Via: uk.ac.hull.cc.sequent; Thu, 21 Jan 1993 09:41:26 +0000
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Original-Sender: R.A.Reese@sequent.cc.hull.ac.uk
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Date:         Thu, 21 Jan 1993 09:41:09 WET
Reply-To:     "R.A.Reese" <R.A.Reese@SEQUENT.CC.HULL.AC.UK>
From:         "R.A.Reese" <R.A.Reese@SEQUENT.CC.HULL.AC.UK>
Subject:      SUN4 - speed of execution.
Comments: To: SPSSX-L list <spssx-l@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Comments: cc: "D.W.Beard" <D.W.Beard@sequent.cc.hull.ac.uk>

We just got SPSS for Unix and installed it on a SUN Sparcstation.  I ran the
supplied basic demonstration successfully and for interest copied it to our
previous mainframe and compared the timings.  Imagine my distress, dear
reader, when I found that our "mainframe replacement" knocked almost nothing
off the times (either CPU or Elapsed) taken by the 8-year old ICL 3980
running SPSS-X V3.  Looking more closely, it seems that the SUN takes slightly
longer whenever formatted transput is used, and saves a little on the more
computational parts (but look at NLR).  Sort is faster, which is interesting
as the ICL implementation calls an ICL system sort. However, on benchmark
Fortran programs the SUN should deliver 10X the power of the ICL, and the
times are significantly less than those in the supplied demo output,
which I guess was run on a SUN 3.


Timings for SPSS demorun 1 on SUN 4 and VME at Hull 13/1/93.
(Timings extracted from program output, mainly
for "previous procedure".)

UNIX         CPU      Elapsed     VME           CPU        Elapsed
Read/save 40 cases
udemo1.out:  .21 sec   .95 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .21 sec    2.00 sec.
CROSSTABS
udemo1.out:  .20 sec  1.65 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .50 sec    2.00 sec.
Read
udemo1.out:  .23 sec   .50 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .20 sec     .00 sec.
Sort and xsave
udemo1.out:  .27 sec   .55 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .68 sec    2.00 sec.
Aggregate
udemo1.out:  .22 sec   .81 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .39 sec    1.00 sec.
Report
udemo1.out:  .43 sec  1.08 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .66 sec    1.00 sec.
Match files
udemo1.out:  .14 sec   .26 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec    1.00 sec.
"Report" done using transforms and PRINT
udemo1.out:  .35 sec   .61 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .25 sec     .00 sec.
Breakdown
udemo1.out:  .15 sec   .37 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .36 sec    1.00 sec.
Read data
udemo1.out:  .26 sec   .37 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .23 sec     .00 sec.
Discriminant
udemo1.out:  .63 sec  4.02 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .90 sec    2.00 sec.
Matrix data input
udemo1.out:  .11 sec   .42 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .34 sec    1.00 sec.
Regression from correlation matrix
udemo1.out:  .12 sec   .73 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .64 sec    3.00 sec.
Frequencies
udemo1.out:  .18 sec   .59 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .42 sec    1.00 sec.
Read data
udemo1.out:  .13 sec   .23 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec     .00 sec.
Sort
udemo1.out:  .04 sec   .14 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .37 sec    2.00 sec.
NLR
udemo1.out: 2.31 sec  3.50 sec.   vdemo1.out:  2.74 sec    4.00 sec.
Read data and sort
udemo1.out:  .07 sec   .25 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .32 sec    2.00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .05 sec   .11 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .21 sec    1.00 sec.
Save
udemo1.out:  .09 sec   .41 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec     .00 sec.
Read data and sort
udemo1.out:  .07 sec   .27 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .41 sec    1.00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .06 sec   .06 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .07 sec     .00 sec.
Save
udemo1.out:  .05 sec   .11 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .14 sec    1.00 sec.
UPDATE and list
udemo1.out:  .09 sec   .25 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec     .00 sec.
Save
udemo1.out:  .07 sec   .12 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .07 sec     .00 sec.
GET
udemo1.out:  .12 sec   .55 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .30 sec    1.00 sec.
Export
udemo1.out:  .09 sec   .38 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .31 sec    1.00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .11 sec   .12 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .08 sec     .00 sec.
GET
udemo1.out:  .14 sec   .38 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .12 sec    1.00 sec.
Import
udemo1.out:  .10 sec   .53 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec     .00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .07 sec   .09 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .07 sec     .00 sec.
Read data and string transforms
udemo1.out:  .27 sec   .67 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .19 sec    1.00 sec.
Write
udemo1.out:  .07 sec   .45 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .05 sec     .00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .13 sec   .61 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .10 sec     .00 sec.
PROXIMITIES
udemo1.out:  .18 sec  1.61 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .49 sec    1.00 sec.
ALSCAL
udemo1.out: 1.36 sec  2.93 sec.   vdemo1.out:  1.06 sec    2.00 sec.
GET and Aggregate
udemo1.out:  .19 sec  1.37 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .16 sec    1.00 sec.
List
udemo1.out:  .03 sec   .23 sec.   vdemo1.out:   .04 sec     .00 sec.

Tot: Unix: 15 sec.                      VME: 17 sec.

--
(R.) Allan Reese        Janet:          r.a.reese@uk.ac.hull
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