Some Thoughts on the S2D Cache and the Upcoming Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory

Intel has a very thorough article that explains what happens when the workload data volume on a Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) cluster starts to "spill over" to the capacity drives in a NVMe/SSD Cache with HDD Capacity for storage.

• IOPs performance on NVMe + HDD configuration with Windows Server 2016 and Storage Spaces Direct

Essentially, any workload data that needs to be shuffled over to the hard disk layer will suffer a performance hit and suffer it big time.

In a setup where we would have either NVMe PCIe Add-in Cards (AiCs) or U.2 2.5" drives for cache and SATA SSDs for capacity the performance hit would not be as drastic but it would still be felt depending on workload IOPS demands.

So, what do we do to make sure we don't shortchange ourselves on the cache?

We baseline our intended workloads using Performance Monitor (PerfMon).

Here is a previous post that has an outline of what we do along with links to quite a few other posts we've done on the topic: Hyper-V Virtualization 101: Hardware and Performance

We always try to have the right amount of cache in place for the workloads of today but also with the workloads of tomorrow across the solution's lifetime.

S2D Cache Tip

TIP: When looking to set up a S2D cluster we suggest running with a higher count smaller volume cache drive set versus just two larger capacity drives.

Why?

For one, we get a lot more bandwidth/performance out of three or four cache devices versus two.

Secondly, in a 24 drive 2U chassis if we start off with four cache devices and lose one we still maintain a decent ratio of cache to capacity (1:6 with four versus 1:8 with three).

Here are some starting points based on a 2U S2D node setup we would look at putting into production.

• Example 1 - NVMe Cache and HDD Capacity
• 4x 400GB NVMe PCIe AiC
• 12x xTB HDD (some 2U platforms can do 16 3.5" drives)
• Example 2 - SATA SSD Cache and Capacity
• 4x 960GB Read/Write Endurance SATA SSD (Intel SSD D3-4610 as of this writing)
• 20x 960GB Light Endurance SATA SSD (Intel SSD D3-4510 as of this writing)
• Example 3 - Intel Optane AiC Cache and SATA SSD Capacity
• 4x 375GB Intel Optane P4800X AiC
• 24x 960GB Light Endurance SATA SSD (Intel SSD D3-4510 as of this writing)

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to a 2U server with 12 front facing 3.5" drives along with four or more internally mounted 3.5" drives is their heat and available PCIe slots. Plus, the additional drives could also place a constraint on the processors that are able to be installed also due to thermal restrictions.

Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory

We are gearing up for a lab refresh when Intel releases the "R" code Intel Server Systems R2xxxWF series platforms hopefully sometime this year.

That's the platform Microsoft set an IOPS record with set up with S2D and Intel Optane DC persistent memory:

• The new HCI industry record: 13.7 million IOPS with Windows Server 2019 and Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory

We have yet to see to see any type of compatibility matrix as far as the how/what/where Optane DC can be set up but one should be happening soon!

It should be noted that they will probably be frightfully expensive with the value seen in online transaction setups where every microsecond counts.

TIP: Excellent NVMe PCIe AiC for lab setups that are Power Loss Protected: Intel SSD 750 Series

Intel SSD 750 Series Power Loss Protection: YES

These SSDs can be found on most auction sites with some being new and most being used. Always ask for an Intel SSD Toolbox snip of the drive's wear indicators to make sure there is enough life left in the unit for the thrashing it would get in a S2D lab! :D

Acronym Refresher

Yeah, gotta love 'em! Being dyslexic has its challenges with them too. ;)

• IOPS: Inputs Outputs per Second
• AiC: Add-in Card
• PCIe: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
• NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express
• SSD: Solid-State Drive
• HDD: Hard Disk Drive
• SATA: Serial ATA
• Intel DC: Data Centre (US: Center)

Thanks for reading!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
www.s2d.rocks !
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Server Storage: Never Use Solid-State Drives without Power Loss Protection (PLP)

Here's an article from a little while back with a very good explanation of why one should not use consumer grade SSDs anywhere near a server:

• Don’t do it: consumer-grade solid-state drives (SSD) in Storage Spaces Direct

While the article points specifically to Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) it is also applicable to any server setup.

The impetus behind this post is pretty straight forward via a forum we participate in:

• IT Tech: I had a power loss on my S2D cluster and now one of my virtual disks is offline
• IT Tech: That CSV hosted my lab VMs
• Helper 1: Okay, run the following recovery steps that help ReFS get things back together
• Us: What is the storage setup in the cluster nodes?
• IT Tech: A mix of NVMe, SSD, and HDD
• Us: Any consumer grade storage?
• IT Tech: Yeah, the SSDs where the offline Cluster Storage Volume (CSV) is
• Us: Mentions above article
• IT Tech: That's not my problem
• Helper 1: What were the results of the above?
• IT Tech: It did not work :(
• IT Tech: It's ReFS's fault! It's not ready for production!

The reality of the situation was that there was live data sitting in the volatile cache DRAM on those consumer grade SSDs that got lost when the power went out. :(

We're sure that most of us know what happens when even one bit gets flipped. Error Correction on memory is mandatory for servers for this very reason.

To lose an entire cache worth across multiple drives is pretty much certain death for whatever sat on top of them.

Time to break-out the backups and restore.

And, replace those consumer grade SSDs with Enterprise Class SSDs that have PLP!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
www.s2d.rocks !
Our Web Site
Our Cloud Service

Windows Server 2012 to RST RAID 0 Error: Windows can’t be installed on drive 0 partition 1 - and Others

We had the following errors when trying to install Windows Server 2012 onto a desktop setup:

Windows Setup

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.

And then, after fiddling about with DiskPart we managed:

Windows Setup

We couldn’t install Windows in the location you chose. Please check your media drive. Here’s more info about what happened; 0x80300001.

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.

The PC setup

• Intel DX79SR with Core i7 and 64GB RAM
• Intel RST RAID enabled and 6x 160GB Intel SSDs in RAID 0
• Primary SATA set to RAID
• Secondary SATA DISABLED in BIOS
• Boot order set correctly

Now, it is important to note that these SSDs have been in and out of various systems.

So, a last ditch effort:

1. Log into the RAID BIOS
2. Reset the disks to NON-RAID
3. Boot to WinPE
4. SHFT+F10
5. DiskPart
6. Select each SSD and CLEAN
7. Reboot
8. Log into RAID BIOS
9. Set up RAID 0
10. Boot to Windows Server 2012 Setup

We created our 120GB partition and did not see a single message.

So, rule of thumb: Clean each disk while in JBOD/Standalone mode with DiskPart before configuring the disks in a new host-based RAID setup (chipset RAID).

A hardware RAID setup would initialize the disks (use the deep/long initialization to run a full set of zeros across all platters/SSDs if problems happen) so we would not normally see this problem.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

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An Absolutely Awesome SSD Explanation – TechNet Video on Using SQL with SSDs

This video is phenomenal:

• TechNet Video: How to Optimally Use SQL Server with SSD’s Without Burning Them Out

While the video is an hour and a bit long, there are download links to be had. This is one video that belongs on the ZuneHD or Windows Phone or any other player for listening while driving (though don’t concentrate too hard to the point of losing focus on the task at hand!).

The presenter is Karel Coenye. His Twitter handle is @Ryazame.

He gives such an awesome session on SSDs, what they are, what the can do, what they cannot do, and their strengths and weaknesses. This video is well worth the time for anyone considering SSD in a server setting or for those that have already deployed SSDs in a server setting.

Hat Tip: Henry Craven via the SBS2K Yahoo Group.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Toshiba Portege Z830-00P: Some mSATA SSD Testing to Come

We are just in the process of reloading Windows 7 Enterprise x64 on a newly received Toshiba Portege Z830-00P Ultrabook onto the 128GB Toshiba SSD that comes with.

When we did so we formatted a partition at a little over 70GB so that once all drivers are loaded and the Ultrabook is ready for bear we will image that partition using ShadowProtect.

We will then restore that partition to the 120GB OCZ Nocti mSATA SSD that showed up at our shop and eventually to an Intel 80GB 310 series mSATA SSD that should arrive here via Intel Demo sometime in the next couple of weeks.

We purchased the OCZ Nocti outright because we are pretty sure that the OCZ will far out-perform the Toshiba SSD that comes with the Portege.

Once we have the performance numbers we will publish them here. For now we will use the default WinSAT utility built into Windows to get an idea of the numbers just as we have done for previous systems that we tested.

The packaging for the OCZ:

The Canadian and US quarters are about the same size. As we can see, these drives are _small_ in size.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Spindled Based Hard Drives Are Getting Scarce – An Opportunity For SSDs

Hard drives through pretty much all channels at this point are either in limited supply, require us to purchase a motherboard and CPU with each, or a server that can hold the number of drives we require.

We are also seeing prices going up as a 2TB Seagate XT drive we paid $150 for a few months back is now $210 and rising sometimes daily!

What this means is that we are looking to SSD to fill in the gaps.

At the smaller capacities the overall system cost to include an 80GB or 160GB Intel 320 series SSD is not too much higher with the performance benefits far outweighing that cost.

Thus we have an opportunity to possibly sell SSDs into client situations where we may not have had that option before.

And, once the client’s users have worked on an SSD based system for a while they will probably notice the performance differences when working on systems with spindle based storage. From thereon in we will probably be deploying SSDs in almost all workstations going into those clients.

On the server side, where we once had a $150 difference between the 300GB 15K 2.5” Seagate SAS drives and the Intel 300GB 320 Series SSD that gap has pretty much been eliminated. Now, selling 300GB Intel 320 Series SSDs into a server setting has become quite easy.

Not only that, we can demonstrate quite clearly to our server clients that the SSDs have a clear advantage over spindled drives in performance but also in lower power consumption and less heat (means less cooling required).

In the end, if SSD demand does indeed rise significantly we win in that the higher volumes means the costs for those drives will come down. With lower costs, we will see even greater SSD adoption.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

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Product Review – Intel’s New 510 Series SSDs At AnandTech

We have been anticipating Intel’s third generation (G3 code) SSDs for quite a while now. They were due to be released late last year, or at least they were initially.

AnandTech has a great review of the interim product release of the Intel SSD 510 Series that utilizes a third party’s controller (Marvell) but still relies on Intel 34nm (G2 code) NAND.

• The Intel SSD 510 Review

Note the initial lackluster performance reports in the review. Though, later on in the article AnandTech goes through a series of built in-house performance tests that show the Intel SSD 510 to be a much stronger performer.

So far, we have been installing the 160GB Intel X25-M SSD into almost all laptops that go out the shop door due to their exponential performance increase over a standard spindle based hard disk.

Since most, if not all, of our clients host their data on an SBS server and the 160GB of space more than meets our client’s laptop storage needs needs we will be hard pressed to install a 250GB Intel 510 Series SSD (currently around $695/unit).

For now, we will wait to see what the third generation SSDs bring to market.

In the mean time we are looking into sourcing an OCZ 240GB Vertex 3! :)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Encryption via BitLocker Or Other with SSDs Is Essentially A Must As There May Be No Sure Erase For Flash Based Devices

While we are focusing on Solid-State Drives (SSDs) for this post, it goes without saying that encryption is a must for any client that has sensitive data being stored on their laptop hard disk.

With a spindle based hard disk we can slave the drive to our Data Mule system here in the shop and run a utility that does a DoD 7 Pass wipe on the drive and be reasonably confident that the data has indeed been wiped beyond what any normal recovery efforts may access.

The freeware product’s Web site can be found here:

• Heidi.ie.: Eraser Utility
• 

There is a really good discussion on the product’s forums about how to “erase” flash based devices.

• Heidi Computers Ltd Support: Erasing USB key Drives.

Erasing SSD Data

An article brought to our attention by a client of ours has a data security question mark when it comes to removing or erasing data on flash based devices.

• TechWorld: SSD drives difficult to wipe securely, researchers find

The above article links through to the following study:

• Reliably Erasing Data From Flash-Based Solid State Drives (PDF file)

About page three of the study we see that the researchers created a device that allowed them to gain full access to the actual flash chips within the flash based device:

The Ming the Merciless device helped them to discover data remnants stored in areas of the flash device that may have been accessible at one point due to the way the flash device’s wear-level software (Flash Translation Layer or FTL in the study) works.

If we are reading the study right, then the only way to truly protect any data stored on a system based SSD, external SSD, or other flash device is to have that device fully encrypted.

In our case that would mean that all laptops would need to be encrypted using BitLocker and all external devices would be encrypted using BitLocker To Go.

• Microsoft Downloads: Windows 7 Walkthrough: BitLocker and BitLocker to Go

When it comes time to retire the device, it will get totally destroyed by whatever method comes in handy. In our case a drill would be the method of choice.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

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Toshiba Tecra S11 Core i7-620M 160GB X25-M WinSAT Score

We have just completed configuring a number of new Toshiba Tecra S11 laptops with 160GB X25-M Intel SSDs.

• Toshiba Tecra S11 PTSE3C-011013

Our own Tecra S10 WinSAT scores can be found here:

• Intel 160GB SSD Performance In the Tecra S10 Versus RAID 0 2x 80GB SSDs on DX38BT

The Tecra S10’s scores were:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read              203.74 MB/s        7.3
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    39.33 MB/s        6.3
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write              88.15 MB/s          6.3
• Total Run Time 00:01:25.32

The Tecra S11’s scores were as follows:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read                   240.75 MB/s          7.5
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                       215.20 MB/s          7.8
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write                  103.40 MB/s          6.6
• Total Run Time 00:01:10.07

The second stat in the S10’s numbers must have been an anomaly. We will revisit the WinSAT test on that unit to see how the performance has stood up over time.

There is a tangible performance difference on the Core i7-620M based Tecra S11 versus the Core 2 Duo T9600. The system is a lot more responsive in so many ways.

So, it is not surprising to see that the SSD performance on the new S11 takes a step up versus the previous generation.

In the end, the cost of the SSD is more than made up by our client’s users increased productivity.

While one of the drivers for having the SSD installed has been Windows XP Mode on Windows 7, most of our client’s line of business applications have come up to date and are Windows 7 compatible. There are still a few hold outs, but for the most part XP Mode is slowly being deprecated.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

An iPad Killer From Down Under?

We are in the process of finalizing an order for a product that is just in the process of being released to the general public.

Yes, that is an iPad sized tablet running Windows 7. After a colleague dropped an iPad off at our shop for us to use for a week or so earlier this year we were not too impressed with the machine. The iPad has its purpose but that purpose did not suite us here.

The Tegatech TEGA v2 Touch Tablet was introduced to us by fellow MVP Wayne Small (his article on the TEGA v2).

With a Windows 7 operating system installed the TEGA v2 will do everything we need it to do _natively_ without any additional apps beyond Office 2010.

Running an Intel Atom N455 1.66GHz CPU with a 64GB SSD the TEGA v2 will run circles around some of the older Toshiba Tecra laptops with Pentium M series CPUs that we still use as shop systems. It should also run on par with the Intel Atom based netbooks that we use in our business that have had their spindle based drives replaced with Intel X25-M SSDs.

So, with the TEGA v2 coming with an SSD out of the box that is large enough to host the OS, Office 2010, and a few additional applications and utilities we will have ourselves a very portable and very usable little machine.

Time is Money

BTW, when it comes to deciding on the use of any new technologies we always weigh in on what it will cost us in time to figure the new tech out. With the iPad, there is a bit of a learning curve involved for those that are not part of the “iN” crowd.

That is one of the reasons that we are looking at the TEGA v2. There is no learning curve involved since we already know how to use Windows and Windows based devices.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Client How-To Videos: Camtasia V7 Production and Rendering

We recently purchased some Camtasia licenses for our company to create videos of various user related tasks such as adding multiple mailboxes into Outlook 2010, connecting and using the Remote Web Workplace, RDP via TS Gateway, and others.

The use of Camtasia to create videos specific to each of our clients has had an amazing impact on them. So far, every single time we have created a new video to answer a specific question, or provided an overall guide for everyone in the client’s office, we received a 110% positive feedback.

Camtasia and creating these user oriented How-To videos has become a Killer App in our ability to build a business relationship with our clients.

After capturing the relevant video of the task, we edit the clips in Camtasia studio adding the relevant callouts.

This is the title of a video we just finished producing for a client that signed up for the OWN Hosted Exchange services we provide:

Using Camtasia Studio, we can zoom in on certain events that are taking place on the desktop we have recorded to help provide focus for the viewer:

Note that the callout provides feedback to the viewer and helps them to know what bits of information are needed for each of the fields. Of course, in the video those bits get filled out right before their eyes!

Once we have created the video that we are going to send to our client and upload to the Companyweb SharePoint site, we need to render that video.

In the Task Manager, this is what the rendering does to the Core 2 Extreme QX9650 series system with Windows 7 Enterprise x64 in Processes:

This is what the Performance tab looks like:

Once the rendering starts, Camtasia is quite capable of pushing this system to its limits. So, any Core i5 or Core i7 based system should be able to do a good job of rendering the project video quite efficiently.

Camtasia does look to take advantage of all 4 cores on this system, so having a quad core system will improve rendering times over a dual core system.

We have a pair of Intel X25-M series SSDs in RAID 0 for this system too. So, in effect the drive subsystem should not be a bottleneck in any way for the rendering process.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

USB 3.0 – Is It Worth It?

We are gearing up to do some testing here in the shop of some new USB 3.0 gear.

The components:

• Vantec 2-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI-E Host Card
• A SATA power connector is needed to power this card.
• Vantec NexStar Hard Drive Dock SuperSpeed

We will use a standard 7200 RPM Seagate SATA drive to provide the baseline for performance. We will then use a Western Digital 150GB VelociRaptor and an Intel 80GB G2 code SSD drive to push the USB 3.0 bus to its limits.

We already know that USB 2.0 gives us a real world throughput of about 35MB/second.

We have seen eSATA give us around 60-70MB/second in our own real world testing and usage of the connection.

So, we look forward to seeing if USB 3.0 is all its cut out to be.

Once we have a good idea of what the speed advantages are, we will install the Vantec USB 3.0 PCI-E Host Card into one of our lab servers with an SBS 2008 OS installed. We will configure the SBS Backup to run once an hour. Hopefully we will be able to gain some insight as to whether the Vantec card will work with our servers.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel SSD Expected Lifetime And Gross Data Throughput Capabilities

While working on the previous post on Intel SSDs configured in the Intel Modular Server SAN, the twelfth slide in the IMS IDF2009 presentation was a real eye opener:

Note the numbers for the amount of data that can be written to the X25-E series drives as well as the two X25-M series drives!

• X25-E Series
• 3 Years of random writes
• 1-2 Petabytes of data volume
• X25-M Series in a Client setting
• 5 Years of random writes
• 35 Terabytes of data volume
• X25-M Series in a Datacenter setting
• 3 Years of random writes
• 7.5-15 Terabytes of data volume respectively

Those numbers give us a view of Intel’s expected lifetime for their Solid-State Drives in terms of the total volume of data to be written to them.

On initial view, the numbers seem relatively small volume wise. But, given the fact that we deal with some substantial amounts of static data both on servers and workstations we need to be mindful of the actual volume of data written to the disk over its expected lifetime.

Once we have a server OS and whatever applications installed on the disks, we are probably going to fall fairly far below the 20GB/day listed for the Intel X25-M series drives in a Client setting for example.

Intel Source:

• IDF2009 STOS004- Unleash Ultimate Virtualization Performance- Intel® Modular Server with Intel®

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

So, Just How Fast? 160GB X25-M Versus 250GB WD SATA – Both In Acer TM6592 Series

For comparison’s sake, we did the following tests on Acer TravelMate TM6592 series laptops with a fresh install of Windows 7 Enterprise x64 OS. Both laptops have the same CPU and RAM configuration as well as BIOS version.

This TM6592 is using the factory installed 250GB Western Digital WD2500BEVS SATA hard disk:

C:\Windows\system32>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:15.74
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:13.56
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:01:26.55
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:13.29
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:08.55
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:13.01
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.09
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.05
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read                  44.80 MB/s          5.2
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                     1.25 MB/s          3.5
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate         5.79 ms/IO          5.1
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs               13.61 units          6.3
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                   21.19 units          6.1
> Responsiveness: Overall                     288.42 units          6.0
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor                0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write                 54.38 MB/s          5.5
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes  7.824 ms       5.1
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     15.855 ms          4.9
> Latency: Maximum                             40.617 ms          7.9
> Average Read Time with Random Writes   8.321 ms         4.9
> Total Run Time 00:02:32.26

This TM6592 is using a second generation Intel X25-M 160GB SSD:

C:\>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:04.41
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:00.36
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:01:20.96
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:07.86
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:01.19
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:01.19
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read                263.91 MB/s          7.6
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                   243.05 MB/s          7.9
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate       4.29 ms/IO          5.7
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs            16.37 units          4.6
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                 100.06 units          1.9
> Responsiveness: Overall                   1638.23 units          1.9
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor                1.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write                 99.40 MB/s          6.5
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes  0.427 ms       7.9
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     1.671 ms          7.9
> Latency: Maximum                             2.033 ms          7.9
> Average Read Time with Random Writes   0.489 ms       7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:36.63

By the numbers:

• 250GB SATA drive:
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read       44.80 MB/s          5.2
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read            1.25 MB/s          3.5
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write       54.38 MB/s          5.5
• Total Run Time 00:02:32.26
• 160GB SSD drive:
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read       263.91 MB/s          7.6
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read          243.05 MB/s          7.9
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write        99.40 MB/s          6.5
• Total Run Time 00:01:36.63

Given the above numbers, it is not difficult to justify the extra cost of the 160GB SSD to our clients. The performance increase is so _huge_, that they see payback in a matter of weeks.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Asus Eee PC 1000HE WinSat Disk SSD performance

Since we have been on the topic of WinSat performance in the various configurations we have had here in the shop with Intel’s new second generation solid-state drives, we did not test the Netbook that started the whole thing off!

So, here are the results:

C:\>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:07.49
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:01.03
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:01:02.59
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:13.43
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:03.26
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:02.67
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.05
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.03
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read                133.19 MB/s          7.0
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    122.65 MB/s          7.3
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate        2.43 ms/IO          6.7
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs             13.21 units          6.4
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                   11.57 units          7.3
> Responsiveness: Overall                    152.89 units          6.6
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor               0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write                73.57 MB/s          6.1
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes  1.192 ms       7.5
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     2.361 ms          7.4
> Latency: Maximum                             157.421 ms          7.5
> Average Read Time with Random Writes    1.440 ms       7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:31.76

The specific Asus Eee PC 1000HE SSD performance variables we look at:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read                133.19 MB/s          7.0
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    122.65 MB/s          7.3
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write                73.57 MB/s          6.1
• Total Run Time 00:01:31.76

This was the Toshiba Tecra S10’s 160GB Intel SSD’s Winsat performance (previous blog post) the last time we measured it.

Here are the Tecra S10’s single 160GB SSD read/write stats that we retook today:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read              215.06 MB/s        7.4
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    63.50 MB/s        6.7
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write              87.69 MB/s          6.3
• Total Run Time 00:01:28.20

It looks as though the I/O bottleneck has been dealt a serious blow on both configurations. Though, the S10’s Random Read number does look a little low relative to the Netbook.

The Netbook is running Windows 7 Professional x86 (32bit) with no BitLocker Drive Encryption while the Tecra S10 is running Windows 7 Enterprise x64 (64bit) with BitLocker Drive Encryption enabled.

All in all, bumping out the 160GB 5400RPM SATA drive in the Netbook was a _really good decision_!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

160GB Pair of Intel G2 SSD’s RAID 1 and RAID 0 Performance On A W5590 Xeon Workstation

While putting together the trading station for our client, we did some bench testing of the Intel solid-state drives in two RAID array configurations.

The system configuration:

• Intel S5520SC Workstation Board
• BIOS 42, BMC 0.45, FRU/SDR 21
• Intel W5590 Xeon Processor (second is going into an identical setup)
• 12GB Kingston KVR1333 ECC Registered RAM
• 160GB Intel SSD -G2R5 Code pair of drives
• On Board Chipset LSI based RAID
• Intel SC5650WS Workstation Chassis with 1,000Watt PSU
• PNY nVidia Quadro NVS 450 PCI-E x16 (4 monitors)
• ATI FirePro 2450 PCI-E x16 (4 monitors)
• Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Edition

The Intel SSDs are using the factory default firmware and no trim tools have been installed. The RAID Web Console 2 was installed but the SSD trim tools built into it were not enabled either for both tests.

Here is the WinSat output for the RAID 1 configuration:

C:\Windows\system32>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:03.71
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:00.31
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:55.51
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:07.55
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:01.42
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:01.37
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read               504.89 MB/s         7.9
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                  242.46 MB/s         7.9
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate     1.52 ms/IO          7.5
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs          11.60 units          6.9
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                 3.62 units          7.8
> Responsiveness: Overall                  42.01 units          7.2
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor              0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write             97.07 MB/s          6.5
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes 0.997 ms     7.6
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     1.791 ms          7.8
> Latency: Maximum                             5.227 ms          7.9
> Average Read Time with Random Writes   0.879 ms          7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:10.57

And here is the raw output for the RAID 0 configuration:

C:\Windows\system32>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:04.13
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:00.26
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:51.11
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:04.30
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:01.11
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:01.09
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.02
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read           537.33 MB/s          7.9
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read              375.88 MB/s          7.9
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate        0.76 ms/IO          7.9
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs             8.99 units          7.3
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                     1.69 units          7.9
> Responsiveness: Overall                      15.21 units          7.9
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor                0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write             197.47 MB/s          7.3
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes    0.947 ms     7.7
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     1.719 ms          7.9
> Latency: Maximum                             5.686 ms          7.9
> Average Read Time with Random Writes   0.952 ms          7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:02.78

Taking the above statistics we get:

• RAID 1 configuration:
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read        504.89 MB/s         7.9
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read           242.46 MB/s         7.9
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write         97.07 MB/s          6.5
• Total Run Time 00:01:10.57
• RAID 0 configuration:
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read         537.33 MB/s          7.9
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read            375.88 MB/s          7.9
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write        197.47 MB/s          7.3
• Total Run Time 00:01:02.78

It is pretty clear that having the SSDs in a RAID 0 or RAID 10 configuration will provide a significant performance advantage in real world usage.

The write speed more than doubled when the drives were striped and took a huge step for the random read tests as well.

So, what do the numbers translate to? They translate to extremely fast OS loads, application loads, RAM cache like behaviour for any swap file activity, and an all around great user computing experience.

For anyone that generates revenue on system setups and the speed that they accomplish their computing tasks, this is one rig to consider.

By the way, the peak power consumed by the box was 195Watts under load. The average power usage while running its various tasks was 110-120Watts as measured by the APC BR1500LCD UPS. Only the workstation was connected to the UPS.

When the components for the second workstation arrive, we will run the same tests but with an add-in RAID controller to see if that further improves disk I/O performance.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel 160GB SSD Performance In the Tecra S10 Versus RAID 0 2x 80GB SSDs on DX38BT

The following is the output of the WinSat disk test on the Windows 7 Enterprise x64 Toshiba Tecra S10 with an Intel 160GB SSD installed:

C:\Windows\system32>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:04.79
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:00.87
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:01:03.66
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:09.03
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:03.85
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:02.45
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.01
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.02
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read             203.74 MB/s          7.3
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    39.33 MB/s          6.3
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate       0.88 ms/IO          7.9
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs             10.02 units          7.2
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                     7.13 units          7.6
> Responsiveness: Overall                      71.52 units          6.9
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor                0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write              88.15 MB/s          6.3
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes  1.143 ms     7.5
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     2.246 ms          7.5
> Latency: Maximum                             207.342 ms          7.3
> Average Read Time with Random Writes   1.048 ms         7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:25.32

It is important to note that the above stats are on a _laptop_!

Now, let’s have a look at what two 80GB SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration via the onboard Intel DX38BT (Intel product site) chipset RAID gives us with Windows 7 Enterprise x64:

C:\Windows\system32>winsat disk
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.00
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:05.36
> Running: Storage Assessment '-ran -read -n 0'
> Run Time 00:00:00.59
> Running: Storage Assessment '-scen 2009 -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:56.94
> Running: Storage Assessment '-seq -write -drive C:'
> Run Time 00:00:06.47
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -seq'
> Run Time 00:00:02.16
> Running: Storage Assessment '-flush -drive C: -ran'
> Run Time 00:00:01.69
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 4096'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.02
> Running: Storage Assessment '-hybrid -ran -read -n 0 -ransize 16384'
NV Cache not present.
> Run Time 00:00:00.01
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read              461.83 MB/s          7.9
> Disk  Random 16.0 Read                  282.86 MB/s          7.9
> Responsiveness: Average IO Rate        1.41 ms/IO          7.6
> Responsiveness: Grouped IOs              11.15 units          6.9
> Responsiveness: Long IOs                     9.11 units          7.4
> Responsiveness: Overall                    101.50 units          6.8
> Responsiveness: PenaltyFactor                0.0
> Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write               164.71 MB/s          7.2
> Average Read Time with Sequential Writes  0.721 ms       7.8
> Latency: 95th Percentile                     1.960 ms          7.7
> Latency: Maximum                             147.954 ms          7.5
> Average Read Time with Random Writes  0.782 ms          7.9
> Total Run Time 00:01:13.77

Now, given the hardware differences between the two configurations, this is obviously an unfair comparison. However, they do provide a good reference point for the solid-state drive’s capabilities.

Here are the Tecra S10’s single 160GB SSD read/write stats:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read              203.74 MB/s        7.3
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                    39.33 MB/s        6.3
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write              88.15 MB/s          6.3

Here is the DX38BT 80GB x2 RAID 0 read/write stats:

• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Read              461.83 MB/s          7.9
• Disk  Random 16.0 Read                  282.86 MB/s          7.9
• Disk  Sequential 64.0 Write              164.71 MB/s          7.2

What do these loosely put together stats that tell us?

That the Intel second generation Solid-State drives are _fast_!

Realistically, the above stats show that the on board RAID has the ability to improve disk I/O quite substantially when the drives are striped together.

The Tecra S10:

• Intel T9600 2.8GHz
• 4GB RAM
• 160GB Intel SSD

The desktop:

• Intel QX9650 Core 2 Quad Extreme
• 4GB KVR1333 series Kingston RAM
• Intel DX38BT BoneTrail
• 80GB Intel SSD x2 RAID 0 via on board chipset

We will test some additional configurations as they pass through our shop.

Given the above stats we may look to start using a pair of 80GB SSDs for our SBS 2008 OS drives to help reduce the OS’s boot times.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel Hot Swap 2.5” to 3.5” Adapter Tray Enables Intel SSD Hot Swap RAID – AXX25DRVADPTR

We had a really difficult time getting our hands on these adapters:

The adapter is actually upside down in the above image.

Flipped over, the SATA and power connectors on the 2.5” drive line up perfectly with the hot swap backplane connector to allow for the smaller drive to be used in 3.5” drive hot swap backplanes.

• Intel AXX25DRVADPTR Installation Guide (PDF Download)
• Intel AXX25DRVADPTR Compatible Intel Chassis and System List

With these trays we can look at configuring a RAID 1 array or RAID 10 array of SSDs for I/O intensive needs for things such as OS or Exchange databases.

We can also offer an option to update some of our existing client servers with these trays and a couple of Intel SSDs to speed things up significantly.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

What A BitLocker Encrypted Drive Looks Like On Another PC

It looks like this:

After refreshing the view it looks like this:

And, in Windows Explorer after clicking on the encrypted partition showing as G: with no file system indicator we get:

The above screenshots are from the Tecra S10’s 160GB spindle based hard disk that has since been replaced by an Intel X-25 M 160GB SSD.

The E: partition was the Active one that contained the BCD database and other files needed for the initial boot of the Windows 7 Enterprise.

The E: partition was actually a misguided attempt at setting up BitLocker with Windows 7 since the discovery that Windows 7 would create its own 100MB partition for the boot content was made after the fact.

This time around, we allowed Windows to install into the new SSD without touching any of the partitioning and we now have a BitLocker encrypted SSD in the Tecra S10 with nothing more than a small Active partition. The encryption process looks to be more CPU dependent that drive I/O dependent as the encryption time may have been reduced by 35%.

So, any guesses on whether the data in that encrypted partition is accessible? Perhaps by someone with a lot of horsepower like law enforcement or perhaps an organized crime syndicate of some sort . . . maybe.

For now, with BitLocker we have taken the best possible precautions at protecting the data on that drive and can be reasonably assured that the data will remain intact until we wipe the drive using a DoD 7 pass erase.

For that DoD 7 pass wipe we use a freeware product called Eraser. It is an excellent little utility that allows us to wipe as many drives as this particular system can handle (7+ drives).

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Replacing a MacBook Pro Drive With An SSD and Upgrading the RAM

Okay, so we found this great video online that shows how to take things apart and put them back together.

• YouTube: BullyChris: Guide: How To Swap / Upgrade Hard Drive / HDD and RAM / Memory In A 2009 Apple MacBook Pro 13"

Now, in the above case, the replacement hard drive seemingly had an OS already on it and according to the comments he used a cloning method in a previous video to do that.

Well, since the MacBook Pro had already been messed around with, tweaked, and essentially made non-standard, it was time to start fresh anyway.

Once we had the MacBook Pro opened up we started with the memory:

Note the Seagate 160GB 5400RPM SATA drive in the bottom left hand corner of the above shot.

We upgraded the memory using Kingston’s 4GB kit:

• 4GB Kit KTA-MB1066K2/4G

We then used a 160GB Intel X25-M second generation drive to replace the Maxtor:

Now, being that we do _a lot_ of hard drive upgrades and changes with a fresh install of the Windows OS, this process was supposed to be a no-brainer.

But, this is what we were greeted with when the MacBook Mac OS X Snow Leopard DVD booted up:

Since Windows would have the drive listed there despite the fact that it was untouched, the above screen was a bit disconcerting at first.

Just in case, we powered the unit down and pulled off the bottom cover to verify that all connections were properly seated which they were.

While we were at it, we tied the SSD up to our data mule via SATA to USB adapter and the drive showed up with no problems.

After installing it back into the MacBook Pro and booting back up into the setup routine, the Utilities menu item seemed to be the next logical place to look … at least for us Mac OS X n00bs anyway! ;)

Under that menu was an item called Disk Utility. We clicked on that and there was the SSD:

The only Disk Utility option that permitted us to do anything to the drive was Erase:

Note the Format was wrongly set to Case Sensitive. The second run through the OS X Snow Leopard install we left things at their default.

Once the format was finished we saw:

Forty minutes later we had a freshly installed Mac OS X and off we went to install the Mac Applications, Office 2008 for Mac, and all of the available updates.

Now, there may be a better way of getting a fresh drive available for OS X install in the Utilities menu, so please feel free to offer your way of doing things.

BTW, the RAM upgrade was actually done before the drive swap. It made a bit of a difference when multiple programs were open when swapping between them.

But, the SSD drive upgrade totally changed the performance characteristics of the MacBook Pro.

• From off to logon screen is 16 seconds.
• From logon to full dashboard functionality is less that 5 seconds.
• The dashboard is pretty full.
• Shutdown from the point of clicking the final shutdown button is 3 seconds.

The unit was pretty quick relative to the other portables that are used around here, but the SSD has made a huge difference in its performance.

Next up will be to pick up a copy of Parallels and install Windows to enable RWW/RDP and TS Gateway functionality to access client systems for management purposes.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer