Vertex 4 F/W 1.3 vs 1.4 across ich10r, pch, Areca 1261 and 1880 and ...

[Nizzen]

... and the fix might be here already

interim fw 1.4.1.3

A two step update (read the first post in the link)

Improvements since version 1.4:
•Enhancement: Improved RAID card compatibility.
•Fixed: Corner case issue where drive would not resume from S3/S4 properly.
•Fixed: Rare issue where some platforms would not respond correctly after a cold boot.

I'll be updating shortly.

Maybe I have to buy them again I`ll wait for tests

[JR.]

Hi,

For interest here are a couple of benchmarks I've run this evening on 2 x 256GB V4s in R0, with the latest 1.4.1.3 fw.






Some observations I'd like to share based on my personal testing and use of 2 x 256GB V4s in R0:

1. Just like a single V4 my array has not dropped in performance regardless of how hard I bash it
2. I've noticed that a few seconds after deleting a large file (e.g. an 80GB file full of random data) there is a burst of continuous disk activity (HDD LED glows continuosly) - this appears to me to be just the same as is evident for a single V4 with trim pass through in action. It seems to me that the V4 invokes some form of on the fly GC activity regardless of whether trim pass through is in action or not. With V4s in R0 my feeling is there is no need to hold our breath waiting for trim to be enabled for arrays.
3. I've also noticed that the peak of performance on my array does not occur straight after a Secure Erase. I have found that the V4 hits a peak in benchmarks when all blocks have been written to at least once and the pool of available blocks is relatively small. For example, my best results have come when I have filled the drive with random data files and have left just 50GB free and then have written and deleted another 30GB random data test file (all in one Windows session). Of course all this is artificial/synthetic nonsense to hit an extreme result in a benchmark and does not really have much to do with the day to day real world - but as this is the extreme storage forum I thought you may be interested

Regds, JR

p.s. here's a link for a handy little test file creation utility http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...leFiller.shtml

[Anvil]

If you get a lucky run you can get full scaling in raid-0. (at sequentials and high QDs)

I'm playing with strip sizes in W8 on SB.

[SteveRo]

JR - wow! - very nice numbers!

[SteveRo]

f/w 1.4.1.3 is a little faster on the 128s
Next up - see if they work on the 1880 now.

[SteveRo]

Looks like f/w 1.4.1.3 is still broken on the 1880

[RyderOCZ]

I let the devs know Steve.

[SteveRo]

I let the devs know Steve.

Now I am not sure - I can't seem to format 2xR0 C300/64s now in the same setup - might just be me - I will need to research some more!

[RyderOCZ]

How many Vertex 4 drives are you running, just 2? 128GB, correct?

[SteveRo]

^^ correct just 2x128s

[SteveRo]

Someone else should confirm but looks like Vertex 4 f/w 1.4.1.3 is still broke on the areca 1880

[RyderOCZ]

The devs and test team have gotten back to me, they have used FW 1.49 on the 1880i with no issues.
64k stripe, all cache settings disabled.

Please list your full config for me.

[SteveRo]

Mr Ryder sir, thanks for the help - config as shown here - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=1#post5109283

Also tried with latest areca f/w dated early 2012 - no go

I wasn't able to get them to work with all cache settings disabled either - but even if Vertex 4 did work that way - I think most folks would say that would be an unacceptable "perminant" fix.

[RyderOCZ]

I meant your system config please.. what motherboard, CPU, how much memory, etc you are running.

[RyderOCZ]

After you updated to 1.4 and then after you updated to 1.4.1.3 did you try secure erasing the SSD's?

[Computurd]

it is the Areca IX versions that have the problem with marvell controllers that are used on several types of ssds. testing with the I version will not show the problem, as it does not have the expander that is creating the issue.

[Anvil]

I'll check on mine later tonight.
(need to get to the computer with the Areca)

Will check the LSI as well. (9265)

[SteveRo]

Good morning Mr. Ryder -

I have tried on 2 different systems with the same incompatibility result -

system 1 - 2600K on P67 asus maximus IV extreme with kingston hyperx KHX2000C8D3T1K3/6GX 2x2GB
system 2 - 920 on x58 gigabyte ex58-extreme with corsair CM3X2G1600C8D 6x2GB

much thanks for the help!

[SteveRo]

After you updated to 1.4 and then after you updated to 1.4.1.3 did you try secure erasing the SSD's?

No just reformat and go - secure erase via vertex tool box?

[Hondacity]

yehey

[Anvil]

I'm seeing the same thing as Steve and I'm using the Areca 1880IX-16 4G

2R0 Vertex 4 256GB on fw 1.4.1.3

1880IX-V4_S6.PNG

ATTO pretty much shows what's going on in other benchmarks as well. (and so I won't post others)
ATTO works it's way slowly through the steps, very slow.

---

I tried a single drive in PassThrough mode as well

1880IX-V4_S7_passthrough.PNG

[SteveRo]

^^ thanks for confirming ...

edit - What Paul said - probably the expander - I think the expander was the reason why acards could only connect to 1880ix at sata1.
How about the 9265?

[Anvil]

I'm about to test on the LSI, 10-15 minutes

raid-0 created, all is OK so far

NRA = No Read Ahead
DIO = Direct IO
WT = Write Through

ATTO_NRA_WT_DIO.PNG

I'll change some parameters and run with caching ++
(just to see if there is something weird)

Changed from WT to WB (WriteBack)

ATTO_NRA_WB_DIO.PNG

[SteveRo]

^^ very nice numbers - about right??

[Anvil]

Hi Steve

I'll have to do some more tests, it's not acting up like on the Areca.

(I'll compare to a 2R0 V3 240GB later tonight)