CloudHarmony

This is the fifth post in our series on cloud server performance benchmarking. In this post, we'll look at encoding and encryption performance using a compilation of 7 different benchmarks.

Benchmark Setup

All benchmarked cloud servers were configured almost identically using CentOS 64-bit (or 32-bit in the case of EC2 m1.small, c1.medium, Gandi, and IBM cloud servers).

Benchmark Methodology

Individual benchmark scores are calculated using the Phoronix Test Suite. Phoronix runs each test 3 times or until the standard deviation between each execution is less than 3.5% to improve statistical accuracy.

We chose to use a dedicated, bare-metal cloud server as the performance baseline for this post. This will provide a more readily comparable reference to non-cloud configurations. The server we chose as the baseline is the NewServers Jumbo server configured with dual Intel E5504 quad core 2.00 GHz processors and 48GB DDR3 ECC ram. We chose NewServers because they are the only IaaS cloud that does not utilize a virtualization layer that could adversely affect the benchmark results. All NewServers servers run on top of physical hardware. We assigned the baseline server a score of 100. All other servers were assigned a score proportional to the performance of that server, where greater than 100 represents better results and less than 100 represents poorer results. For example, a server with a score of 50 scored 50% lower than the baseline server overall, while a server with a score of 125, scored 25% higher.

To compute the score, the results from each of the 7 benchmarks on the baseline server are compared to the same benchmark results for a cloud server. The baseline server benchmark score represents 100% for each benchmark. If a cloud server scores higher than the baseline it receives a score higher than 100% (based on how much higher the score is) and vise-versa for a lower score.

Benchmarks
The following benchmarks were used to calculate the aggregate encoding performance (Encode) score displayed in the results tables below.
Monkey Audio Encoding [weight=100]: This test times how long it takes to encode a sample WAV file to APE format.
WAV To FLAC [weight=100]: This test times how long it takes to encode a sample WAV file to FLAC format.
WAV To MP3 [weight=100]: LAME is an MP3 encoder licensed under the LGPL. This test measures the time required to encode a WAV file to MP3 format.
WAV To Ogg [weight=100]: This test times how long it takes to encode a sample WAV file to Ogg format.
WAV To WavPack [weight=100]: This test times how long it takes to encode a sample WAV file to WavPack format.
FFmpeg AVI to NTSC VCD [weight=100]: This test uses FFmpeg for testing the systems audio/video encoding performance.
GnuPG [weight=100]: This test times how long it takes to encrypt a 2GB file using GnuPG of a file.
Results
The results are divided into tables separated by provider. If the provider has more than one data center location, multiple tables are included for each location. Each table shows the server identifier, CPU architecture, memory (GB), and the aggregate baseline relative score (as described above) linked to the complete Phoronix results. On the high end, there wasn't as much performance variation between providers in this post when compared to the previous 4 performance posts. Additionally, the results show that these benchmarks appear to be most influenced by CPU model and clock speed versus number of CPUs/cores. The top performers in this post are NewServers, GoGrid and Bluelock.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) [US East]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
us-east.m2.2xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	34.2	136.32
us-east.m2.4xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [8 processors, 8 cores]	68.4	136.12
us-east.m2.xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	17.1	135.81
us-east.c1.xlarge	Xeon E5410 2.33 [8 processors, 8 cores]	7	119.77
us-east.m1.xlarge	Xeon E5430 2.66 [4 processors, 4 cores]	15	103.33
us-east.m1.large	Xeon E5430 2.66 [2 processors, 2 cores]	7.5	103.06
us-east.c1.medium	Xeon E5410 2.33 [1 processor, 2 cores]	1.7	101.56
us-east.m1.small	Opteron 2218 HE 2.60 [1 processor, 1 core]	1.7	43.25

Amazon Web Services (AWS) [US West]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
us-west.m2.2xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	34.2	136.29
us-west.m2.4xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [8 processors, 8 cores]	68.4	136.27
us-west.m2.xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	17.1	135.86
us-west.c1.xlarge	Xeon E5410 2.33 [8 processors, 8 cores]	7	119.77
us-west.m1.xlarge	Xeon E5430 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	15	103.9
us-west.m1.large	Xeon E5430 2.66 [2 processors, 2 cores]	7.5	103.28
us-west.c1.medium	Xeon E5410 2.33 [1 processor, 2 cores]	1.7	100.89
us-west.m1.small	Xeon E5430 2.66 [1 processor, 1 core]	1.7	45.2

Amazon Web Services (AWS) [EU West]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
eu-west.m2.4xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [8 processors, 8 cores]	68.4	136.4
eu-west.m2.2xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	34.2	136.21
eu-west.m2.xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	17.1	136.12
eu-west.c1.xlarge	Xeon E5410 2.33 [8 processors, 8 cores]	7	119.69
eu-west.m1.xlarge	Xeon E5430 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	15	103.83
eu-west.m1.large	Xeon E5430 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	7.5	103.79
eu-west.c1.medium	Xeon E5410 2.33 [1 processor, 2 cores]	1.7	101.28
eu-west.m1.small	Xeon E5430 2.66 [1 processor, 1 core]	1.7	44.92

Amazon Web Services (AWS) [APAC]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
apac.m2.2xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	34.2	136.12
apac.m2.4xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [8 processors, 8 cores]	68.4	135.83
apac.m2.xlarge	Xeon X5550 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	17.1	135.49
apac.c1.xlarge	Xeon E5410 2.33 [8 processors, 8 cores]	7	119.54
apac.m1.large	Xeon E5430 2.67 [2 processors, 2 cores]	7.5	103.8
apac.m1.xlarge	Xeon E5430 2.67 [4 processors, 4 cores]	15	103.68
apac.c1.medium	Xeon E5410 2.33 [1 processor, 2 cores]	1.7	101.32
apac.m1.small	Xeon E5430 2.67 [1 processor, 1 core]	1.7	45.45

Rackspace Cloud [Dallas]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
16gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	16	111.2
2gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	2	108.98
1gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	1	108.25
4gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	106.02

Rackspace Cloud [Chicago]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
16gb-il	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	16	112.44
8gb-il	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	112.44
4gb-il	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	111.58
1gb-il	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	1	108.5
2gb-il	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	2	107.61

Storm on Demand [MI, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
48gb	Xeon X5650 2.67 [1 processor, 12 cores]	45.9	135.59
i5-750-4gb	Core i5 750 2.67 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	130.83
4gb	Core i5 750 2.67 [1 processor, 2 cores]	3.5	130
i5-750-2gb	Core i5 750 2.67 [1 processor, 4 cores]	2	128.51
2gb	Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66 [1 processor, 1 core]	1.7	124.27
8gb	Xeon X3440 2.53 [1 processor, 4 cores]	7	123.64
x3440-8gb	Xeon X3440 2.53 [1 processor, 8 cores]	8	123.4
16gb	Opteron 2378 2.40 [2 processors, 4 cores]	15.2	121.05
32gb	Opteron 2378 2.40 [4 processors, 8 cores]	30.4	120.76
e5506x2-4gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 8 cores]	8	108.32
e5506x2-4gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 8 cores]	8	108.31
e5506x2-8gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 8 cores]	8	108.1
e5506x2-8gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 8 cores]	8	107.75
amd2350x2-32gb	Opteron 2350 2.00 [4 processors, 8 cores]	32	95.23

GoGrid [US West]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
8gb	Xeon E5450 2.99 [1 processor, 6 cores]	8	146.51
4gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	108.36
1gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	104.3
2gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	103.78

Voxel [New York]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb-ny	Xeon L5520 2.26 [2 processors, 2 cores]	4	119.95
8gb-ny	Xeon L5520 2.26 [4 processors, 4 cores]	8	118.91
14gb-ny	Xeon L5520 2.26 [7 processors, 7 cores]	14	118.79
2gb-ny	Xeon L5520 2.26 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	106.67

Voxel [Amsterdam]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
8gb-nl	Xeon L5520 2.26 [4 processors, 4 cores]	8	122.62
14gb-nl	Xeon L5520 2.26 [7 processors, 7 cores]	14	122.6
4gb-nl	Xeon L5520 2.26 [2 processors, 2 cores]	4	122.58
2gb-nl	Xeon L5520 2.26 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	114.22

Voxel [Singapore]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
14gb-sg	Xeon L5520 2.26 [7 processors, 7 cores]	14	115.9
8gb-sg	Xeon L5520 2.26 [4 processors, 4 cores]	8	115.83
4gb-sg	Xeon L5520 2.26 [2 processors, 2 cores]	4	115.8
2gb-sg	Xeon L5520 2.26 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	112.29

NewServers [Miami]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
fast	Xeon E5450 2.99 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	152.43
large	Xeon E5405 2.00 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	101.06
jumbo	Xeon E5504 2.00 [2 processors, 8 cores]	48	100
med	Xeon 3.20 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	94.28
small	Xeon 2.80 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	81.55

Linode VPS Hosting [Atlanta]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
5760-atlanta	Xeon L5520 2.27 [2 processors, 4 cores]	5.54	115.71
14400-atlanta	Xeon L5520 2.27 [2 processors, 4 cores]	14.06	115.66
8640-atlanta	Xeon L5520 2.27 [2 processors, 4 cores]	8.45	108.25
1080-atlanta	Xeon L5520 2.27 [2 processors, 4 cores]	1.05	108.05
2880-atlanta	Xeon L5520 2.27 [2 processors, 4 cores]	2.81	106.65

SoftLayer [Dallas]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
1gb-dallas	Xeon X3460 2.80 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	126.76
4gb-dallas	Xeon E5520 2.27 [4 processors, 4 cores]	4	111.51
8gb-dallas	Xeon E5520 2.27 [8 processors, 8 cores]	8	111.28
2gb-dallas	Xeon X3460 2.80 [2 processors, 2 cores]	2	96.74

SoftLayer [WDC]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb-wdc	Xeon X3460 2.80 [4 processors, 4 cores]	4	137.71
1gb-wdc	Xeon X3460 2.80 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	131.49
2gb-wdc	Xeon X3460 2.80 [2 processors, 2 cores]	2	129.06
8gb-wdc	Xeon E5520 2.27 [8 processors, 8 cores]	8	116.04

SoftLayer [Seattle]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb-seattle	Xeon X3460 2.80 [4 processors, 4 cores]	4	131.51
1gb-seattle	Xeon X3460 2.80 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	122.06
2gb-seattle	Xeon X3460 2.80 [2 processors, 2 cores]	2	117.75
8gb-seattle	Xeon E5520 2.27 [8 processors, 8 cores]	8	111.14

Terremark vCloud Express [Miami]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
1gb	Opteron 8389 2.91 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	138.13
2gb	Opteron 8389 2.91 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	131.27
4gb-2vpu	Opteron 8389 2.91 [1 processor, 2 cores]	4	128.26
8gb-4vpu	Opteron 8389 2.91 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	105.19
16gb-8vpu	Opteron 8389 2.91 [1 processor, 8 cores]	16	95.25

VPS.NET [Atlanta]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
18node-atl	Xeon E5520 2.27 [7 processors, 7 cores]	6.6	106.3
12node-atl	Xeon E5520 2.27 [5 processors, 5 cores]	4.4	102.46
6node-atl	Xeon E5520 2.27 [3 processors, 3 cores]	2.2	94.66
3node-atl	Xeon E5520 2.27 [2 processors, 2 cores]	1.1	89.67

OpSource Cloud [VA, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
1gb	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	72.27
4gb-2cpu	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 2 cores]	4	70.06
2gb	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	68.77
16gb-4cpu	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 4 cores]	16	63.81
8gb-4cpu	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	62.54
32gb-4cpu	Xeon X7460 2.66 [1 processor, 4 cores]	32	61.01

Speedyrails [Quebec]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [2 processors, 8 cores]	4	113.13
1gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [2 processors, 8 cores]	1	111.37
2gb	Xeon E5520 2.27 [2 processors, 8 cores]	2	106.45

Zerigo [CO, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [2 processors, 4 cores]	4	110.53
2gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	2	109.61
1gb	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [1 processor, 4 cores]	1	108.97

ReliaCloud [MN, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb	Xeon E5504 2.00 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	38.95
8gb		8	38.81
2gb	Xeon E5504 4.40 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	35.2
1gb	Xeon E5504 2.00 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	24.15

Gandi.net [France]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
6gb	Xeon L5640 2.27GHz 2.26 [1 processor, 6 cores]	6	125.01
4gb	Opteron 8346 HE 1.79 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	72.22
1gb	Opteron 8346 HE 1.79 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	70.61
2gb	Opteron 8346 HE 1.79 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	67.37

CloudSigma [Switzerland]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
8gb-8gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	111.01
16gb-16gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 8 cores]	16	110.75
4gb-4gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 2 cores]	4	110.19
32gb-20gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 8 cores]	32	109.59
1gb-2gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	95.24
2gb-2gh	Six-Core Opteron 2427 2.21 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	91.15

IBM Development & Test Cloud [NY, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
dev-large	Xeon X5570 2.93 [1 processor, 8 cores]	3.5	126.89
dev-med	Xeon X5570 2.93 [1 processor, 4 cores]	1.75	98.55

BlueLock [IN, US]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
8gb-4cpu	Xeon X5550 2.67 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	142.31
4gb-2cpu	Xeon X5550 2.67 [1 processor, 2 cores]	4	133.29
16gb-8cpu	Xeon X5550 2.67 [1 processor, 8 cores]	16	130.11
2gb	Xeon X5550 2.67 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	119.57
1gb	Xeon X5550 2.67 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	113.3

Cloud Central [Australia]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
huge	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [4 processors, 4 cores]	16	112.23
reg	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [4 processors, 4 cores]	4	112.1
large	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [4 processors, 4 cores]	8	111.82
med	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [4 processors, 4 cores]	2	103.44
small	Opteron 2374 HE 2.20 [4 processors, 4 cores]	1	100.05

RimuHosting [Dallas]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
tx-2gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	101.27

RimuHosting [Auckland]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
nz-2gb	Xeon E5506 2.13 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	105.98

ElasticHosts [Peer1 UK]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
8gb-20gh	Xeon E5420 2.50 [1 processor, 6 cores]	8	124.54
1gb-2gh	Xeon E5420 2.50 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	118.62
4gb-8gh	Xeon E5420 2.50 [1 processor, 4 cores]	4	118
2gb-4gh	Xeon E5420 2.50 [1 processor, 2 cores]	2	113.55

Flexiscale [UK]
ID	CPU	Memory	Encode
4gb	Dual-Core Opteron 8220 2.80 [1 processor, 2 cores]	4	126.58
8gb	Opteron 8218 2.62 [1 processor, 4 cores]	8	115.72
2gb	Opteron 8218 2.60 [1 processor, 1 core]	2	109.76
1gb	Opteron 8218 2.60 [1 processor, 1 core]	1	105.06

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