1. A method of identifying a preferred configuration for executing a computing job on a distributed computing system having a plurality of compute nodes, comprising: retrieving a benchmark profile associated with the computing job, wherein the benchmark profile identifies a collection of benchmarks representative of the processing activity of the computing job; generating a plurality of benchmark distribution permutations, wherein each benchmark distribution permutation specifies a configuration for executing the collection of benchmarks on one or more of the plurality of compute nodes; for each benchmark distribution permutation, executing the collection of benchmarks on the distributed system, as specified by a given benchmark distribution permutation; and recording the performance results of executing the collection of benchmarks for each different benchmark distribution permutation.