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TKperf – Customized performance testing for SSDs and HDDs

Stopwatch

Conclusions

This article has shown how TKperf addresses the special characteristics of SSDs in performance tests based on the SNIA specification. Several parameters affect the speed of SSDs, so certain processes are needed to achieve defined output levels and test results [7]. The key parts of these procedures include a secure erase, workload-independent preconditioning, and a review of whether the SSD is in a stable state. For testing hard disks, TKperf offers basic tests for measuring throughput and IOPS.

Performance tests are implemented with the help of Fio. Python scripts generate graphs and a detailed PDF report. Tested devices are thus easy to analyze and compare with other models.

The complete report mentioned at the beginning for the Intel DC S3700 can be found online [8].

Infos

  1. Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification: http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/standards/curr_standards/pts
  2. TKperf open source software: http://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/oss/tkperf.html
  3. "Performance Tuning with Fio" by Martin Steigerwald, ADMIN , 2011, No. 5, pg. 16: http://www.admin-magazine.com/Archive/2011/05
  4. Fio 2.0.3 release notes: http://freecode.com/projects/fio/releases/341331
  5. Fio Git repository: http://git.kernel.dk/?p=fio.git;a=summary
  6. Matplotlib – Python plotting library: http://matplotlib.org
  7. The Why and How of SSD Performance Benchmarking: http://www.snia.org/sites/default/education/tutorials/2011/fall/SolidState/EstherSpanjer_The_Why_How_SSD_Performance_Benchmarking.pdf
  8. Test results for Intel DC S3700: http://www.thomas-krenn.com/de/wikiDE/images/e/e5/TKperf-Report-IntelDCS3700.pdf

The Author

Georg Schönberger works as a technology specialist at Thomas-Krenn.AG and is a contributor to the Thomas-Krenn wiki. His work focuses on information security through monitoring plugins to performance tests.

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