UnixBench on Linux: server performance testing

What is UnixBench?

UnixBench – one of the most reliable tools for testing Linux servers since 1983. It remains the gold standard for:

• Assessing overall system performance
• Comparing different server configurations
• Identifying performance bottlenecks

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Testing areas

Processor operations

• Dhrystone 2 for integer operations
• Whetstone for floating-point operations
• Process creation tests
• Assessing performance during context switching

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Comparison table of results

Server type	Single-Core Score	Multi-Core Score	Typical use
Entry VPS	1000-1500	2000-3000	Web hosting
Standard VPS	1500-2500	3000-5000	Databases
Premium VPS	2500+	5000+	High-load applications

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Installing UnixBench

WARNING

Before installing, make sure the system is updated to the latest version

Preparing the system

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install build-essential gcc perl libx11-dev libgl1-mesa-dev -y

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum groupinstall "Development Tools" -y
sudo yum install perl-Time-HiRes libX11-devel mesa-libGL-devel -y

Installing UnixBench

wget https://github.com/kdlucas/byte-unixbench/archive/v5.1.3.tar.gz
tar xvf v5.1.3.tar.gz
cd byte-unixbench-5.1.3/UnixBench/
make

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Running the tests

TIP

It is recommended to run the tests on a "clean" system without active processes

Basic testing

./Run

Multi-threaded testing

./Run -c $(nproc) # Uses all available cores

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Optimising the results

Before testing:

1. Cleaning the system

# Clearing the cache
sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches

# Stopping unnecessary services
systemctl stop apache2 mysql nginx

2. Monitoring temperature

# Installing monitoring utilities
apt install lm-sensors
sensors

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Interpreting the results

Key metrics of the year:

• System Benchmarks Index Score
  • < 1000: Optimisation required
  • 1000-2000: A good result
  • 2000: An excellent result
• Individual tests
  • Dhrystone: measuring integer performance
  • Whetstone: assessing floating-point operations
  • File Copy: the performance of I/O operations

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