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Category: Source code

Accessing the WebXPRT 4 source code

If you’re new to the XPRTs, you may not be aware that we provide free access to XPRT benchmark source code. Publishing XPRT source code is part of our commitment to making the XPRT development process as transparent as possible. By allowing interested parties to access and review our source code, we’re encouraging openness and honesty in the benchmarking industry. We’re also inviting constructive feedback that can help ensure that the XPRTs continue to improve and contribute to a level playing field for all the types of products they measure.

While we do offer free access to the XPRT source code, we’ve decided to offer the code upon request instead of using a permanent download link. This approach prevents bots or other malicious actors from downloading the code. It also has the benefit of allowing us to interact with users who are interested in the source code and answer any questions they may have. We’re always keen to learn more about what others are thinking about the XPRTs and the types of work they measure.

We recently received some questions about accessing the WebXPRT 4 source code, which made us realize that we needed to make a clearer way for people to ask for the code. In response, we added a “Request WebXPRT 4 source code” link to the gray Helpful Info box on WebXPRT.com (see it in the screenshot below). Clicking the link will allow you to email the BenchmarkXPRT Support team directly and request the code.

After we receive your request, we’ll send you a secure link to the current WebXPRT 4 build package. For those users who wish to set up a local instance of WebXPRT 4 for their own internal testbeds, the package will contain all the necessary files and installation instructions. We allow folks to set up their own instances for purposes of review, internal testing, or experimentation, but we ask that users publish only test results from the official WebXPRT 4 site.

While we offer free access to XPRT source code, our approach to derivative works differs from some traditional open-source models that encourage developers to change products and even take them in different directions. Because benchmarking requires a product that remains static to enable valid comparisons over time, we allow people to download the source, but we reserve the right to control derivative works. This discourages a situation where someone publishes an unauthorized version of the benchmark and calls it an “XPRT.”

If you have any questions about accessing the WebXPRT 4 source code, let us know!

Justin

Accessing XPRT source code

We recently received a question from member of the tech press about whether we would be willing to supply them with the WebXPRT 4 source code, along with instructions for how to set up a local instance of the benchmark for their internal testbed. We were happy to help, and they are now able to automate WebXPRT 4 runs within their own isolated network.

If you’re a new XPRT tester, you may not be aware that we provide free access to the source code for each of the XPRT benchmarks. Publishing XPRT source code is part of our commitment to making the XPRT development process as transparent as possible. By allowing all interested parties to access and review our source code, we’re encouraging openness and honesty in the benchmarking industry and are inviting the kind of constructive feedback that helps to ensure that the XPRTs continue to contribute to a level playing field.

While XPRT source code is available to the public, our approach to derivative works differs from some open-source models. Traditional open-source models encourage developers to change products and even take them in different directions. Because benchmarking requires a product that remains static to enable valid comparisons over time, we allow people to download the source, but we reserve the right to control derivative works. This discourages a situation where someone publishes an unauthorized version of the benchmark and calls it an “XPRT.”

Accessing XPRT source code is a straightforward process. The source code for CloudXPRT is freely available in our CloudXPRT GitHub repository. If you’d like to download and review the source code for WebXPRT 4 or any of the other XPRTs, or get instructions for how to build one of the benchmarks, all you need to do is contact us at benchmarkxprtsupport@principledtechnologies.com. Your feedback is valuable!

Justin

The ongoing evolution of the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community

This November will mark the tenth anniversary of the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community, which we originally called the HDXPRT Development Community. Since the early days of HDXPRT, our community has grown to include about 275 members from over 85 companies and organizations, and we’ve added seven benchmarks to the XPRT family. We initially mailed HDXPRT DVDs to testers interested in a new way to evaluate PC performance, and now thousands of users around the world download our benchmarks and rely on them to help measure the performance of everything from tablets to laptops to high-end datacenter hardware.

As the XPRTs continue to grow and evolve, we’ve worked to make sure that the resources that we offer—and the ways we offer them—continue to meet the needs of XPRT testers and community members. As we expand in the AI and datacenter spaces with AIXPRT and CloudXPRT, our user group is becoming larger and more diverse than ever. We have already made some changes to better serve this expanding group, and will be making additional changes over the months ahead.

The first set of changes relate to our community membership model. Originally, membership in the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community required a $20 fee and provided access to preview versions of new benchmarks, the ability to submit ideas for future benchmarks, and regular updates through our monthly newsletter and community announcements. To remove the financial obstacle to joining, we introduced a fee waiver process a few years ago.

Also, we know that some OEM employees and members of the tech press are interested in the XPRTs, but are unable to join the community for one reason or another. With these people in mind, we recently experimented with making the CloudXPRT Preview publicly available. Releasing preview builds to all who are interested makes it more likely that users will incorporate the XPRTs into their test suites, and we have decided to adopt this practice for other benchmarks going forward.

In the coming months, we’ll be updating parts of our website to increase access to XPRT content. For example, certain content such as source code for most of the XPRTs is currently available only to members. We plan to remove the login requirement for access to this material.

Please keep in mind that membership in the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community continues to offer exclusive opportunities. Members can join groups such as the CloudXPRT Results Review Group and offer direct input into the design of future benchmarks. Members also receive our monthly newsletters.

If you have any questions about the XPRTs or community membership, please feel free to ask!

Justin

Now available: An updated CloudXPRT Preview build and source code

Today, we published an updated CloudXPRT Preview build (v0.97), along with the build’s source code. The new build fixes a few minor bugs, and makes several improvements to help facilitate installation, setup, and testing. The fixes do not affect CloudXPRT test results, so results from the new build are comparable to results from the original build (v0.95). You can find more detailed information about the changes in last week’s blog.

The CloudXPRT Preview v0.97 source code is available to the public via the CloudXPRT GitHub repository. As we’ve discussed in the past, publishing XPRT source code is part of our commitment to making the XPRT development process as transparent as possible. By allowing all interested parties to download and review our source code, we’re encouraging openness and honesty in the benchmarking industry and are inviting the kind of constructive feedback that helps to ensure that the XPRTs continue to contribute to a level playing field.

While the CloudXPRT source code is available to the public, our approach to derivative works differs from some open-source models. Traditional open-source models encourage developers to change products and even take them in different directions. Because benchmarking requires a product that remains static to enable valid comparisons over time, we allow people to download the source, but we reserve the right to control derivative works. This discourages a situation where someone publishes an unauthorized version of the benchmark and calls it an “XPRT.”

We encourage you to download and review the source and send us any feedback you have. Your questions and suggestions may influence future versions of CloudXPRT.

If you have any questions about CloudXPRT or the source code, please let us know!

Justin

The CloudXPRT Preview is here!

The CloudXPRT Preview installation packages are now available on CloudXPRT.com and the BenchmarkXPRT GitHub repository! The CloudXPRT Preview includes two workloads: web microservices and data analytics (you can find more details about the workloads here). Testers can use metrics from the workloads to compare IaaS stack (both hardware and software) performance and to evaluate whether any given stack is capable of meeting SLA thresholds. You can configure CloudXPRT to run on local datacenter, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure deployments.

Several different test packages are available for download from the CloudXPRT download page. For detailed installation instructions and hardware and software requirements for each, click the package’s readme link. The Helpful Info box on CloudXPRT.com also contains resources such as links to the CloudXPRT master readme and the CloudXPRT GitHub repository. Soon, we will add a link to the CloudXPRT Preview source code, which will be freely available for testers to download and review.

All interested parties may now publish CloudXPRT results. However, until we begin the formal results submission and review process in July, we will publish only results we produce in our own lab. We anticipate adding the first set of those within the coming week.

We’re thankful for all the input we received during the initial CloudXPRT development process, and we welcome feedback on the CloudXPRT Preview. If you have any questions about CloudXPRT, or would like to share your comments and suggestions, please let us know.

Justin

The CloudXPRT Preview is almost here

We’re happy to announce that we’re planning to release the CloudXPRT Preview next week! After we take the CloudXPRT Preview installation and source code packages live, they will be freely available to the public via CloudXPRT.com and the BenchmarkXPRT GitHub repository. All interested parties will be able to publish CloudXPRT results. However, until we begin the formal results submission and review process in July, we will publish only results we produce in our own lab. We’ll share more information about that process and the corresponding dates here in the blog in the coming weeks.

We do have one change to report regarding the CloudXPRT workloads we announced in a previous blog post. The Preview will include the web microservices and data analytics workloads (described below), but will not include the AI-themed container scaling workload. We hope to add that workload to the CloudXPRT suite in the near future, and are still conducting testing to make sure we get it right.

If you missed the earlier workload-related post, here are the details about the two workloads that will be in the preview build:

  • In the web microservices workload, a simulated user logs in to a web application that does three things: provides a selection of stock options, performs Monte-Carlo simulations with those stocks, and presents the user with options that may be of interest. The workload reports performance in transactions per second, which testers can use to directly compare IaaS stacks and to evaluate whether any given stack is capable of meeting service-level agreement (SLA) thresholds.
  • The data analytics workload calculates XGBoost model training time. XGBoost is a gradient-boosting framework  that data scientists often use for ML-based regression and classification problems. The purpose of the workload in the context of CloudXPRT is to evaluate how well an IaaS stack enables XGBoost to speed and optimize model training. The workload reports latency and throughput rates. As with the web-tier microservices workload, testers can use this workload’s metrics to compare IaaS stack performance and to evaluate whether any given stack is capable of meeting SLA thresholds.

The CloudXPRT Preview provides OEMs, the tech press, vendors, and other testers with an opportunity to work with CloudXPRT directly and shape the future of the benchmark with their feedback. We hope that testers will take this opportunity to explore the tool and send us their thoughts on its structure, workload concepts and execution, ease of use, and documentation. That feedback will help us improve the relevance and accessibility of CloudXPRT testing and results for years to come.

If you have any questions about the upcoming CloudXPRT Preview, please feel free to contact us.

Justin

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