SPEC CPU2017 Platform Settings for ASUSTek Systems

Operating System Tuning Parameters

cpupower:

The OS 'cpupower' utility is used to change CPU power governors settings. Available settings are:

• performance: Run the CPU at the maximum frequency.
• powersave(default): Run the CPU at the minimum frequency.

tuned-adm:

The 'tuned' provides a number of predefined profiles for typical use cases. The 'tuned-adm' command is used to change settings of the tuned daemon. The tuned-adm command can query current settings, list available profiles, recommend a tuning profile for the system, change profiles directly, or turn off tuning. Available profiles are:

• accelerator-performance: Throughput-performance based tuning with disabled higher latency STOP states.
• balanced: General non-specialized tuned profile.
• desktop: Optimize for the desktop use-case.
• hpc-compute: Optimize for HPC compute workloads.
• intel-sst: Configure for Intel Speed Select Base Frequency.
• latency-performance: Optimize for deterministic performance at the cost of increased power consumption.
• network-latency: Optimize for deterministic performance at the cost of increased power consumption, focused on low latency network performance.
• network-throughput: Optimize for streaming network throughput, generally only necessary on older CPUs or 40G+ networks.
• optimize-serial-console: Optimize for serial console use.
• powersave: Optimize for low power consumption.
• throughput-performance(default): Broadly applicable tuning that provides excellent performance across a variety of common server workloads.
• virtual-guest: Optimize for running inside a virtual guest.
• virtual-host: Optimize for running KVM guests.

Firmware / BIOS / Microcode Settings

Patrol Scrub:

Patrol scrubbing is a mechanism for the memory controller to periodically read all memory locations and write back corrected data. The time interval for scrubbing the entire memory is defaulted to 24-hour period. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enable at End of POST/Disabled. Current default is Enable at End of POST.

Page Policy:

A memory controller "page" is data in the DRAM row buffer. Open (adaptive) page mode keeps the page open for some amount of time after access. Closed page mode closes the page immediately after access. Tradeoff between the lower latency of a page hit and the additional latency of a page miss (which requires a page close before opening a new one). Setting the memory controller page policy to closed may improve performance. Values for this BIOS option can be: Auto/Adaptive/Closed. Current default is Auto (Same as Closed).

Hyper-Threading:

Hyper-Threading allows two threads to run on each core. More threads means more work can be done in parallel, so it improves CPU throughput. Values for this BIOS option can be: ALL LPs (means Hyper-Threading is enabled)/Single LP (means Hyper-Threading is disabled). Current default is ALL LPs.

SNC:

Sub-NUMA Clustering (SNC or SNC2) is only supported on GNR-SP XCC/HCC and partitions the LLC into two clusters called NUMA domains (a.k.a. nodes) that contain an equal number of cores, equal number of LLC slices in close proximity to the cores, an equal amount of socket address space, and with each cluster bound to a subset of the memory controllers in the socket. Values for this BIOS option can be: Disable/Enable/Auto. Current default is Auto (Same as Enable).

SR-IOV Support:

In virtualization, single root input/output virtualization or SR-IOV is a specification that allows the isolation of the PCI Express resources for manageability and performance reasons. A single physical PCI Express can be shared on a virtual environment using the SR-IOV specification. If system has SR-IOV capable PCIe Devices, this option Enables or Disables Single Root IO Virtualization Support. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.

ENERGY_PERF_BIAS_CFG mode:

This BIOS option allows for processor performance and power optmization. Available settings are:

• Performance: High performance with less need for power saving.
• Balanced Performance (Default Setting): Provides optimal performance efficiency.
• Balanced Power: Provides optimal power efficiency.
• Power: High power saving with less need for performance.

Engine Boost:

ASUS individual feature. Engine boost is an automatic power acceleration with an innovative voltage design to increase server overall performance. Recommend to use this function below the ambient temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. Available settings are:

• Disabled(default): Disable this feature.
• Normal: Improves some CPU performance but consumes a little higher power consumption and higher CPU temperature than this feature disabled. This mode provides a performance-energy policy to favor performance over energy savings.
• Aggressive: Improves highest CPU performance but expected to consume much higher power consumption and higher CPU temperature than normal mode. This mode provides a performance-energy policy to maximum performance but worst energy efficiency.

LLC dead line alloc:

In the processor non-inclusive cache scheme, MLC (Middle Level Cache, also known as L2 cache) evictions are filled into the LLC (Last Level Cache, also known as L3 cache). When lines are evicted from the MLC, the core can flag them as “dead” (i.e., not likely to be read again). The LLC has the option to drop dead lines and not fill them in the LLC. This can help save space in the LLC and prevent the LLC from evicting useful data. Available settings are:

• Disabled: Disabling this option can save space in the LLC by never moving MLC dead lines into the LLC.
• Enabled(default): Opportunistically move MLC dead lines into the LLC, if space is available.

Latency Optimized Mode:

Latency Optimized Mode is a performance-per-Watt biased power mode that is “default” along with a lower latency mode. Available settings are:

• Disable(default): Out-of-box mode for newer disaggregated SoC arch with significant power savings across the load line. Better performance per watt across the load line. No significant difference in performance compared to Latency Optimized Mode at 100% Load Level.
• Enabled: Uncore frequencies will run up to their maximum limits within the RAPL budget. This mode is not performance-per-watt optimized across the load line.

Adjacent Cache Prefetch:

Adjacent Cache Prefetch is an L2 cache prefetcher. When enabled, fetches both cache lines that make up a 128 byte cache line pair even if the requested data is only in the first cache line. Lightly threaded applications and some benchmarks can benefit from having the adjcent cache line prefetch enabled. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enable/Disable. Current default is Enable.

DCU Streamer Prefetcher:

DCU Streamer Prefetcher is an L1 data cache prefetcher. When enabled, this parameter fetches the next cache line into the L1 data cache when multiple loads from the same cache line are executed in a certain time limit. Lightly threaded applications and some benchmarks can benefit from having the DCU streamer prefetcher enabled. Values for this BIOS option can be: Auto/Enable/Disable. Current default is Auto (Same as Enable).

LLC Prefetch:

LLC prefetcher is an additional prefetch mechanism that prefetch data into the core DCU and MLC. Enabling LLC prefetch gives the core prefetcher the ability to prefetch data directly into the LLC without necessarily filling into the L1 and L2 cache. In some cases, setting this option to disabled can improve performance. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enable/Disable. Current default is Disable.