Which OS is Fastest for High-Performance Network Applications?

Jeffrey B. Rothman and John Buckman

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In this article, we compare Linux, Solaris (for Intel), FreeBSD, and Windows 2000 to determine which operating system (OS) runs high-performance network applications the fastest. We will describe which software designs to look for from your network software vendor, explaining how each design yields different performance characteristics, and determine which OS platform is best suited for each common network programming design. We present our OS benchmarks with both simulated and real-world tests, then evaluate the results.

We found that the software application’s architecture determines speed results much more than the operating system on which it runs. Our benchmarks demonstrate a 12x performance difference between process-based and asynchronous task architectures. Significantly, we found up to a 75% overall performance difference between OSes when using the most efficient asynchronous architecture. We found Linux to be the best performing operating system based on our metrics, performing 35% better than Solaris, which came in second, followed by Windows, and finally, FreeBSD.

Background

At Lyris Technologies, we write high-performance, cross-platform, email-based server applications. Better application performance is a competitive advantage, so we spend a great deal of time tuning all aspects of an application’s performance profile (software, hardware, and operating system).