REDMOND, Wash., May 17, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the results of an independent study, which concluded that Microsoft® Message Queuing (MSMQ), Microsoft’s message-oriented middleware service, is nearly 10 times faster than IBM’s MQSeries in identical testing scenarios. Message queuing is a critical component for building reliable Web applications because it allows information sent from one application to be delivered to the intended destination, whether or not the destination is currently available. According to the report, 4,000 byte MSMQ messages achieved an average throughput of 7,590 messages per second on a single machine; MQSeries messages of 4,000 bytes averaged only 736 messages per second in a duplicate environment. In addition, MSMQ achieved greater performance than MQSeries using different message sizes and types.
The results of the benchmark, which was conducted by NSTL, an industry-leading independent software testing agency, significantly elevates the standard by which messaging software is evaluated. MSMQ, which is integrated with the Windows® 2000 operating system, combines with other application services such as transaction and component support (COM+), Web services and scripting, Internet Information Services (IIS), and access to any type of data, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), to make up a robust, scalable platform for developing robust Web applications.
“With Windows 2000 and Windows DNA 2000, Microsoft is delivering an integrated platform for developing and deploying Web solutions,”
said Tod Nielsen, vice president of the Platform Group at Microsoft.
“The NSTL test results released today demonstrate Microsoft’s commitment to empowering customers with exceptional technology and products for building enterprise-level Web applications.”
Testing Methodology
The NSTL performance evaluation encompassed a series of tests designed to measure the performance of message sending and receiving functionality in MSMQ and MQSeries. The testing of MSMQ and MQSeries comprised the following:
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Messages sent. Persistent, nonpersistent and transactional messages were sent with various sizes and thread counts.
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Messages received. Persistent, nonpersistent and transactional messages were received with various sizes and thread counts.
The tests were done on two computer configurations, a high-performance hard drive system and a conventional hard drive system comparable with most desktop computers. Both computers were running Windows 2000 and the latest version of each product (MSMQ 2.0 and MQSeries 5.1). The computers were configured in the following manner:
High-performance hard drive configuration
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Compaq ProLiant 5000 PC
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200MHz Pentium Pro CPU
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256 MB of RAM
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Eleven 4GB hard drives
Conventional hard drive configuration
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Dell Optiplex Gxpro PC
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Two 200MHz Pentium Pro CPUs
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130 MB of RAM
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One 12GB hard drive
The software benchmarking tool used was MQBench, which was originally written by Microsoft in the Visual C++® development system to measure the performance of sending and receiving messages in MSMQ. For purposes of this evaluation, the code was ported to MQSeries by Level 8 Systems Inc., recognized MQSeries experts. The MQBench program determines the conditions of the test by defining different messages sizes, thread counts and message types. All source code is available on the MSMQ Web site.
This was an exciting opportunity for NSTL to examine messaging products, said Lloyd Holder, NSTL COO and director of testing. The test methodology we executed for Microsoft showed a marked difference between the Microsoft and IBM products.
No Microsoft or IBM personnel were present during testing.
Customers: Performance and Availability Are Key
Top ISVs are using MSMQ to achieve greater performance and easier application integration to enable high availability for leading Web sites. These customers chose the MSMQ and Windows 2000 platform because it provides nonstop availability to applications, meets the highest demands of high-traffic Web sites, and takes advantage of existing investments in both coding and hardware on other platforms and in other languages.
“It was the feature set and the capabilities of MSMQ that attracted us initially, but it was the performance that really hooked us because it allowed M4’s synchronization performance to far surpass our competition’s in the CRM industry,”
said John Coffey, director of Strategic Programs at Moss Software Inc.
“Concur eWorkplace provides companies with enhanced productivity and operating efficiencies,”
said Michael Hilton, chief technical officer of Concur Technologies Inc.
“Because our solutions touch every desktop, customers rely on us to deliver solutions that support their growth and continued success. Using MSMQ has not only provided us with a rich feature set, but has enhanced the performance of Concur eWorkplace.”
MSMQ — Past, Present and Future
Microsoft Message Queuing is an integrated feature of the Windows 2000 operating system, which initially shipped with the Windows NT® 4.0 Enterprise Edition operating system. Windows 2000 is the foundation of Windows DNA 2000, Microsoft’s platform for building and deploying Web solutions including intranet, extranet, e-commerce (business-to-business and business-to-consumer) and other Internet-based applications. Windows DNA 2000 enables faster time to market for building and deploying Web applications that can interoperate and integrate with existing applications, with partners and customers, and with future data and devices. MSMQ provides asynchronous reliable communications to computers and applications that are intermittently unavailable, easing the impact of many common problems such as network failures, bottle-necked dependencies, bandwidth saturation and scheduled downtime of application resources.
In addition to Windows 2000, other components of the Windows DNA 2000 platform include the Visual Studio® development system, Microsoft SQL Server™
, the COM+ component and programming model, and other application services — all best-of-breed products that leverage the deepest developer talent pool and third-party market in the industry. The Windows DNA 2000 platform provides a fast, easy path to developing and deploying serious applications for the Business Internet.
The NSTL report can be accessed from the NSTL Web site at http://www.nstl.com/ and on the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/
guide/platform/performance/reports/msmq.asp . More information about MSMQ is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/msmq/ . More information about Windows DNA can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dna/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
