Raptor 36gb Performance Variation

jim552

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May 1, 2003
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Has anyone here noticed a significant variation in performance among Raptor 36gb drives?

The caveat is I just ran across this, and I do need to investigate more fully. It is very possible it has something to do with this particular RAID controller, a cabling issue, or some other factor.

It seems though at this time I have a significant variation in performance between two Raptor 36gb hard drives.

Basically, I was confidence/performance testing a RAID controller that is different from what I normally use. For my purposes I have a somewhat standardized procedure I go through with new/unkown parts/configurations. Part of that procedure involves performing timed tests with multiple drives in various configurations.

Some of the tests were coming out with timings that were way off what I expected. (Based ONLY upon previous tests performed in my environment/configurations.) My preliminary conclusion is that one of the two Raptor hard drives I was using seems to be running slow? (About 1/2 as fast.)

I DEFINATELY need to look at this more closely, and will in the next couple of weeks.

While I DON'T test every drive I receive, I have purchased around 12 Raptor 36gb hard drives and haven't really noticed this before.

The ones I am using for this test, are just spares that were sitting on my shelf. While both drives have been in use before I don't have any specific information on previous performance in my environment.

Based on the label, both drives are the same model and are dated with the same date. (I haven't looked to determine if this is manufacturing date, but that is what I would suspect.)


Edit - Changed subject working from "speed" to "performance".
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jim552 on 08/03/04 01:07 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

jim552

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Due to circumstances, I was unable to stroll far from my desk today. As a result I was able to extensively play around with my problem.

The problem is NOT in the Western Digital drive. (Which is what I suspected and had hoped for.)

I ended up playing around with 6 Raptors, 4 of which were identical product numbers and dates, ALL Raptors came out pretty much the same on performance in my configuration after taking into account ALL criteria.

The ONLY variable, and problem, was the actual RAID controller itself.

At this time, I am waiting for additional information from the manufacturer. For confirmation as to the following guess.

It turns out that Ports 1 and 3 have better performance than ports 0 and 2. I am guessing that this is a design problem stemming from the RAID controller using a PATA controller with SATA interface converters.

It just seems too coincidental that the Ports are paired, in performance in a manner similar to PATA RAID cards I have seen in the past that support 2 drives per IDE channel.

While I do like the card in many respects, I am VERY dissapointed in performance, as I was expecting the ability to talk to ALL Sata channels simultaneously, and was not expecting to have to wait for access to paired channels. (Primarily because I was NOT expecting the channels to be paired in the first place.)

It is still possible, this "guess" is not the reality and that it is just a driver problem. I hope that the manufacturers response will settle this for me.

As a result while I am waiting, I am still looking.

Has anyone here used the Adaptec 21610SA or the 2810SA RAID controllers?

If so I would like to hear any experiences that you have had. It is likely I will get the latter model from Adaptec for a try soon.
 

arkus

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I haven't used the Adaptec controller you mentioned, but I do have 4 36gb Raptors and use two of them in RAID 0 on a Highpoint card.

I'd be interested in hearing the results of your test in general terms, as I haven't yet tested my setup, but plan to this week when I make some final hardware changes. Also, if you want any comparitive data (FWIW) just let me know.

<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/index.php?act=ST&f=41&t=2765&st=0#entry21597" target="_new">My Rigs</A>