Adaptec 2405 performance boost?

[bluesherpa]

Would an Adaptec 2405 raid controller improve network performance much on my Ubuntu box? I'm currently getting 50MB/s read, 35MB/s write with 4x2TB drives, 6gigs of ram, and an Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo @2.4GHz.

I'm going to install ESXi, so that I can run more than one OS from the box and I'm concerned about the performance hit this will incur. It's a question of whether I can just upgrade the raid controller or whether I'll need to run my NAS from a separate box.

What do you think?

 

[thiggins]

A RAID controller won't improve network performance.

To achieve 100 MB/s transfer rates, you usually need clients with
RAID 0, PCIe based gigabit and Vista SP1 / Win 7 or another OS that can do network transfers with larger than 64 K blocks.

 

[bluesherpa]

But doesn't network performance improve if the server can read / write data to the drives more quickly?

Do I need to configure Ubuntu to use 64 K blocks?

My client machine has OSX and a PCIe gigabit port. Would it automatically handle 64 K blocks or does it need to be configured?

Shouldn't I be getting more than 50MB/s read and 30MB/s write?

I've been thinking of buying the ReadyNas Pro Pioneer for improved network performance and increased storage management. I'm just not sure if my current hardware is capable of the same level of performance. In other words, is this an issue of me learning how to properly configure and take advantage of what I have? Do I just need to upgrade some of the hardware to unleash the system's potential? Or should I just go straight for the ReadyNas Pro Pioneer?

Plus, I want to do a lot more with the Ubuntu box. I can't tell how much the additional work load will impact things. I really appreciate any advice you have here.

 

[thiggins]

But doesn't network performance improve if the server can read / write data to the drives more quickly?

Only if that is a limiting factor.

Do I need to configure Ubuntu to use 64 K blocks?

Maybe. You'll have to experiment.

My client machine has OSX and a PCIe gigabit port. Would it automatically handle 64 K blocks or does it need to be configured?

I don't know what Mac OSX does for block sizes, sorry.

Shouldn't I be getting more than 50MB/s read and 30MB/s write?

From your NAS hardware config, I'd think so.

I've been thinking of buying the ReadyNas Pro Pioneer for improved network performance and increased storage management. I'm just not sure if my current hardware is capable of the same level of performance. In other words, is this an issue of me learning how to properly configure and take advantage of what I have? Do I just need to upgrade some of the hardware to unleash the system's potential? Or should I just go straight for the ReadyNas Pro Pioneer?

Again, client configuration is very important when you want to push past 50 MB/s. Search for posts by Dennis Wood and his adventures with his QNAP NASes. One of the keys was using two drives in RAID 0 on the client side.

Plus, I want to do a lot more with the Ubuntu box. I can't tell how much the additional work load will impact things. I really appreciate any advice you have here.

Depends on what you do. You'll have to profile CPU use during heavy file transfers and see if you're being limited.

 

[bluesherpa]

k, sounds like I need to figure out why I'm only getting 50/30 performance right now and decide where to go from there.

Thanks,
Ed