New World Record SPECpower_ssj2008 Benchmark Result for 4-Socket (7-node) ThinkSystem SN850

Lenovo has published leadership 4-socket (7-node) performance results for the SPECpower_ssj 2008 benchmark. The SPECpower_ssj 2008 benchmark is the first industry-standard benchmark that evaluates the power and performance characteristics of single server and multi-node servers.

Figure 1. Lenovo ThinkSystem SN850 blade server

Lenovo ThinkSystem SN850 delivered the following SPECpower_ssj 2008 4-socket (7-node) world record performance result, as of September 27, 2018:

• SPECpower_ssj2008 = 11,538 overall ssj_ops/watt

Each SN850 server node was configured as follows:

• Four Intel Xeon Platinum 8176 Processors (28 cores, 2.10 GHz, 38.5 MB L3 Cache)
• 384 GB of TruDDR4 memory.
• One 32GB M.2 SSD
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition using the Oracle Java HotSpot 64-Bit Server VM (JVM).

This benchmark result, published September 27, 2018, can be found at:
https://www.spec.org/power_ssj2008/results/res2018q3/power_ssj2008-20180828-00852.html

Results referenced are current as of November 16, 2018. To view all SPECpower_ssj 2008 results, see the following page:
https://www.spec.org/power_ssj2008/results/power_ssj2008.html

The Lenovo ThinkSystem SN850 is a high-performance server that offers enhanced security, efficiency, and reliability features to handle business-critical workloads. The blade server incorporates up to four Intel Xeon Processor Scalable Family of processors. The processors feature up to 28 cores each and use Lenovo TruDDR4 memory, which runs at speeds up to 2666 MHz.

Figure 2. The Flex System Enterprise Chassis houses up to seven SN850 compute nodes

The SN850 offers the following features to boost performance, improve scalability, save energy.

Scalability and performance:

• Up to seven SN850 servers can be installed in a single Flex System Enterprise chassis.
• Improves productivity by offering superior system performance with up to 28-core processors, 38.5 MB of L3 cache, up to three 10.4 GT/s Ultra Path Interconnect links and a Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of up to 165W.
• Each processor has six memory channels with two DIMMs per channel running at up to 2666 MHz.
• Optional support for high-performance PCIe-attached NVMe Flash Storage solid-state drives (SSDs) can significantly improve I/O performance.
• Support for 25/50 Gb Ethernet, 16 Gb Fibre Channel, and FDR InfiniBand.

Energy efficiency:

• The component-sharing design of the Flex System chassis provides ultimate power and cooling savings.
• The Intel Xeon Processor Scalable Family of processors offer significantly better performance than previous generations of processors, while fitting into the same TDP limits.
• Intel Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed, which reduces power draw.
• Solid state drives (SSDs) use as much as 80% less power than traditional spinning 2.5-inch HDDs.
• The SN850 uses hexagonal ventilation holes, which can be grouped more densely than round holes providing more efficient airflow through the system.

For more product features and information, please see the Lenovo Press product guide:
https://lenovopress.com/lp0638-thinksystem-sn850-server

The SPEC Power benchmark suite measures the power and performance characteristics of server-class computer equipment. It is used to compare power and performance among different servers and serves as a toolset for use in improving server efficiency. This benchmark is targeted for use by hardware vendors, IT industry, computer manufacturers, and governments.

To learn more about power-efficient solutions for compute-intensive applications, please contact your Lenovo Sales Representative.

To find out more about SPEC, visit https://www.spec.org

To learn more about the Lenovo ThinkSystem SN850 server, visit the SN850 product web page.