The development and implementation of a performance database server

The process of gathering, archiving, and distributing computer benchmark data is a cumbersome task usually performed by computer users and vendors with little coordination. Most importantly, there is no publicly-available central depository of performance data for all ranges of machines: supercomputers to personal computers. We present an Internet-accessible performance database server (PDS) which can be used to extract current benchmark data and literature. As an extension to the X- Windows-based user interface (Xnetlib) to the Netlib archival system, PDS provides an on-line catalog of public-domain computer benchmarks such as the Linpack Bench- mark, Perfect Benchmarks, and the Genesis benchmarks. PDS does not reformat or present the benchmark data in any way which conflicts with the original methodology of any particular benchmark, and is thereby devoid of any subjective interpretations of machine performance. We feel that all branches (academic and industrial) of the general computing community can use this facility to archive performance metrics and make them readily available to the public. PDS can provide a more manageable approach to the development and support of a large dynamic database of published performance metrics.