Intel® Virtualization Technology and Parallels Bring Native Graphics Innovation to Virtual Machines Visualizing complex multi-OS workloads concurrently

Geoscientists and engineers in the oil and gas industry require multiple workstations, each running a different operating system and different business-critical applications. It’s an expensive computing strategy; it hampers a user’s ability to efficiently sift through complex information and it drives up power consumption and IT maintenance costs per user. Now there’s a more productive and cost-effective way to operate in these resource-intensive, graphical workflow-driven environments.

With workstations based on the latest Intel® Xeon® processor 5500∆ series and Parallels Workstation Extreme* virtualization software, engineers and geoscientists can run multiple high-end Linux* and Windows* applications concurrently on a single workstation and realize near-native performance (95 to 100 percent of a dedicated workstation). Even complex graphics are rendered at full speed, since Intel® Virtualization Technology◊ for Directed I/O (Intel® VT-d) enables fully accelerated graphics performance in a virtualized environment. Users can run all their applications on a single system and experience the power of a high-end workstation for each application. It’s a more productive and satisfying way to work, and it can dramatically reduce IT costs.

Unprecedented performance in a virtualized workstationTo validate the power of this new paradigm, engineers from Schlumberger, the world’s leading oil field services provider, ran performance tests for two of their most demanding applications, GeoFrame* and Petrel.* These applications help engineers analyze complex geologic and geophysical data to evaluate reservoir potential and optimize production strategies. GeoFrame runs on Linux. Petrel runs on Windows. Normally, Schlumberger’s engineers run these applications on two separate workstations.

Performance BriefIntel® Xeon® Processor 5500

Parallels Workstation Extreme

“High-performance

virtualization on

Intel Xeon processor

5500 series-based

workstations is a game-

changing capability. We

can allocate multiple

cores, up to 64 GB of

memory and a dedicated

graphics card to each

virtual machine. The

results are spectacular.”

— Russ Sagert, Geoscience Technical Advisor – North America, Schlumberger

To test concurrent performance, GeoFrame and Petrel were run together on an Intel® Xeon® processor-based workstation. Petrel was run on a Windows Vista* 64-bit host operating system. Geo-Frame was run in a virtual machine, using Parallels Workstation Extreme and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3.

•Test 1: Running on an Intel® Xeon® processor 5400 series-based workstation: Petrel ran at full native speed, but performance for GeoFrame was massively degraded, with graphic refresh rates of only 1 frame every 19 seconds (versus 30 frames per second for Petrel).

•Test 2: Running on the latest Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based workstation: Both applications ran at full native speed, with graphics refresh rates of 30 frames per second, a 570x improvement for the virtualized application. According to Russ Sagert, Schlumberger’s Geoscience Technical Advisor for North America, “Our engineers were blown away by the performance. We hammered these machines with extreme workloads that stressed every aspect of the system. Amazingly, the new workstation based on the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series provided performance enabling this multiple OS, multiple application environment to be usable for the first time.”

The Next Generation of Workstation InnovationIt took coordinated innovation on several fronts to deliver this massive increase in virtualized workstation performance.

•The Intel Xeon processor 5500 series: With its larger and more efficient cache, greater memory capacity (up to 192 GB), and 3.5x boost in system bandwidth, this processor provides extreme scalability for technical workloads. It also supports Intel VT-d in the chipset, which enables direct assignment of graphics and network cards to virtual machines.

•Parallels Workstation Extreme: This innovative virtualization soft-ware leverages the Parallels FastLane* Architecture, Intel Virtualization Technology (including Intel VT-d), and dynamic resource allocation to deliver unprecedented performance for high-end applications running concurrently. It also provides quick access to data and a great multi-OS user experience with Parallels SmartX* technologies.

∆ Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See www.intel.com/products/processor_number for details. ◊ Intel® Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with an enabled Intel® processor, BIOS, virtual machine monitor (VMM) and, for some uses, certain platform software enabled for it. Functionality, performance or other benefits

will vary depending on hardware and software configurations and may require a BIOS update. Software applications may not be compatible with all operating systems. Please check with your application vendor. 1 Workstation Configurations – Test 1: HP Z800* workstation with 2X Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series, 2X Intel® Xeon® processor W5580, 3.20GHz, NVIDIA Quadro FX3800, FX4800 and FX5800, 48 GB RAM, 1333 MHz DDR3, Vista-64

SP1 Enterprise Edition. Test 2: HP xw8600* workstation with 2X Intel® Xeon® processor 5400 series, 2X Intel® Xeon® processor E5430, 2.66 GHz, NVIDIA Quadro FX3800, FX4800 and FX5800, 32 GB RAM, 1066 MHz DDR2, Vista-64 SP1 Enterprise Edition.

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Performance tests and ratings are measured using specific computer systems and/or components and reflect the approximate performance of Intel products as measured by those tests. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance. Buyers should consult other sources of information to evaluate the performance of systems or components they are considering purchasing. For more information on performance tests and on the performance of Intel products, visit Intel Performance Benchmark Limitations.

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•Optimized Workstations and Graphics Cards: For current supported configurations including workstation platforms, graphic cards, and host/guest OSs, visit www.parallels.com/products/extreme

Better Productivity at Lower CostIf you have engineers or geoscientists juggling multiple workstations, consider consolidating those systems onto a fully configured Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based workstation running Parallels Workstation Extreme. Creativity and productivity will be unleashed with a powerful workstation upgrade that streamlines the work interface, reduces office noise and clutter, and delivers major perfor-mance gains. Your IT organization will also benefit, through lower capital, management, support, space and energy costs, plus the ability to standardize on a single OS image while easily addressing alternative requirements.

Learn More

www.intel.com/products/workstation/processors/index.htm

www.parallels.com/products/extreme

Figure 1. Breakthrough graphics performance in a virtual machine – An Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based workstation running Parallels Workstation Extreme delivers near native performance for high-end applications running in virtual machines.1

570x performance increase for an application running in a Parallels virtual machine

with emulated graphics vs. assigned graphics

Native host: 30 frames/sec

Intel® Xeon® processor 5400

series-based workstation

Emulated graphics:1 frame/19 sec

(.053 frames/sec)

Intel® Xeon® processor 5500

series-based workstation

Native host:30 frames/sec

Assigned graphics:

30 frames/sec

Petrel graphics performance (running on a Windows Vista 64-bit host)

GeoFrame graphics performance (running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 in a Parallels Workstation Extreme virtual machine)