AIM Multiuser Benchmark
A job throughput benchmark for UNIX systems, measuring tasks versus jobs per minute.
The AIM Multiuser Benchmark, also referred to as the AIM Benchmark Suite VII or AIM7, is a job throughput benchmark commonly employed by vendors of UNIX computer systems. For performance analysis, current research operating systems like K42 use a variant called reaim. The AIM7 benchmark evaluates some of the same system aspects as the SDET benchmark. Its original code was created by Gene Dronek for AIM Technology, Inc., which then licensed it to others. The initial AIM Benchmarks targeted single-user PCs, but the suite was later expanded and improved into a multiuser benchmark by Donald Steiny. Caldera International, Inc. acquired the license and released the source code for Suite VII and Suite IX under the GPL. AIM7 is a C program that spawns numerous processes, known as tasks, each of which runs a random sequence of subtests called jobs concurrently. There are 53 distinct job types, each exercising a different operating system feature, including disk-file operations, process creation, user virtual memory operations, pipe I/O, and compute-bound arithmetic loops. A benchmark run consists of a series of subruns, with the number of tasks increasing by one between each subrun. Each subrun continues until every task has finished its set of jobs, reporting a metric of jobs completed per minute. The final output is a table showing this throughput metric against the number of tasks. A system reaches a peak number of tasks N at which jobs per minute is maximized; either N or the jobs-per-minute value at N is typically used as the key performance metric.
- Also known as
- AIM Benchmark Suite VII, AIM7
- Number of job types
- 53
- Programming language
- C
- Original developer
- Gene Dronek
- Original company
- AIM Technology, Inc.
- Expanded by
- Donald Steiny
- License holder releasing source
- Caldera International, Inc.
- License
- GPL
Lore & Background
The original code for the AIM Multiuser Benchmark was developed by Gene Dronek for AIM Technology, Inc., who licensed it to others. The first AIM Benchmarks were for single user PCs, and the suite was later expanded and enhanced to become multi-user benchmarks by Donald Steiny. Caldera International, Inc. bought the license and released the source code for Suite VII and Suite IX under the GPL.
AIM7 is a program written in C that forks many processes called tasks, each of which concurrently runs in random order a set of subtests called jobs. There are 53 kinds of jobs, each exercising a different aspect of the operating system, such as disk-file operations, process creation, user virtual memory operations, pipe I/O, and compute-bound arithmetic loops.
An AIM7 benchmark run is composed of a sequence of subruns with the number of tasks incrementing by one between each subrun. Each subrun goes until each of its tasks has completed its set of jobs, reporting a metric of jobs completed per minute. The final report is a table of that throughput metric versus number of tasks. A given system will have a peak number of tasks N at which the jobs per minute is maximized; either N or the value of the jobs per minute at N is typically used as the metric of interest.
Reader's Guide
The AIM Multiuser Benchmark is significant as a widely used tool among UNIX computer system vendors for evaluating system performance under increasing concurrent load. Its design—forking tasks that randomly execute 53 different job types—allows it to stress a broad range of operating system components, including disk-file operations, process creation, virtual memory, pipe I/O, and arithmetic loops. The benchmark's structure of incrementing the number of tasks per subrun and reporting jobs per minute yields a clear throughput-versus-load curve, with the peak throughput or the task count at that peak serving as the primary metric. Current research operating systems such as K42 use the reaim form of the benchmark for performance analysis. The benchmark also measures some of the same things as the SDET benchmark. Its legacy includes being released under the GPL by Caldera International, Inc., which made the source code for Suite VII and Suite IX freely available, enabling ongoing use in both commercial and research contexts.
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