Performance - Aberdeen AberNAS 120 Manual

Key Improvements Since Windows Powered NAS 2.0
Windows Storage Server 2003 has been improved in a number of key areas relative to
Windows Powered NAS 2.0. This section highlights improvements in the key areas of file serving
performance, integrated snapshots, and the user interface.

Performance

As a dedicated file server, the speed with which NAS boxes can handle I/O read and write requests is
a critical factor in overall performance of systems on the network. Windows-based NAS boxes
communicate with client systems using the SMB (server messenger block)
internet file system) protocol for Windows-based systems. For Unix-based systems, the NFS (network
file system) protocol is used.
SMB Performance
The industry standard in measuring SMB/CIFS file server performance for Windows Clients is
NetBenchTM benchmarking software. File server performance is measured as throughput (megabits
per second) versus number of clients.
Comparisons of Windows Storage Server 2003 and NAS 2.0 using the same hardware configurations
directly capture improvements in the Windows operating system performance. These improvements
stem from changes to the kernel (improved caching, buffering, and the like), as well as changes
reflected in the use of SMB in 2003 versus CIFS in 2000. Differences between studies capture
differences attributable to different hardware configurations.
In both internal MS benchmarks using NetBench and a commissioned 3
performance of Windows Storage Server 2003 is greatly enhanced in comparison to NAS 2.0. In 3
party Veritest comparison
throughput on Windows Storage Server 2003 is 35-85% faster than Windows Powered NAS 2.0,
depending on whether there are one, two, four or eight processors
tests, using a different hardware configuration, put the overall throughput at 100% or above for each
of the four processor configurations.
NFS Performance
The industry standard for measuring NFS file server performance for Unix clients is based on the
Spec SFS benchmark program produced by the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation. Spec
SFS scores file server performance in terms of I/O throughput per second (IOPS). In internal MS
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tests using Spec SFS, file serving performance increased from 5040 IOPS in NAS 2.0 to 7500 IOPS
in Windows Storage Server 2003, a 50% increase.
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SMB is Server 2003's enhanced version of CIFS (native to Server 2000).
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See the report at www.veritest.com/clients/reports/microsoft.
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It is important to note that these performance improvements are seen only when upgrade client software is loaded onto
the client systems.
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For configuration details, see Windows Storage Server 2003 OEM training Guide.
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of file serving in Windows Storage Server 2003 and NAS 2.0, peak
Microsoft® Windows Storage Server 2003 White Paper
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or CIFS (common
rd
party benchmark test, the
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(see Figure 1). Internal Microsoft
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