How can i improve my raid array

janjan
edited September 2003 in Hardware
I have 2 80GB Western Digital SEs in a Raid-0 on a Promise Fasttrak 100 controller (i know maybe not the best one around).
The scores are not very good with it although i tweaked the latency and everything.
Would a new controller help me, if yes which one ?
I have a Asus A7n8x deluxe with the onboard SATA raid controller, would it work to just buy the PATA->SATA adapters ?
My scores now :

Comments

  • janjan
    edited June 2003
    the pic didnt work ...
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    What are you running for stripe/cluster? How far have you tried to adjust the PCI latency? What did you use to do it?

    As far as the onboard SATA your board should have come with 2 cables and adapters. I would try it but be sure to use the latest bios and drivers first as the Silicon Image controllers had some probs initially but have been fixed through new bios and drivers. Here is a good guide to PCI Latency tweaking at the bottom of the page. Then your scores will be closer to these.
  • janjan
    edited June 2003
    I adjusted the PCI latency for my controller via powerstrip. I found 88 gives me the best result. Stripe/cluster is at 64/64, i know its a bit high and 16/16 is recommended.
    There were no adapters included with my mobo, so i would have to buy a pair. Is there a chance the onboard SATA controller is faster than the Promise Fasttrak 100 ?
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Originally posted by Jan
    I adjusted the PCI latency for my controller via powerstrip. I found 88 gives me the best result. Stripe/cluster is at 64/64, i know its a bit high and 16/16 is recommended.
    There were no adapters included with my mobo, so i would have to buy a pair. Is there a chance the onboard SATA controller is faster than the Promise Fasttrak 100 ?
    It may well be faster than the Promise but you should be doing a lot better than that. Have you tried closer to the high end as most raid controllers work better at that end? I like to try every single setting and bench it 3 to 4 times with as much background processes switched off as possible to get an accurate bench. I have also learned that the WD SE's like different stripe/clusters than the old "tried and true 16/16". I have been having good luck with 32/8 on mine. Once again try several and test thouroughly. I usually end up making an afternoon out of testing a new RAID set-up. Also if you add new drivers try "resetting the PCI latency (I usually uninstall PS and re-install it) as adding new drivers messes with the latency. Also don't use any of the old patches as they were intended for VIA based boards.

    Are these Atto's from within the drive or measured from your set-up install? I like setting-up, testing and configuring from my set-up install th find the best set-up and then duplicate the whole install procedure from within my array after the O/S is in.
  • janjan
    edited June 2003
    these attos are from the array with windows running on it.
    i will try to get another drive to install windows on and play with the different configurations then.
    i will have time for that next week probably.
    thanks for now
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Originally posted by Jan
    these attos are from the array with windows running on it.
    i will try to get another drive to install windows on and play with the different configurations then.
    i will have time for that next week probably.
    thanks for now
    Jan

    After you get your O/S installed on the "set-up" drive do a re-format on each drive individually prior to setting up your array. I have much better luck this way unless you have a real good eraser/wipe utility. Try the 32/8 first as I do beleive others are doing well with this config too.
  • janjan
    edited June 2003
    32/8 means 32 stripe and 8 cluster size, right ?
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Originally posted by Jan
    32/8 means 32 stripe and 8 cluster size, right ?
    Yes it does mean 32 stripe and 8 cluster.:) Good luck!
  • janjan
    edited September 2003
    Ok i finally reformatted and now i get this.
    Latency for the controller is at 56.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Have you tried any of the very high latecies? The inbalance between reads and writes is suggesting you are at the wrong end of the latency scale. I would try starting at 248 and work my way down. Is that 32/8 stripe /cluster? What do you have the jumpers on your HD's on? They should be set as "Single Drive" and be on the master end of the cable or on a single device cable.
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