersions of Iometer cannot read files generated by this *ersion. ,his
policy is not guaranteed to hold true in the future.
21. Confi+urin+ Windos "TE and
Windos 2999E to Collect "etor2
4erformance &tatistics
+ome of the networ" performance statistics are not collected by default and need to be
enabled. -ntil they are enabled, they will be reported as zero. ,o enable Iometer to
collect and report these statistics, perform the following steps.
21.1 To confi+ure Windos "TE=
7. 8rom the +tart menu, select +ettings, then launch the :ontrol 'anel.
3. <ithin the :ontrol 'anel, launch )etwor".
5. <ithin the )etwor" window, select the +er*ices tab.
>. +elect the +)M' +er*ice and press OG.
6. .nter the <indows ), >.4 installation :/ and press :ontinue.
A. -se the default settings and press OG for the Microsoft +)M' 'roperties.
H. :lose the )etwor" window.
@. Ceboot the system to ha*e the changes ta"e effect.
If Iometer still does not collect all of the networ" performance statistics, and you ha*e
installed an ), ser*ice pac", reinstalling the ser*ice pac" after performing these steps
should sol*e the problem.
21.2 To confi+ure Windos 2999E=
7. 8rom the +tart Menu, select +ettings, then )etwor" and /ial-up :onnections.
,his will display the )etwor" and /ial-up :onnections folder.
3. +elect the 1d*anced menu.
5. :hoose Optional )etwor"ing :omponents.
>. Install the Management and Monitoring ,ools component by selecting its chec"
bo& and pressing )e&t.
6. 8ollow the installation instructions.
22. Usin+ Iometer to &imulate a (eal
Wor2load
,o use Iometer to simulate the wor"load of a particular application or benchmar",
obser*e the application using the <indows ), 'erformance Monitor and then set
Iometers controls to appro&imate the applications wor"load.
In order to gather dis" performance statistics using 'erformance Monitor, you need to
prepare your system as follows!
Open the :ontrol 'anel.
Niew /e*ices.
+elect /is"perf.
:lic" on +tartup and set it to 1utomatic.
'ress OG, then :lose.
Ceboot for changes to ta"e effect.
Eou should also be aware that, due to a bug in 'erformance Monitor under <indows
), >.4, the *alues reported for the following ?uantities are doubled from the correct
*alue if you are accessing a physical dis" $'2E+I:1;/CIN.!n%!
1*g. /is" Xueue ;ength
/is" Ceads/sec
/is" Cead (ytes/sec
/is" ,ransfers/sec
/is" <rite (ytes/sec
/is" <rites/sec
/is" (ytes/sec
)ote that this bug does not affect Iometer. Iometer gathers these statistics directly
from /ynamo, not from 'erformance Monitor.
UG(7V:hec" for a line brea" here after accepting changes.
UG(3VI ha*e no idea how to describe what the 8IC+, wor"er is. I "now itDs the first wor"er
processed, but I donDt "now if thatDs the first wor"er created, or the first wor"er in the current
ordering of managers. I could find out by e&amining the code carefully, but I suspect the reader
doesnDt really care. I thin" all they need to "now is, this beha*ior is probably not what they
e&pect.
UG(5V/a*id wrote! 9 'erhaps add a cross-reference to the discussion of the /n switch and/or the
section that tells the user how to rename a manager in the ,opology panel $we did document that,
didnt weY%. Mention also that if a manager on the local machine with a nonstandard name needs
to be created, Iometer will create it with the specified name0 if a manager on a remote machine
with a nonstandard name needs to be created, you must use the /n switch when you run /ynamo
on that machine.9
,he preceding paragraph identifies this discussion as being necessary to read only if you are
customizing the config file 1)/ you need to understand the Manager I/ *alues in the file. If
that is an accurate description of the purpose of this section, then I donDt thin" the suggested
changes are rele*ant here. ,he discussion Bust 3 sections abo*e contains the suggested
information.