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June 20th, 2018 12:00

PERC H330 writing perfs are just TERRIBLE !!!!

Hello, 

Here's my configuration :

DellT130 server - 24Gb RAM - Perc H330 connected to 3x SSD 256Gb in RAID5  + 1x HD 1TB (for backups)

WS2012R2 with 2 VMs (HyperV) one of them with SQL Express 2012 (ERP SAGE)

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The write performances of the above configuration are just TERRIBLE !

As an example, yesterday I had to restore an Acronis 11.7 backup of one of my VMs and it took me more than 3.5hrs for a mere 120Gb backup file !

I have read many things on this particular "sluggishness" subject and I do understand quite well why my H330 performs so bad on the 3 SSD which are connected to it (write cache is disabled and RAID parity get along not quite well with SSD's).

Anyway, here's my dilemma :

#1 either I purchase a costly (>500USD) H730 card and swap my H330, connect the 3x SSD + 1x HD on it,  do an "import foreign config" in PERC BIOS and cross my fingers for this new configuration (with write cache and NAND battery) to improve drastically the write performances ...

 

#2 or, I simply DUMP MY H330, purchase a mini SAS to SATA cable like this one , and then connect to my motherboard two 256Gb SSDs (one for the OS, the other one for the VMs) + my 1Tb HD as DIRECT SATA DRIVES (no RAID !), then restore a backup of my current configuration and "PERIOD" ... no more RAID bull**bleep**ting (cable cost <20USD) !

Honestly, I am quite conscientious on backups (one every night for the OS and misc.corporate data) plus one every hour for the SQL database. Then why should I keep on relying on RAID which  -finally-  **bleep** more than improves my quality of IT life !

If I keep my system in RAID, it will either :

#1 be expensive if I purchase a H730 controler card

#2 or sluggish if I keep my H330/RAID5 configuration !

Eagerly awaiting for your advices !!!!

 

Thanks to all 

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(french)

Bonjour,

D'abord ma config :

DellT130 - 24Gb RAM - Perc H330 connectée à 3x SSD 256Gb en RAID5 + 1xHD TB (pour les backups)

WS2012R2 avec 2 VMs (HyperV) dont une avec SQL Express 2012 (ERP SAGE)

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Mes performances d'écriture sont POURRIES de chez POURRIES, j'ai du remonter un backup Acronis de ma VM "société" hier et ça m'a prix 3H30 pour à peine 120Gb de données sauvegardées !

J'ai lu et (j'espère) avoir compris pourquoi ma H330 performe très mal sur les 3xSSD qui lui sont attachés (write cache disabled et RAID5 avec sa parity mal acceptée par les SSD)

Mon dilemme est le suivant et j'espère que la community va m'aider à le résoudre :

1- soit j'achète un H730 qui coûte la peau des fesses (450€) et remplace mon H330, connecte physiquement mes 3x SSD + 1x HD, fais un import "foreign configuration et je crois les doigts pour que le write cache + la batterie du H730 fasse des miracles sur les temps d'écriture

2- soit je JE VIRE LA PERC H330, m'achète un câble mini SAS to SATA comme ceci et connecte deux SSD 256Gb (un pour l'OS et un pour les VM) + mon HD 1Tb de backup directement sur ma carte-mère T130, remonte une sauvegarde de mon RAID5 et BASTA !

Franchement, je mets le paquet sur le backup (nocturne pour l'OS et les VMs + chaque heure pour ma base SQL), pourquoi devrais-je continuer à m'emm****** avec du RAID qui va être soit :

1- cher si j'achète une H730

2- lent si je garde mon H330/RAID5 en l'état !

J'écouterai vos conseils avec GRAND intérêt !

Thanks.

Moderator

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6.2K Posts

June 21st, 2018 08:00

Hello

You should not use a controller without cache for parity array if performance is a concern. Even if performance is not a concern, a controller without cache should not be used on a server with high disk utilization. The performance can be so bad during high utilization that it can cause errors.

Parity RAID levels have calculations that must be performed with each write. Since the controller does not have anywhere to cache while it performs these calculations it will stop everything to perform the calculation. This can cause very bad performance during high utilization.

http://www.dell.com/support/article/sln164091/

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

Thanks

26 Posts

June 22nd, 2018 00:00

Hello Daniel,

Thanks for the explanations and links.

Here's what I currently get on my server with a H330 RAID5 controller (see pics below : on top the HyperV physical machine and then below its two virtual machines : VM1 and VM2).

Do you you think I can switch ***without hesitation*** to a H730 (or H730p) controller to improve those deplorable write figures ?

Thanks for your reply.

H330 performances

 

Moderator

 • 

6.2K Posts

June 22nd, 2018 08:00

Yes, you should see a performance increase switching to a controller with cache. If you want to continue using your current controller then I suggest using a non-parity RAID level. Something like RAID 0, 1, or 10 should perform much better. A high end controller like the H730 or H730p is required to maintain decent performance on a parity array.

Thanks

7 Technologist

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16.3K Posts

December 26th, 2018 12:00

There is no real question there: The SSD.

There isn't really much point in asking the question if you use the H330 (you could also use the H330 to pass through the drives to the OS and mirror from there, skipping RAID on the H330).

1 Message

December 26th, 2018 12:00

H730P Verse H330

Hello Daniel: Can you tell me a 15k RPM SAS verse your 480GB SSD SAS Mix Use 12Gbps 512n 2.5in Hot-plug Drive: Which one will be more reliable and faster if I run a oracle database?

Is H330 will work for me if chose a 5 RAID set up

1 Message

June 3rd, 2020 14:00

I've been seeing this same performance issue with 4 HDDs configured in raid 10.  I'm only able to get about 30MB/sec write speeds.  I understand the reasons for this if I was using raid 5, but with raid 10 I would have expected the controller to work in pass-thru mode and just commit the writes.  I broke the raid config and marked each disk as non-raid and i'm able to get ~70MB/sec on each disk.  I also reconfigured the disks with storage spaces and that is also able to get ~70MB/sec from this hardware.  Is there anything that I should be reconfiguring on this to get at least the raw disk performance from the H330?

10 Posts

July 26th, 2020 07:00

I have seen similar poor performance with my h330 in raid10 for a standalone esxi host.  Would love to see options to improve ideally without buy a new controller.  Not much money at this location.

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