Ssd Performance - Compaq BL10e - HP ProLiant - 512 MB RAM Update Manual

ISS Technology Update

SSD Performance

HP 3Gb/s SATA SSD read and write performance is significantly improved over first-generation SSDs, as shown in Table 1.
The new SSDs are particularly appropriate for applications that require storage systems capable of performing large numbers
of random reads per second. Traditionally, solutions designers have used RAID configurations with large numbers of disk drives
to achieve this. Using the new HP solid state drives, a single SSD can deliver two to six times as many random reads per
second (IOPs) as an entire RAID 0 array of 12 SAS disk drives. This makes the new drives ideal for read-intensive, high-IOPs
applications that do not require the large storage capacities that RAID configurations can offer.
Table 1. Performance comparison of SATA/SAS drives with SSDs for servers
6 Gb/s SAS drive
Class Enterprise
Interconnects 6 Gb/s SAS-2
Write performance 150 MB/s
sustained throughput @ 64 KB
Write performance 285
random IO/s (4 KB, Queue=16)
Read performance 90 MB/s
sustained throughput
Read performance 340
random IO/s (4 KB, Queue=16)
HP SSD futures
The new HP 3Gb/s SATA SSDs are the first SSD products designed to operate across most of the ProLiant server line. They
continue to use the more robust single-level cell NAND flash technology and are suitable for use in Midline (MDL) drive
environments where unconstrained workloads and a 100% duty cycle are not required. The NAND flash memory used in SSDs
has a limited life cycle for writes. Although advanced techniques such as wear-leveling and over-provisioning are used to help
overcome this, HP 3G SATA SSDs are still better suited for read-intensive environments where writes are 30% or less of the total
IO load.
SSD technology is still rapidly evolving. HP hopes to introduce its first Enterprise class SAS SSDs in 2010. These drives will be
engineered for unconstrained read and write workloads and 100% duty cycles. This will match the basic reliability
characteristics of Enterprise class disk drives while providing the IO performance advantages of SSDs. HP may also introduce
server SSDs based on multi-level cell NAND flash memory. These products will provide a solution for application environments
that need higher capacity SSDs, but do not require support for unconstrained IO workloads.
Additional resources
For additional information on the topics discussed in this article, visit the following websites:
Resource
HP Solid State Storage
Technology brief - Solid state drive technology for
ProLiant servers
HP ProLiant drives (including solid state drives)
1st generation 2 nd generation
HP SATA SSDs HP 3Gb/s SATA SSDs
Midline Midline
1.5 Gb/s SATA 3.0 Gb/s SATA
50 MB/s 180 MB/s
100 5000+
100 MB/s 230 MB/s
4300 20,000+
URL
www.hp.com/go/solidstate
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportMa
nual/c01580706/c01580706.pdf
www.hp.com/products/harddiskdrives
Volume 8, Number 7
HP SAS SSDs
(preliminary)
Enterprise
6 Gb/s SAS-2 Dual Port
TBD
TBD
560 MB/s
Up to 100,000
4