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Transaction Processing Performance Council Announces First Results for its TPC-Energy Specification

July 11, 2010 by Jeff Shepard

The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) announced the first results for its TPC-Energy specification. Hewlett-Packard Company has published TPC-Energy results on all three TPC benchmarks: TPC-E, which simulates the online transaction processing (OLTP) workload of a brokerage firm; TPC-C, which simulates the OLTP order-entry workload; and TPC-H, which simulates a decision support workload. Each of these benchmark publications also includes the optional Watts per performance metrics.

TPC benchmark publications, including TPC-Energy results, are designed to enable buyers to compare the energy efficiency, price and performance of different hardware architectures. The requirement to reduce energy costs has become a significant challenge for many IT organizations, and by referencing TPC-Energy results, data center managers are able to identify efficient equipment that meets their computational and financial requirements.

Data center managers are under increasing pressure to identify best-fit hardware for their specific environments based on price, performance and energy consumption" said Karl Huppler, Chairman of the TPC. "With the addition of the TPC-Energy specification, direct comparison of all three factors across different hardware platforms is possible. HP is the first company to submit results, but we anticipate more publishes as customers begin to require this information to help them in their purchase decisions."

HP’s results are currently posted on the Top Ten energy/performance systems for each benchmark on the TPC website. The Top Ten list will be updated regularly as additional results are reported.

"These HP TPC-Energy results mark the beginning of the TPC’s comprehensive approach to benchmarking transactional systems, where energy consumption versus performance is a key component in an ever-changing industry," said Mike Nikolaiev, Chairman of the TPC-Energy committee. "This new specification is poised to become an essential tool for IT managers to compare and select technologies, and for IT vendors to better compete for the best performing, as well as the most energy efficient products."

Approved in December 2009, TPC-Energy is the latest specification published by the TPC. Current benchmark standards under development include TPC-ETL (extract/transform/load) and TPC-Virtualization. The TPC is also soliciting feedback from industry experts on the next major revision of the TPC-H benchmark. Organizations interested in participating in future benchmark developments are encouraged to join the TPC.