SPEC Seeks Applications and Workloads for Upcoming Benchmark

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
This is a quick news post, but one I'm making just in case anyone out there can help. Our good friends at SPEC are on the lookout for another company (or companies) to contribute to an upcoming workstation benchmark (likely SPECviewperf), and are in need of a workload that won't require a license to the entire application that will still properly benchmark the software / scenario.

Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here!
 

marfig

No ROM battery
Seems aimed mostly at the very companies that make up the consortium. Only these know the algorithms they use on their applications, without anyone being required to disassemble their code (e.g. Microsoft knows the algorithm they use for pivot tables or What-If Analysis in Excel).

If they are asking for help from the companies that don't make up the consortium, this can become a problem since SPEC source code is freely available. I'm not sure I understand the logic behind this request. Unless there is a specific need to tie individual tests to specific well-known programs, the latter are developed based on well-known algorithms. No one is inventing new sort or find algorithms, for instance.

I will take a better look at their page later.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
this can become a problem since SPEC source code is freely available.

This is not true. No SPEC benchmark offers up the source code except for CPU2006, and that's due to the nature of the test.

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind this request.

It's to get support from companies who would like their program to be included in a workstation benchmark that's industry-respected. For example, if Autodesk wanted to donate a test to this benchmark utilizing a 3ds Max base, it could. The folks at SPEC need help like this because the license fees that its benchmark purchasers would have to pay would be astronomical without these sort of donations.

If Autodesk did donate a 3ds Max-like test, then its name gets added to the list of supporters and it becomes a test within the benchmark. Professionals will be using this benchmark, so some companies like Autodesk (and a countless number of others) that want to get their name in on something like this can.
 

marfig

No ROM battery
This is not true. No SPEC benchmark offers up the source code except for CPU2006, and that's due to the nature of the test.

Ah! Didn't know that. Thanks.


It's to get support from companies who would like their program to be included in a workstation benchmark that's industry-respected. For example, if Autodesk wanted to donate a test to this benchmark utilizing a 3ds Max base, it could. The folks at SPEC need help like this because the license fees that its benchmark purchasers would have to pay would be astronomical without these sort of donations.

If Autodesk did donate a 3ds Max-like test, then its name gets added to the list of supporters and it becomes a test within the benchmark. Professionals will be using this benchmark, so some companies like Autodesk (and a countless number of others) that want to get their name in on something like this can.

It all makes sense now that I know source code will not become available.
 
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