Computer Performance Evaluation Users Group

I ICOMPUTER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: COMPUTER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USERS GROUP CPEUG 16th Meeting »' >' c. NBS Special Publication 500-65 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 500-65 National Bureau of Standards NATIONAL BOmm OF SlAMOAl^DS The National Bureau of Standards' was eiiaDlished by an act o!' Congress on March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts research and provides: (!) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services lor industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau's technical work is per- formed by the National Measurement Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory, and the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology. THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT LABORATORY provides the national system of physical and chemical and materials measurement; coordinates the system with measurement systems of other nations and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical and chemical measurement throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce; conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides advisory and research services to other Government agencies; develops, produces, and distributes Standard Reference Materials; and provides calibration services. The Laboratory consists of the foilownig centers: Absolute Physical Quantities' -- Radiation Research — Thermodynamics and Molecular Science — Analytical Chemistry — Materials Science. THE NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY provides technology and technical services to the public and private sectors to address national needs and to solve national problems; conducts research in engineering and applied science in support of these efforts; builds and maintains competence in the necessary disciplines required to carry out this research and technical service; develops engineering data and measurement capabilities; provides engineering measurement traceability services; develops test methods and proposes engineering standards and code changes; develops and proposes new engineering practices; and develops and improves mechanisms to transfer results of its research to the ultimate user. The Laboratory consists of the following centers: Applied Mathematics — Electronics and Electrical Engineering^ — Mechanical Engineering and Process Technology- — Building Technology — Fire Research — Consumer Product Technology — Field Methods. THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides scientific and technical services to aid Federal agencies in the selection, acquisition, application, and use of computer technology to improve effectiveness and economy in Government operations in accordance with Public Law 89-306 (40 U.S.C. 759), relevant Executive Orders, and other directives; carries out this mission by managing the Federal Information Processing Standards Program, developing Federal ADP standards guidelines, and managing Federal participation in ADP voluntary standardization activiiiti: provides scientific and technological advisory services and assistance to Federal agencies, and provides the technical foundation for computer-related policies of the Federal Governmeni. The Institute consists of the following centers: Programming Science and Technology — Computer Systems Engineering. 'Headc|uarters and Laboratories at Gailhersbufg, M D, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Washington, DC 20234. Some divisions within the center are located at Boulder, CO 80303. ATIOMAL HUaCAU 09 nAKI>Ami>B COMPUTER SCIENCE b TECHNOLOGY: UBBAAT OCT 1 0 1980 Computer Performance Evaluation Users Group (CPEUG) Proceedings of the Sixteenth Meeting Held at Orlando, Florida October 20-23, 1980 Editor: Dr. Harold Joseph Highland Conference Host: Navy Data Automation Facility Naval Training Center Orlando, FL 32813 Sponsored by Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology National Bureau of Standards Washington, DC 20234 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Philip M. Klutznick, Secretary Luther H. Hodges, Jr., Deputy Secretary Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Productivity, Technology and Innovation ^- NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Director Issued October 1980 Reports on Computer Science and Technology The National Bureau of Standards has a special responsibility within the Federal Government for computer science and technology activities. The programs of the NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology are designed to provide ADP standards, guidelines, and technical advisory services to improve the effectiveness of computer utilization in the Federal sector, and to perform appropriate research and development efforts as foundation for such activities and programs. This publication series will report these NBS efforts to the Federal computer community as well as to interested specialists in the academic and private sectors. Those wishing to receive notices of publications in the series should complete and return the form at the end of this publication. National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 500-65 Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec, Publ. 500-65, 316 pages(Oct. 1980) CODEN. XNBSAV Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-600155 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON; 1980 by the Superintendent of Documents. U.S. Government Printing Office. Washington. D.C. 20402 FOREWORD In view of the theme of CPEUG 80 — CPE Trends in the 80 's — it seems appropriate to reflect upon changes observed and progress made during the 70 's as a guide to what we may expect in the next decade. As the 70 's began, the trend of spectacular growth in the number of large-scale computer systems was ending. The computer community began looking toward more efficient use of existing systems in lieu of the seemingly endless proliferation of large-scale systems that had characterized the late 60' s. Economic recession in the private sector and the impact of the Brooks Act in the Federal community were prime factors contributing to this change. As a result, increased emphasis was placed on (then) new techniques such as hardware and software monitoring that have since become standard computer performance evaluation tools. Benchmarking became a viable method to test different vendors' systems during procurement of new systems. System simulation and analytical modeling found new applications in computer performance prediction. Throughout the 70's, these techniques were refined and enhanced, new concepts were introduced, and new terminology adopted — system tuning, installation management, remote terminal emulation, system sizing, the ADP life cycle, capacity planning all became parts of the computer performance jargon of the 70 's. The need for a forum to promote the exchange of ideas and information in this newly developing discipline was fulfilled with the foundation of CPEUG by the United States Air Force in 1971. Later, sponsorship of CPEUG shifted to the National Bureau of Standards because of its responsibilities to explore the applicability of standards to computer performance. CPEUG quickly became the major annual event for those interested in the efficient use of computers within the Federal establishment. As CPEUG grew, its audience diversified so that in recent years roughly half of CPEUG meeting attendees were employees of the Federal Government. The remainder represented companies, universities, and consulting firms who either had an interest in the Federal ADP usage or who merely wanted to keep abreast of the state-of-the-art of CPE. ili . Throughout the 70's, CPEUG programs addressed techniques and issues that were in the forefront of CPE activity. Thus, in the early 70' s, CPEUG concentrated on topics related primarily to hardware performance. However, as the uses of computers became more sophisticated and CPE matured as a technical discipline, CPEUG programs became more diversified — computer networks, distributed processing, data base management, computer security, and user satisfaction are topics that have been introduced to the CPEUG program within the past two years and are prominent topics for CPEUG 80. We hope that by emphasizing new CPE topics in the CPEUG 80 program, we may stimulate discussion that will help us all try to visualize the state of CPE (and CPEUG) ten years hence. We welcome all of you to CPEUG 80 and hope your experience here will be one that is remembered throughout the 80' s My sincere thanks go to the many people whose efforts have brought you this fine conference, especially those who have dedicated their time, talent, and effort to serve on the CPEUG 80 Committee. Their names appear elsewhere in these proceedings. In addition, I would like to thank Carole Zerr for her continued excellent assistance. Dr. James E. Weatherbee CPEUG Conference Chairman October 1980 iv Preface Last year's Conference theme, "The Expanding Scope of CPE," focused attention upon the roles of CPE in a rapidly expanding and changing technology. This year's theme, "CPE Trends in the 80's," builds upon last year's Conference by emphasizing new roles for the CPE practitioner. Several new and interesting techniques in the traditional CPE areas are presented. In addition, some relatively new areas and

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