Hello

I doubt you would get better performance using the system board controller. I suggest checking to see if cache on the drives is enabled. Drive cache may be disabled by default. I can't recall if drive cache can be changed in the controller BIOS on this system or if it can only be changed with storage management software. I think it can only be changed with storage management software like OpenManage Storage Administrator. If OMSA is not supported in your OS then you can use our live image.

https://www.dell.com/support/article/sln305214/

http://www.dell.com/storagecontrollermanuals/

http://www.dell.com/openmanagemanuals/

http://www.dell.com/support/

Thanks

I booted the Support Live Image and went to

Storage -> Perc H330 Adapter -> Connector 0 -> Enclosure -> Physical Disk.

Sadly, Non-Raid HDD DIsk Cache Policy is already set to  Enabled. So no quick wins there...

As a result, I have to ask:

1. Since the 480GB SSD drive is SATA, could I not connect that disk directly to the embedded SATA?
2. And how come the Fsync is so bad on this server then? Fsync is crucial for virtualization and database server performance. 
3. What other options do I have to avoid a month's dead use?

Hi Daniel

In iDRAC -> Configuration -> BIOS -> SATA Settings I see the following:

1. Embedded SATA : AHCI Mode
2. Write Cache : Disabled

Is that what you are referring to? If so, how can that cache setting apply to drives connected to the PERC 330 in HBA mode?

No, that is the embedded SATA controller. That reminds me, you can't connect SAS drives to the embedded controller, it does not support SAS. So, directly connecting the drives to the embedded controller instead of the H330 is not an option for SAS drives.

I am not aware of a supported configuration to use two internal storage controllers on the R440.

If you set the disks to non-RAID or the H730 to HBA it will not use write cache, so I don't suggest buying an H730 with expectations that write cache will give better performance. I think the H730 has more queue depth and a faster processor, so performance will likely increase.

I don't know why you are not getting the performance you expect. It could be a driver issue, normal for the drives being used, configuration, or something else.