lmbench: portable tools for performance analysis

Abstract

lmbench is a micro-benchmark suite designed to
\nfocus attention on the basic building blocks of many
\ncommon system applications, such as databases, simulations,
\nsoftware development, and networking. In
\nalmost all cases, the individual tests are the result of
\nanalysis and isolation of a customer’s actual performance
\nproblem. These tools can be, and currently are,
\nused to compare different system implementations
\nfrom different vendors. In several cases, the benchmarks
\nhave uncovered previously unknown bugs and
\ndesign flaws. The results have shown a strong correlation
\nbetween memory system performance and overall
\nperformance. lmbench includes an extensible
\ndatabase of results from systems current as of late
\n1995.