The IBM RS/6000 Model C10 PowerPC is based on the 80-MHz PowerPC 601 processor. The 601 features a 32-KB data/instruction Level 1 cache and a 64-bit bus. Although it functions nicely as an Internet file server, the Model C10 is marketed as a commercial server.
The Model C10's mini-tower chassis provides two bays for hard drives, two bays for CD-ROM or various tape devices, and four Micro Channel slots for communications and graphics devices. Our test system was configured with 64 MB of RAM and two 1-GB SCSI hard drives. The system accommodates up to 256 MB of RAM and 292 GB of hard drive storage using disk arrays and expansion units. An integrated SCSI-2 controller delivers a data transfer rate of up to 20 Mbps and accommodates up to four internal and two external SCSI devi
ces. Additional standard features on the system include a CD-ROM drive and a Token Ring or Ethernet network adapter.
To enable us to test the Model C10 as an Internet server, IBM installed its proprietary AIX 4.1.1 OS on our evaluation unit (see "Unix with No Excuses" for a review of AIX). IBM also provided HTTP server software, but we compiled a publicly available WAIS server.
The Model C10
performed impressively
on NSTL's Internet-server benchmarks. For any particular number of attached clients, the Model C10 was capable of processing more transactions per minute than a comparable Alpha or Intel platform. Unfortunately, we could not fully review the Model C10 because it failed to run our HTTP and WAIS benchmarks when we moved from 16 to 32 simultaneous Windows NT test clients. The figure "Internet-Server Performance" shows the tpm results. Up to its saturation point, the Model C10 displays a high level of responsiveness.
We believe the Model C10's failures ar
e due to the server becoming saturated. Technical personnel at IBM agreed that we reached a reasonable level of performance, but they suggested that, with finer resource tuning, higher levels of performance -- and a higher saturation point -- are attainable.
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Our Internet-server benchmarks stress the systems' CPU, disk-handling capabilities, and network compatibility. Higher numbers indicate better performance.
IBM C10 Reaches The Saturation Point
