Hello!
I want to get some SSD drives to use as L2 cache on a server with 8TB data.
What is the best option?
4x Crucial ΜΧ500 500GB in Raid-0
or
2x Samsung 860 Evo 1TB in Raid-0
thank you.
Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
Samsung. Always go with Samsung. High quality drives with great reliability and outstanding lifespan.
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
Ok. Samsung then. But what is better?
4x 500GB 860 Evo in Raid-0
or
2x 1TB 860 Evo in Raid-0
or
1x 1TB 970 Evo nvme no raid
thank you
4x 500GB 860 Evo in Raid-0
or
2x 1TB 860 Evo in Raid-0
or
1x 1TB 970 Evo nvme no raid
thank you
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
RAID speed would of course be better for a 0 stripe with more drives, but you get 2x the failure points compared to two drives (if that really matters much on a SSD, which I don't think it does). Is your RAID a hardware (BIOS or card) chipset, or through Windows? If it is a hardware stripe the performance should be great even with four drives. I haven't seen metrics, but I expect Windows software implementation on a larger number of drives is less stellar. For that reason expect a slight CPU hit if you set up four drives in a RAID 0 stripe.
I don't know if I've seen a single NVMe compared to four standard SSDs before. Might have to go Googling to see if there's a benefit to RAID in that case. You'd reduce your L2 space by 50%, but probably come out ahead on performance. Especially if the RAID you have access to is a software set.
I don't know if I've seen a single NVMe compared to four standard SSDs before. Might have to go Googling to see if there's a benefit to RAID in that case. You'd reduce your L2 space by 50%, but probably come out ahead on performance. Especially if the RAID you have access to is a software set.
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
We currently use the following server for file sharing on an internet cafe business.
CPU: i3 6100
Motherboard: Z170
Ram: 32GB 3200MHz (20GB L1 Cache)
M2 SSD: 128GB Intel Pro 6000p for Windows 2019 Server
6805T Controller Raid-10 (4x4TB HGST 7200rpm drives) - 8TB Total Storage
Intel x710 Dual 10Gbps NIC
In total 25 Client PCs read from this server. They copy the requested application locally from the server and use individual performance to run it.
So what we need is to boost read speed across lan from server.
Now apart from 20GB L1 Cache, I have an 1TB 860 Evo for L2
But I want to have the best speed possible to cover min 10Gbps or 20Gbps max. for simultaneous transfer.
CPU: i3 6100
Motherboard: Z170
Ram: 32GB 3200MHz (20GB L1 Cache)
M2 SSD: 128GB Intel Pro 6000p for Windows 2019 Server
6805T Controller Raid-10 (4x4TB HGST 7200rpm drives) - 8TB Total Storage
Intel x710 Dual 10Gbps NIC
In total 25 Client PCs read from this server. They copy the requested application locally from the server and use individual performance to run it.
So what we need is to boost read speed across lan from server.
Now apart from 20GB L1 Cache, I have an 1TB 860 Evo for L2
But I want to have the best speed possible to cover min 10Gbps or 20Gbps max. for simultaneous transfer.
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
If you have that many clients sharing apps then your data set (frequently used apps/data) from the server sounds like it could be significant. Do you have any metrics (information on actual data use) from the past? If the clients aren't pulling >1TB of unique data per day (i.e. all the apps/files are the same day after day and never amount to more than 1TB), then the NVMe would be your best solution. If however they pull down >1TB of unique data per day (total apps, files, data, etc) then you'll want max L2 space.
I'd take a digital inventory of the apps/files that clients use most from day to day, along with any associated data/config that they pull down, and see what it adds up to. Chances are good if those aren't large games then the 1TB would do you fine.
Your goal of course is to populate the L2 one time, and then have 95% or more of that data come out of the L2 on a daily basis. But you need to know how much data that is going to be.
I'd take a digital inventory of the apps/files that clients use most from day to day, along with any associated data/config that they pull down, and see what it adds up to. Chances are good if those aren't large games then the 1TB would do you fine.
Your goal of course is to populate the L2 one time, and then have 95% or more of that data come out of the L2 on a daily basis. But you need to know how much data that is going to be.
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
1 TB is ok as capacity. Top 10 Games are around 500GB-1TB. My most intensive scenario is when Fortnite changes season and have a 17GB patch. I have to download/install it on server and then share/copy to 10-20 clients simultaneously. That is 10-20Gbps of lan activity. I want to cover that in best way.
Will an 1TB 860 EVO do the job among with 20GB Ram as L1?
If not then is it better to add 32GB more ram or swap with an nvme 970EVO 1TB?
Will an 1TB 860 EVO do the job among with 20GB Ram as L1?
If not then is it better to add 32GB more ram or swap with an nvme 970EVO 1TB?
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
Re-reading all your info, I think the question comes down to concurrency (provided you think 1TB is enough space to service all the games you really care about). So for concurrency - how many clients are going to be pulling down one of your top 10 games at the same time? The NiCs probably aren't teamed, meaning you can push at full speed to two clients simultaneously (10Gbps per client for up to two clients). The NVMe could handle that since it tops out at 28Gbps, but two 860 Evos top out at 8.8Gbps (assuming you get +100% drive speed in RAID 0, which probably wouldn't be the case).
But a further consideration - what speed do the clients write this data to their drives at? If they are limited to normal 860 Evo speeds, then the NVMe as a L2 on the server doesn't help much if it's just 1-2 clients pulling a game down. No matter how fast the L2 on the server is, your target speed is going to be: the Number of Clients Pulling x Their Write Speed. That's the target speed you want for the L2 on the server. Fewer clients pulling at once means you can go with slower 860 Evo drives. Many clients pulling at once means you'll be better served with a NVMe.
Bottom line sounds like: If you have only 1-2 clients downloading at the same time and writing locally at SSD speeds, then you could safely go with the 2x 1TB 860 Evos in a RAID 0 stripe. If you frequently get more than two clients pulling games down at the same time then the 1TB NVMe would be your best bet for a L2.
Note: The bonus to using the 1TB NVMe is that later on (if you wanted to), you could add another identical NVMe and turn that 1TB L2 into a 2TB L2, in case you ever got really busy and needed the extra read speed on the server.
But a further consideration - what speed do the clients write this data to their drives at? If they are limited to normal 860 Evo speeds, then the NVMe as a L2 on the server doesn't help much if it's just 1-2 clients pulling a game down. No matter how fast the L2 on the server is, your target speed is going to be: the Number of Clients Pulling x Their Write Speed. That's the target speed you want for the L2 on the server. Fewer clients pulling at once means you can go with slower 860 Evo drives. Many clients pulling at once means you'll be better served with a NVMe.
Bottom line sounds like: If you have only 1-2 clients downloading at the same time and writing locally at SSD speeds, then you could safely go with the 2x 1TB 860 Evos in a RAID 0 stripe. If you frequently get more than two clients pulling games down at the same time then the 1TB NVMe would be your best bet for a L2.
Note: The bonus to using the 1TB NVMe is that later on (if you wanted to), you could add another identical NVMe and turn that 1TB L2 into a 2TB L2, in case you ever got really busy and needed the extra read speed on the server.
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
Server has x710 Dual 10Gbps in Team
Clients have onboard 1Gbps NIC and 860 Evo SSD
I want to be able to send data to at least 10 clients simultaneously. 20 would be the best. So I need at least 10Gbps ability and 20Gbps is prefered.
Right now it is easier for me to add another 1TB 860 evo as sata ports are available. Also I can add 32GB more ram.
Adding 970 Evo requires reinstalling windows on Sata SSD, as M2 ports is occupied right now.
But I think that the best solution for me is 2x 970 Evo in Raid-0 + 64GB ram. Or is it overkill?
Clients have onboard 1Gbps NIC and 860 Evo SSD
I want to be able to send data to at least 10 clients simultaneously. 20 would be the best. So I need at least 10Gbps ability and 20Gbps is prefered.
Right now it is easier for me to add another 1TB 860 evo as sata ports are available. Also I can add 32GB more ram.
Adding 970 Evo requires reinstalling windows on Sata SSD, as M2 ports is occupied right now.
But I think that the best solution for me is 2x 970 Evo in Raid-0 + 64GB ram. Or is it overkill?
Re: Raid-0 with 4 drives for L2 Cache
If you're sending data to ~10 clients simultaneously, there's no way the 860 Evos would work (even four of them). So yes, you're going to want to go with the 1TB 970 NVMe. It's good to know the NiCs are teamed though.
As mentioned before, with the amount of data you're trying to cache RAM is never going to come close to covering it, and due to the expense is a waste of money in my opinion. A L1 on the data drives isn't going to help you much (if at all). By comparison, using that money to add in a 2nd 970 NVMe so you have two 1TB drives in a RAID 0 stripe for your L2 would be a FAR better use of the money, and ensure you get fast read speeds and more than enough coverage for the games you want to cache.
Another option (if you think 1TB is enough space for your L2) is two 970 NVMes in RAID 1 (mirroring), which provides even faster read speeds than RAID 0. RAID 1 is slower to write, but you aren't concerned with that in your daily use, just read speeds.
An additional benefit from using two NVMe(s) and reinstalling Windows on a separate SSD, is that you can use a dedicated Cache Task in RAM (a L1) to cache just the Windows boot volume. Your L2 would go separately on the data drives.
So in my opinion, the following config would suit you best:
As mentioned before, with the amount of data you're trying to cache RAM is never going to come close to covering it, and due to the expense is a waste of money in my opinion. A L1 on the data drives isn't going to help you much (if at all). By comparison, using that money to add in a 2nd 970 NVMe so you have two 1TB drives in a RAID 0 stripe for your L2 would be a FAR better use of the money, and ensure you get fast read speeds and more than enough coverage for the games you want to cache.
Another option (if you think 1TB is enough space for your L2) is two 970 NVMes in RAID 1 (mirroring), which provides even faster read speeds than RAID 0. RAID 1 is slower to write, but you aren't concerned with that in your daily use, just read speeds.
An additional benefit from using two NVMe(s) and reinstalling Windows on a separate SSD, is that you can use a dedicated Cache Task in RAM (a L1) to cache just the Windows boot volume. Your L2 would go separately on the data drives.
So in my opinion, the following config would suit you best:
- Windows on separate boot SSD, cached with moderate L1 RAM cache.
- L2 on one (two if possible) 970 Evo NVMe drives in RAID 1 (for speed) or RAID 0 (for capacity) caching the data drives.
- No additional RAM necessary, use the money for your L2 if you can