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Benchmarks

Performance​

The Benchmarking is currently not yet deployed on Acurast Canary, the active system does not yet score the hardware but regards one phone as one device when it comes to rewards.

The Acurast Benchmark suite is designed to evaluate the performance of processors running in the Acurast network. It provides a comprehensive set of tests to measure computational throughput, memory allocation and access efficiency, and storage read/write performance. The benchmarks include support for multithreaded execution to leverage modern multi-core architectures.

Benchmarks​

CPU​

The CPU benchmarks evaluate the computational capabilities of the device. They include:

  • Crypto: Measures encryption and decryption throughput using AES-256 and hashing throughput using SHA-256.
  • Math: Tests matrix multiplication performance, with support for three algorithms:
    • Divide and Conquer: A recursive algorithm used for single-threaded execution when SIMD is disabled or for multithreaded benchmarks in general.
    • Iterative: A straightforward implementation used when SIMD optimization is enabled but the device lacks the required hardware capabilities.
    • SIMD-Optimized: An optimized version of the iterative algorithm leveraging SIMD instructions, used when the device supports the required hardware capabilities.
  • Sort: Benchmarks sorting algorithms, including single-threaded and multithreaded merge sort.

The CPU benchmark suite is available in two variations:

  • Single-Core: Executes all tests using a single thread to evaluate the performance of a single core.
  • Multi-Core: Executes all tests using multiple threads to leverage the full computational power of the device.

RAM​

The RAM benchmarks assess memory allocation and access patterns:

  • Allocation: Measures the time taken to allocate and initialize memory.
  • Access: Evaluates sequential, random, and concurrent memory access patterns.

Storage​

The storage benchmarks focus on file I/O performance:

  • Access: Measures sequential and random read/write throughput for files on the storage medium.

Methodology​

CPU​

Configuration​
  • Crypto: Configure the duration of the test and the size of the data to encrypt and hash.
  • Math: Specify the matrix size, whether to enable SIMD optimizations, and the duration of the test.
  • Sort: Define the size of the dataset and the duration of the test.
Execution​
  • Crypto: The test encrypts and decrypts data using AES-256 and computes hashes using SHA-256.
  • Math: Performs matrix multiplication using one of three algorithms:
    • Divide and Conquer: Used for single-threaded execution when SIMD is disabled or for multithreaded benchmarks.
    • Iterative: Used when SIMD is enabled but the device lacks the required hardware capabilities.
    • SIMD-Optimized: Used when SIMD is enabled and the device supports the required hardware capabilities.
  • Sort: Executes merge sort on a dataset, either single-threaded or multithreaded.
Results​
  • Crypto: Reports the throughput in bytes per second for encryption and hashing.
  • Math: Outputs the number of operations per second for matrix multiplication.
  • Sort: Provides the number of sorted elements per second.
Evaluation​
  • Score: The CPU score is calculated as the average of the throughput (TPSTPS) values from the Crypto, Math, and Sort benchmarks. Higher throughput results in a higher score.
scoreCPU=TPScrypto+TPSmath+TPSsort3score_{CPU} = \frac{TPS_{crypto} + TPS_{math} + TPS_{sort}}{3}

RAM​

Configuration​
  • Allocation: Specify the number of iterations and the size of memory to allocate in each iteration.
  • Access: Configure the number of iterations and the size of data for sequential, random, and concurrent access patterns.
Execution​
  • Allocation: Allocates and initializes memory repeatedly to measure allocation performance.
  • Access: Reads and writes data in sequential, random, and concurrent patterns to evaluate memory access efficiency.
Results​
  • Allocation: Reports the average time taken to allocate and initialize memory.
  • Access: Provides average times for sequential, random, and concurrent access patterns.
Evaluation​
  • Total RAM: The total available RAM memory.
  • Score: The RAM score is calculated based on the inverse of the average times (TT) for Allocation and Access benchmarks. Higher efficiency results in a higher score.
scoreRAM=Talloc−1+Taccess_seq−1+Taccess_rand−1+Taccess_concurr−14score_{RAM} = \frac{T_{alloc}^{-1} + T_{access\_seq}^{-1} + T_{access\_rand}^{-1} + T_{access\_concurr}^{-1}}{4}

Storage​

Configuration​
  • Access: Define the number of iterations and the size of data for sequential and random read/write operations.
Execution​
  • Access: Creates temporary files and performs sequential and random read/write operations. Files are removed after each iteration.
Results​
  • Access: Reports the average time for sequential and random read/write operations.
Evaluation​
  • Available Storage: The available storage capacity.
  • Score: The Storage score is calculated as the average of the inversed average times (TT) for sequential and random read/write operations. Lower average times result in a higher score.
scorestorage=Taccess_seq−1+Taccess_rand−12score_{storage} = \frac{T_{access\_seq}^{-1} + T_{access\_rand}^{-1}}{2}