Results: Enterprise Video Streaming Performance
Enterprise video streaming is a demanding workload within the enterprise space. Companies want more HD streams with higher bit-rates and no stuttering. A storage solution well-suited for enterprise-class video delivery has completely different capabilities than something designed for databases. At the end of the day, you're basically looking for exceptional large-block sequential write performance. You also need a high level of consistency that traditionally isn't seen from consumer SSDs. For a more in-depth analysis, take a look at page 10 of Intel SSD 910 Review: PCI Express-Based Enterprise Storage.
Once the drive is in a steady state, we write its entire capacity 100 times. We use 8 MB transfer sizes and a queue depth of four, recording timestamps for each individual write. The graph below reflects 100-point averaging, so that you can better visualize the results.
Seagate's 600 Pro is great for sequential streaming. Even during its worst-case run, it maintained good consistency. The nastiest dip we see the 600 Pro take is still within 10% of the P400m's average. Things don't go quite as well for the 600 Pro compared to Intel's SSD DC S3700, though. Even when we look at the 200 GB model of Intel's enterprise SSD, Seagate's dips and variance are more severe. And when we step up to the larger Intel drive, the lowest dips are still higher than the 600 Pro's average.
| Threshold | Best-Case Buffer Size | Worst-Case Buffer Size |
|---|---|---|
| 420 MB/s | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 425 MB/s | 8 MB | 77 MB |
| 430 MB/s | 427 MB | 587 MB |
| 435 MB/s | 3,256 MB | 3,413 MB |
As you can see, the 600 Pro can easily maintain 420-425 MB/s. If you push it much higher, you need exponentially larger buffers to maintain the transfer speed.
Once again, even though the 600 Pro isn't the top performer in this round of testing, it gives you outstanding value. We are comparing Seagate's drive to SSDs that cost at least 50% more. Until we see enterprise-oriented competition that more closely matches the 600 Pro's target market and price point, however, we have no way of telling how good it really is.