computer science

Phoronix Test Suite

Phoronix Test Suite is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phoronix Test Suite rather than just read about it. In short: Phoronix Test Suite (PTS) is a free and open-source benchmark software for Linux and other operating systems developed by Michael Larabel and Matthew Tippett. History Website Phoronix was started in June 2004 by Michael Larabel, who currently serves as the owner and editor-in-chief as a website with hardware reviews and guides, then moving to articles covering operating systems based on Linux and open-source softwar…

Phoronix Test Suite — illustration

Key takeaways

Phoronix Test Suite belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phoronix Test Suite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phoronix Test Suite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Phoronix Test Suite (PTS) is a free and open-source benchmark software for Linux and other operating systems developed by Michael Larabel and Matthew Tippett.

History

Website

Phoronix was started in June 2004 by Michael Larabel, who currently serves as the owner and editor-in-chief as a website with hardware reviews and guides, then moving to articles covering operating systems based on Linux and open-source software such as Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, and Mozilla (Firefox/Thunderbird) around the start of 2005. Phoronix focuses on benchmarking hardware running Linux, with a slant toward graphics articles that monitor and compare free and open-source graphics device drivers and Mesa 3D with AMD's and Nvidia's proprietary graphics device drivers. In June 2006, the website added forums to accompany news content. On April 20, 2007, Phoronix redesigned its website and began publishing Solaris hardware reviews and news in addition to Linux content.

Phoronix Test Suite The first public release of PTS appeared in June 2008 and grouped 57 tests into 23 suites, covering areas such as audio and video encoding, kernel compilation and web workloads; early versions also supported uploading results to a central “PTS Global” repository for comparisons. In March 2011, PTS’s creators announced OpenBenchmarking.org at SCALE 9x, building on the test framework to let users run tightly controlled benchmarks and correlate their results with automatically harvested details of the operating system, drivers and other components for more granular comparisons. The LWN.net report also documented the project’s definitions for “test profiles” and “test suites” used by PTS and other clients compliant with the OpenBenchmarking schema.

Features Phoronix Test Suite supports over 220 test profiles and over 60 test suites. It uses an XML-based testing architecture. Tests available to use include MEncoder, FFmpeg and lm sensors, along with OpenGL games such as Doom 3, Nexuiz, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and many more. The suite also contains a feature called PTS Global where users may upload their test results and system information for sharing. By executing a single command, other users can compare their test results to a selected system in an easy-comparison mode. Before 2014, these benchmark results could be uploaded to the Phoronix Global online database, but since 2013, these benchmark results can be uploaded to openbenchmarking.org. Phoronix supports automated Git bisecting on a performance basis to find performance regressions, and features statistical significance verification.

Platforms PTS is installable on Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD variants, Solaris and GNU Hurd, enabling comparable workflows across heterogeneous environments.

Components

Phoromatic Phoromatic is a web-based remote test management system for the Phoronix Test Suite. It allows the automatic scheduling of tests. It's aimed at the enterprise. It can manage multiple test nodes simultaneously within a test farm or distributed environment.

Phoromatic Tracker Phoromatic Tracker is an extension of Phoromatic that provides a public interface into test farms. Currently, their reference implementations autonomously monitor the performance of the Linux kernel on a daily basis, Fedora Rawhide, and Ubuntu.

PTS Desktop Live PTS Desktop Live was a stripped-down x86-64 Linux distribution, which included Phoronix Test Suite 2.4. It was designed for testing/benchmarking computers from a LiveDVD / LiveUSB environment.

Phodevi Phodevi (Phoronix Device Interface) is a library that provides a clean, stable, platform-independent API for accessing software and hardware information.

PCQS Phoronix Certification & Qualification Suite (PCQS) is a reference specification for the Phoronix Test Suite.

Open Benchmarking OpenBenchmarking.org is a web-based service created to work with the Phoronix Test Suite. It is a collaborative platform that allows users to share their hardware and software benchmarks through an organized online interface. It is primarily used for performance benchmarking and testing hardware/software performance, typically in the context of Linux-based systems (unlike SoapUI, which is used for testing web services).

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phoronix Test Suite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phoronix Test Suite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phoronix Test Suite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phoronix Test Suite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phoronix Test Suite

In research: Phoronix Test Suite appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phoronix Test Suite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phoronix Test Suite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 software, Benchmarking software for Linux, Benchmarks (computing), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phoronix Test Suite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phoronix Test Suite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phoronix Test Suite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phoronix Test Suite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phoronix Test Suite in simple terms?

Phoronix Test Suite (PTS) is a free and open-source benchmark software for Linux and other operating systems developed by Michael Larabel and Matthew Tippett. History Website Phoronix was started in June 2004 by Michael Larabel, who currently serves as the owner and editor-in-chief as a website wit…

Why does Phoronix Test Suite matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phoronix Test Suite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phoronix Test Suite.