In a recent study preformed by Schlumberger for Australia-based Origin Energy, Linux blew the pants off comparable mid-range workstation configurations running GeoFrame—Schlumberger’s flagship interpretation suite. Origin Energy previously ran GeoFrame on Sun Microsystems’ hardware and Solaris. Origin Energy decided to upgrade its hardware and undertook a benchmarking study comparing its existing setup with new hardware and operating system offerings.
GeoFrame
The benchmark tested the new Linux-based release of GeoFrame running in three client-server modes: Solaris client and server, Solaris client with Linux/Intel server and a ‘homogeneous’ system of a PC client running Linux and an Oracle server also running Linux. Tested workflows included seismic interpretation with IESX, GeoViz visualization, geological applications and data management.
Stable and fast
The new PC Linux version of GeoFrame proved stable and fast, ‘clearly outperforming the existing Solaris network and meeting the criteria for adoption’. The best performance with the hardware tested was for the Linux/Linux configuration of client/Oracle server.
Taylor
Summarizing the results, Origin chief geophysicist Randall Taylor said, ‘That Linux combination clearly outperformed Origin’s existing setup. The improved performance of GeoViz on a Linux workstation enables the application to be more effectively used in everyday interpretation.’
Four times faster
Many operations were three to four times faster than the current setup, some up to seven times faster. Gridding and contouring in was almost three times faster when compared to a Sun Blade 1000. Operations that were impossible in 3D, due to previous graphics refresh speeds, became instantaneous, allowing interpreters to use 3D visualization and interpretation in everyday workflows. Following the benchmark study, Origin Energy will be implementing GeoFrame on Linux ‘real soon now’.
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