Benchmarking
The benchmark program is designed to test roughly how fast your machine is at doing the sort of things that are involved in timetabling. The program will tell you how long you can run your algorithm for on the competition timetabling problem instances. It is not possible to provide perfectly equitable benchmarks across many platforms and algorithms, and we know that the benchmark may be kinder to some people than others. It is pointed out that all the finalists will be run on a standard machine therfore creating a 'level playing field'.
The benchmark is only suitable for individual, single processor machines. It is not suitable for, for example, specialist parallel machines or clusters. Only individual, single processor machines are allowed to be used for the competition.
If you are using a PC, then please get the executable and data file here. If you are using a non-PC system then please contact us to obtain the program.
To run the program you need the executable and the data file benchmarkinput.ttp. The two files need to be in the same directory.
The program should be run when the machine is not being used for anything else. Things to check for are:
- There are no unnecessary windows open
- There are no significant OS background processes going on (e.g. back-up)
- There are no remote users on the computer
- There are no CPU sharing processes running (e.g. SETI at home, United Devices, DREAM)
The program will report how long it took, and hence the length of time you can run your timetabling algorithm for (for each instance).
The benchmark program indicates that we will be able to run our timetabling program for approximately 300 - 500 seconds on a modern PC under Windows XP. If the results you get are not in line with this, then please get in touch with us. However, please bear in mind that the exact speed of your computer depends on a number of factors including the memory and the operating system, in addition to the clock speed.
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 10:21 AM