Hello this is my first post on this forum, and need some advice on ZFS topic
I'm going to build a new storage server for my development lab, it will be directly connected to separate machine with XenServer via NFS on single 1gbit nic. There is +20 virtual machines running 24/7. Most of the time they're idle but from time to time I'm triggering a set of automatic tests and then there is a looot of concurrent IO going to the storage
All I care now is to get as much IOPS as possible without spending too much money.
Hardware:
- Intel server board (S3210SH)
- Single dual core xeon cpu on lga775
- 8GB of ram ddr2
- Separate raid controller card from LSI or 3Ware on PCI-E or PCI-X slot
- SSD SLC for ZIL (Intel x25-e 20GB/32GB)
- SSD MLC for L2ARC (OCZ Vertex3 64GB)
- SLC USB stick or SATADOM module for OS
- 8 sata drives in stripe-mirror configuration (RAID 10)
Software:
- FreeNAS 8 or generic FreeBSD with ZFS
I need more or less 1TB of capacity which will be a NFS export with thin provisioning.
Question is what SATA drives I should use for the vdev. I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy eight WD VelociRaptor 250GB drives (WD2500HHTZ) that have almost two times more IOPS than average 7200rpm sata drive or simply just take a bunch of ordinary consumer SATA drives.
Is it possible to predict the difference in IO performance with using faster SATA drives when SSDs are a layer between the ram and the real storage?
Thanks in advance for any feedback
I'm going to build a new storage server for my development lab, it will be directly connected to separate machine with XenServer via NFS on single 1gbit nic. There is +20 virtual machines running 24/7. Most of the time they're idle but from time to time I'm triggering a set of automatic tests and then there is a looot of concurrent IO going to the storage
All I care now is to get as much IOPS as possible without spending too much money.
Hardware:
- Intel server board (S3210SH)
- Single dual core xeon cpu on lga775
- 8GB of ram ddr2
- Separate raid controller card from LSI or 3Ware on PCI-E or PCI-X slot
- SSD SLC for ZIL (Intel x25-e 20GB/32GB)
- SSD MLC for L2ARC (OCZ Vertex3 64GB)
- SLC USB stick or SATADOM module for OS
- 8 sata drives in stripe-mirror configuration (RAID 10)
Software:
- FreeNAS 8 or generic FreeBSD with ZFS
I need more or less 1TB of capacity which will be a NFS export with thin provisioning.
Question is what SATA drives I should use for the vdev. I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy eight WD VelociRaptor 250GB drives (WD2500HHTZ) that have almost two times more IOPS than average 7200rpm sata drive or simply just take a bunch of ordinary consumer SATA drives.
Is it possible to predict the difference in IO performance with using faster SATA drives when SSDs are a layer between the ram and the real storage?
Thanks in advance for any feedback
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