SPEC Releases New ISO/IEC 21836-Compliant SERT Suite

SERT 2.0.4 Suite Supports Certification of Latest ARM, Power, and x86 Architectures Driving Global Regulatory Energy Goals

GAINESVILLE, Va., June 15, 2021 — The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC) today announced the release of a new ISO-compliant version of the SERT suite, which forms the core of the ISO/IEC 21836:2020 standard. This next-generation measurement standard was designed in collaboration with leaders of global energy-efficiency regulatory programs since 2006. It enables energy efficiency measurement of single- and multi-node servers across the latest server architectures and processors.

The SERT suite, which became ISO 21836-compliant with the launch of the standard in November 2020, provides a solid technical base that organizations and governments can use to achieve their energy objectives. SERT results are required to sell servers in Japan, and the European Union (EU), and additionally required for Cloud Service Providers deployments in the EU. In the U.S., SERT measurements are required for companies seeking ENERGY STAR for Enterprise Server certifications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In addition, the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) is currently considering the SERT suite for inclusion in its upcoming mandatory server energy regulations.

"We are immensely gratified to have worked closely with SPEC to diligently incorporate the SERT 2 suite into the important ISO/IEC 21836:2020 standard," said Jay Taylor, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 39 Committee Chairman. "Because the SERT 2 suite comes from such a highly respected, vendor-agnostic organization, I expect faster and more widespread adoption of ISO/IEC 21836 by international organizations and governmental regulatory bodies around the world. SPEC's rigorous processes also ensure we will see regular updates to the SERT suite, which will enable us to continue raising the bar on computing efficiency and help us meet our environmental sustainability goals."

The SERT suite is developed and maintained by the SPECpower Committee, which includes representatives from AMD, Dell, HPE, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and the University of Würzburg. Veteran SPEC benchmark developers Hansfried Block and Greg Darnell are supporting contributors. The SERT 2.0.4 suite utilizes the SPECpower Committee's innovative modular architecture, which allowed streamlined integration of the latest versions of the Chauffeur benchmark harness and the PTDaemon Interface, also utilized by other SPEC benchmarks. This modular architecture reduces the time required for developing future workloads, adding new architectures, and supporting new power analyzers and temperature sensors.

"The adoption of the SERT 2 suite to the ISO/IEC standard marks a major shift for SPEC as we increasingly work with international agencies to standardize on the SERT suite as the most effective method for measuring server efficiency on a global scale," said Klaus-Dieter Lange, chair of the SPECpower Committee. "SPEC's 30-plus year history of developing fair and platform-neutral industry-standard benchmarks can give government agencies confidence in the independence and efficacy of the SERT suite. The deep experience and excellent reputation of SPEC is a key to accelerated success of server efficiency programs."

SERT 2.0.4 updates

The latest version of the SPEC SERT suite is performance neutral to its predecessor and includes:

Support for the latest ARM processors from Ampere, Fujitsu, and Marvell.
The PTDaemon 1.9.2 Interface to control power analyzers and temperature sensors.
ISO compliance report links on SERT JVM Options website
Various GUI optimizations.

Available for immediate download

The SERT 2.0.4 suite is available for immediate download from SPEC for 2,800 USD. Discounts are available for qualifying non-profit research and academic organizations. Current SERT 2 licensees are eligible to receive a free upgrade. The SERT suite requires a SPEC-accepted power analyzer and temperature sensor. Visit the SERT 2 website for more information.

About SPEC

SPEC is a non-profit organization that establishes, maintains and endorses standardized benchmarks and tools to evaluate performance for the newest generation of computing systems. Its membership comprises more than 120 leading computer hardware and software vendors, educational institutions, research organizations, and government agencies worldwide.

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Media contact: Brigit Valencia
360.597.4516
[email protected]

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