Ubuntu 12.04 Oracle VM VirtualBox
Intel Core i7-3960X benchmarking of various Ubuntu 12.04 LTS virtualization options with the Precise Linux 3.2 kernel. Testing of bare metal, Xen, KVM, and Oracle VM VirtualBox virtualization methods from this Intel Sandy Bridge Extreme Edition system that was running in the same configuration for the duration of testing. This Linux virtualization benchmarking is for a future article on Phoronix.com.


Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal: 

	Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X @ 3.20GHz (12 Cores), Motherboard: Intel DX79SI, Chipset: Intel Sandy DMI2, Memory: 16384MB, Disk: 240GB OCZ VERTEX3, Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6570 512MB, Audio: Realtek ALC892, Monitor: DELL P2210H, Network: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Connection

	OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.2.0-20-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: radeon 6.14.99, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1920x1080

Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM: 

	Processor: QEMU Virtual 1.0 @ 3.20GHz (12 Cores), Motherboard: Bochs, Chipset: Red Hat Virtio, Memory: 12288MB, Disk: 16GB, Graphics: LLVMpipe, Audio: Generic 1af4 ID 20, Network: Red Hat Virtio device

	OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.2.0-20-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 2D 5.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: cirrus 1.3.2, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1024x768, System Layer: QEMU 1.0

Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen: 

	Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X @ 3.20GHz (12 Cores), Motherboard: Xen HVM domU v4.1.2, Chipset: Intel 440FX- 82441FX PMC, Memory: 12288MB, Disk: 26GB, Graphics: LLVMpipe, Audio: Ensoniq ES1370

	OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.2.0-20-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 2D 5.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: cirrus 1.3.2, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1024x768, System Layer: Xen HVM domU 4.1.2

Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox: 

	Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X @ 3.19GHz (12 Cores), Motherboard: innotek VirtualBox v1.2, Chipset: Intel 440FX- 82441FX PMC, Memory: 12288MB, Disk: 41GB VBOX HDD, Graphics: LLVMpipe, Audio: Intel 82801AA AC 97 Audio, Network: Intel 82540EM Gigabit

	OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.2.0-20-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 2D 5.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: vesa 2.3.0, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1024x768, System Layer: VirtualBox 4.1.10_Ubuntur76795


Compile Bench 0.6
Test: Compile
MB/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 429.00 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 312.79 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 378.65 |=================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 348.64 |==============================


Compile Bench 0.6
Test: Initial Create
MB/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 220.11 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 159.19 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 144.09 |========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 140.54 |========================


Dbench 4.0
Client Count: 1
MB/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 300.55 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 268.33 |=================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 255.00 |===============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 113.94 |==============


Threaded I/O Tester 0.3.3
Test: Random Write - Size Per Thread: 64MB - Thread Count: 8
MB/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 174.62 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 9.57   |==
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 135.89 |=============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 35.86  |========


VP8 libvpx Encoding 0.9.7-p1
vpxenc
Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 23.54 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 19.67 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 23.18 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 7.94  |=============


x264 2011-12-06
H.264 Video Encoding
Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 170.44 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 139.51 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 156.54 |==================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 27.03  |======


GraphicsMagick 1.3.12
Operation: Blur
Iterations Per Minute > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 118 |========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 113 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 98  |=================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 90  |===============================


GraphicsMagick 1.3.12
Operation: HWB Color Space
Iterations Per Minute > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 162 |========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 157 |=======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 146 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 134 |=================================


GraphicsMagick 1.3.12
Operation: Local Adaptive Thresholding
Iterations Per Minute > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 85 |=========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 83 |========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 77 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 62 |==============================


GraphicsMagick 1.3.12
Operation: Resizing
Iterations Per Minute > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 146 |========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 138 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 130 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 97  |===========================


GraphicsMagick 1.3.12
Operation: Sharpen
Iterations Per Minute > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 87 |=========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 85 |========================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 81 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 66 |===============================


Himeno Benchmark 3.0
Poisson Pressure Solver
MFLOPS > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 1357.24 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 1322.15 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 1351.65 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 1258.82 |=================================


7-Zip Compression 9.20.1
Compress Speed Test
MIPS > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 25015 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 21319 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 23762 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 5200  |========


SciMark 2.0
Computational Test: Composite
Mflops > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 1062.22 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 957.19  |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 1050.68 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 907.17  |===============================


SciMark 2.0
Computational Test: Dense LU Matrix Factorization
Mflops > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 1941.16 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 1737.26 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 1928.90 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 1644.01 |==============================


SciMark 2.0
Computational Test: Fast Fourier Transform
Mflops > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 307.91 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 180.14 |======================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 308.62 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 171.66 |=====================


SciMark 2.0
Computational Test: Sparse Matrix Multiply
Mflops > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 1653.30 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 1473.43 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 1617.43 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 1384.57 |==============================


John The Ripper 1.7.9
Test: Blowfish
Real C/S > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 6562 |=======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 6270 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 5657 |==================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 2179 |=============


Timed HMMer Search 2.3.2
Pfam Database Search
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 12.14 |===============
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 10.67 |==============
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 9.74  |============
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 29.94 |======================================


Timed MAFFT Alignment 6.864
Multiple Sequence Alignment
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 4.89  |===
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 7.45  |=====
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 7.64  |=====
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 60.65 |======================================


Timed ImageMagick Compilation 6.6.3-4
Time To Compile
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 42.07 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 41.31 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 50.36 |=================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 58.26 |======================================


Timed Linux Kernel Compilation 3.1
Time To Compile
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 65.71  |=====================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 76.52  |========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 116.75 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 116.36 |=====================================


C-Ray 1.1
Total Time
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 37.37 |=========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 39.42 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 39.49 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 56.52 |======================================


LZMA Compression
256MB File Compression
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 155.28 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 197.93 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 144.33 |=========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 209.48 |=====================================


Parallel BZIP2 Compression 1.0.5
256MB File Compression
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 6.06  |=================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 6.42  |==================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 6.38  |==================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 13.53 |======================================


Crafty 23.4
Elapsed Time
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 90.96 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 93.82 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 92.55 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 99.29 |======================================


Open FMM Nero2D 2.0.2
Total Time
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 708.09 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 715.72 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 713.81 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 749.63 |=====================================


Smallpt 1.0
Global Illumination Renderer; 100 Samples
Seconds < Lower Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 21 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 21 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 21 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 29 |=========================================


OpenSSL 1.0.0e
RSA 4096-bit Performance
Signs Per Second > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 74.98 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 74.85 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 74.98 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 71.98 |====================================


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: BT.A
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 16396.46 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 14094.95 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 14979.75 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 3600.71  |========


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: CG.B
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 3307.14 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 2941.37 |================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 2841.48 |===============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 675.11  |=======


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: EP.B
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 305.52 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 297.07 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 297.51 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 207.84 |=========================


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: FT.B
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 9102.76 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 8589.00 |==================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 8693.00 |==================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 4871.72 |===================


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: IS.C
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 154.57 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 84.97  |====================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 153.99 |=====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 80.94  |===================


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: LU.A
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 15393.08 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 12133.88 |============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 11580.19 |==========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 2537.95  |======


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: MG.B
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 10158.85 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 8422.94  |=============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 7698.61  |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 1430.53  |=====


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: SP.A
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 9340.36 |====================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 7007.17 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 6944.81 |===========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 1100.63 |====


NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3
Test / Class: UA.A
Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 73.12 |======================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 56.96 |==============================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 46.09 |========================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 2.79  |=


NGINX Benchmark 1.0.11
Static Web Page Serving
Requests Per Second > Higher Is Better
Intel Core i7 3960X: Bare Metal . 17638.33 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: KVM ........ 16675.53 |=================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: Xen ........ 17788.74 |===================================
Intel Core i7 3960X: VirtualBox . 3505.38  |=======