Institutionen för Systemteknik Department of Electrical Engineering Examensarbete Upgrading and Performance Analysis of Thin Clients in Server Based Scientific Computing Master Thesis in ISY Communication System By Rizwan Azhar LiTH-ISY-EX - - 11/4388 - - SE Linköping 2011 Department of Electrical Engineering Linköpings Tekniska Högskola Linköpings universitet Linköpings universitet SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden 581 83 Linköping, Sweden Upgrading and Performance Analysis of Thin Clients in Server Based Scientific Computing Master Thesis in ISY Communication System at Linköping Institute of Technology By Rizwan Azhar LiTH-ISY-EX - - 11/4388 - - SE Examiner: Dr. Lasse Alfredsson Advisor: Dr. Alexandr Malusek Supervisor: Dr. Peter Lundberg Presentation Date Department and Division 04-02-2011 Department of Electrical Engineering Publishing Date (Electronic version) Language Type of Publication ISBN (Licentiate thesis) X English Licentiate thesis ISRN: Other (specify below) X Degree thesis LiTH-ISY-EX - - 11/4388 - - SE Thesis C-level Thesis D-level Title of series (Licentiate thesis) 55 Report Number of Pages Other (specify below) Series number/ISSN (Licentiate thesis) URL, Electronic Version http://www.ep.liu.se Publication Title Upgrading and Performance Analysis of Thin Clients in Server Based Scientific Computing Author Rizwan Azhar Abstract Server Based Computing (SBC) technology allows applications to be deployed, managed, supported and executed on the server and not on the client; only the screen information is transmitted between the server and client. This architecture solves many fundamental problems with application deployment, technical support, data storage, hardware and software upgrades. This thesis is targeted at upgrading and evaluating performance of thin clients in scientific Server Based Computing (SBC). Performance of Linux based SBC was assessed via methods of both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative method used benchmarks that measured typical-load performance with SAR and graphics performance with X11perf, Xbench and SPECviewperf. Structured interview, a qualitative research method, was adopted in which the number of open- ended questions in specific order was presented to users in order to estimate user-perceived performance. The first performance bottleneck identified was the CPU speed. The second performance bottleneck, with respect to graphics intensive applications, includes the network latency of the X11 protocol and the subsequent performance of old thin clients. An upgrade of both the computational server and thin clients was suggested. The evaluation after the upgrade involved performance analysis via quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the new configuration had improved the performance. Keywords SBC, Performance analysis, Xbench, X11perf, SPECviewperf, Upphovsrätt Detta dokument hålls tillgängligt på Internet – eller dess framtida ersättare – under 25 år från publiceringsdatum under förutsättning att inga extraordinära omständigheter uppstår. Tillgång till dokumentet innebär tillstånd för var och en att läsa, ladda ner, skriva ut enstaka kopior för enskilt bruk och att använda det oförändrat för ickekommersiell forskning och för undervisning. Överföring av upphovsrätten vid en senare tidpunkt kan inte upphäva detta tillstånd. All annan användning av dokumentet kräver upphovsmannens medgivande. För att garantera äktheten, säkerheten och tillgängligheten finns lösningar av teknisk och administrativ art. Upphovsmannens ideella rätt innefattar rätt att bli nämnd som upphovsman i den omfattning som god sed kräver vid användning av dokumentet på ovan beskrivna sätt samt skydd mot att dokumentet ändras eller presenteras i sådan form eller i sådant sammanhang som är kränkande för upphovsmannens litterära eller konstnärliga anseende eller egenart. För ytterligare information om Linköping University Electronic Press se förlagets hemsida http://www.ep.liu.se/. Copyright The publishers will keep this document online on the Internet – or its possible replacement – for a period of 25 years starting from the date of publication barring exceptional circumstances. The online availability of the document implies permanent permission for anyone to read, to download, or to print out single copies for his/her own use and to use it unchanged for non- commercial research and educational purposes. Subsequent transfers of copyright cannot revoke this permission. All other uses of the document are conditional upon the consent of the copyright owner. The publisher has taken technical and administrative measures to assure authenticity, security and accessibility. According to intellectual property law the author has the right to be mentioned when his/her work is accessed as described above and to be protected against infringement. For additional information about Linköping University Electronic Press and its procedures for publication and for assurance of document integrity, please refer to its www home page: http://www.ep.liu.se/. © Rizwan Azhar Abstract Server Based Computing (SBC) technology allows applications to be deployed, managed, supported and executed on the server and not on the client; only the screen information is transmitted between the server and client. This architecture solves many fundamental problems with application deployment, technical support, data storage, hardware and software upgrades. This thesis is targeted at upgrading and evaluating performance of thin clients in scientific Server Based Computing (SBC). Performance of Linux based SBC was assessed via methods of both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative method used benchmarks that measured typical-load performance with SAR and graphics performance with X11perf, Xbench and SPECviewperf. Structured interview, a qualitative research method, was adopted in which the number of open-ended questions in specific order was presented to users in order to estimate user-perceived performance. The first performance bottleneck identified was the CPU speed. The second performance bottleneck, with respect to graphics intensive applications, includes the network latency of the X11 protocol and the subsequent performance of old thin clients. An upgrade of both the computational server and thin clients was suggested. The evaluation after the upgrade involved performance analysis via quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the new configuration had improved the performance. Acknowledgement In the beginning, unlimited thank to Almighty ALLAH, THE most Merciful and Beneficent, without Whom I would not be able to complete this thesis. I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Alexandr Malusek, for his guidance and magnificent technical support. Many thanks for his availability even on weekends and for his effort to make this thesis more interesting. In addition, I also want to thank Dr. Peter Lundberg for providing this opportunity in a very professional and competitive environment. Also, I would like to thank my examiner Dr. Lasse Alfredsson, who explained to me the skills of technical writing. I also like to thank Mr. Shehryar Khan for proof reading of the thesis report. Last but not the least, tremendous gratitude to my parents for the support, love and prayers. I dedicate this thesis to my parents, especially the daily motivation that I have received via Skype, without which I would not be able to complete this thesis. Acronyms API Application Programmable Interface DDI Device Driver Interface DNS Domain Name System DRI Direct Rendering Infrastructure DXPC Differential X Protocol Compressor GDI Graphics Device Interface GUI Graphical User Interface GNOME GNU Network Object Model Environment ICA Independent Computing Architecture IceWM Ice Window Manager IOSTAT Input Output Statistics IPC Inter Process Communication ISAG Interactive System Activity Grapher KDE K Desktop Environment NFS Network File System NIS Network Information Service NTC-O New Thin Client with original software NTC-T New Thin Client with ThinLinc Software OpenGL Open Graphics Library OTC-O Old Thin Client with original software RDP Remote Desktop Protocol RFB Request Frame Buffer SAR System Activity Report SBC Server based Computing SPEC Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation SSH Secure Shell TCC Thin Client Computing TCP Transport Communication Protocol TLCOS ThinLinc Client Operating System VNC Virtual Network Computing VMSTAT Virtual Memory Statistics XCB X Protocol C Language Binding XDMCP X Display Manager Control Protocol Table of contents Chapter1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction…….…………………………………………………………………………..1 1.2 Aims………………………………………………………………………………………..2 1.3 Layout……………………………………………………………………………………...3 Chapter2: Background 2.1 Introduction..…………………………………………………………………………….....5 2.2 Advantages of SCB…………………………………………………………………...........6 Manageability……………………………………………………………......................6 Security………………………………………………………………………...............7 Scalability……………………………………………………………………...............7 Availability……………………………………………………….................................7 Cost reduction.................................…………...............................................................7 2.3 SBC Implementation……………………………………………………………………….7 2.3.1 Hardware Implementation………………………………………………………..7 Thin client..………………………………………………………………………7 Workstation ………………………………………………..................................7 2.3.2 Software Implementation………………………………………………………...8 RDP……………………………………………………………………...............8 ICA………………………………………………………………………………9