Hi All,
I am trying to figure our what would give me the fastest HD access:
Option 1. A NAS device (possibly with RAID) connected via the LAN port.
Option 2. An external HD with it's own power supply and on/off switch connected to one of the USB ports.
Any other useful advantages and disadvantages are also most appreciated.
Cheers,
Per
NAS or external drive
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Re: NAS or external drive
USB 2.0 is limited to 30 Megabyte/sec. Any other connection (IDE, SATA, LAN) will give better transfer rates (built in HDD gives around 60 Megabyte/sec). If you don't mind VOIDING your warranty, please check this: http://www.fit-pc2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1241
Re: NAS or external drive
Hi Yogev,
The mini PCI card looks good. I see you have installed one and I will follow the other thread to see what your speed test results will be.
USB 2.0 gives 30 MB/sec and internal drive 60 MB/sec. Do you have any idea of what the expected or theoretical speed would be for a NAS connected to the LAN port. I am looking at this one:
http://www.span.com/product_info.php?cP ... s_id=26187
Cheers,
Per
The mini PCI card looks good. I see you have installed one and I will follow the other thread to see what your speed test results will be.
USB 2.0 gives 30 MB/sec and internal drive 60 MB/sec. Do you have any idea of what the expected or theoretical speed would be for a NAS connected to the LAN port. I am looking at this one:
http://www.span.com/product_info.php?cP ... s_id=26187
Cheers,
Per
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- Posts: 539
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:49 pm
Re: NAS or external drive
The LAN ports are connected via PCIe bus so their speed is limited by the speed of PCIe. The theoretical limit is listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bit_rates
From the list, the maximal limit for 1Gbit LAN is 128MB/sec, and the maximal limit of PCIe is 250MB/sec, but given that the theoretical limit of USB 2.0 is 60 MB/s and it only works at 30 MB/s in Fit-PC2, you cannot take the theoretical as granted, and the only way to know this, is to test the speed yourself... I assume the realistic transfer speed will be even less than 128MB/sec.
From the list, the maximal limit for 1Gbit LAN is 128MB/sec, and the maximal limit of PCIe is 250MB/sec, but given that the theoretical limit of USB 2.0 is 60 MB/s and it only works at 30 MB/s in Fit-PC2, you cannot take the theoretical as granted, and the only way to know this, is to test the speed yourself... I assume the realistic transfer speed will be even less than 128MB/sec.
Re: NAS or external drive
Hi Yogev,
I ran some tests tonight with CrystalDiskMark.
Internal HDD (160GB a few years old)
seq read speed: 50.86 MB/s
seq write speed: 51.23 MB/s
USB 2.0 connected external 500GB HDD 2.5'' USB powered
seq read speed: 31.32 MB/s
seq write speed: 17.39 MB/s
Test on Thecus N0205 NAS LAN connected with processor and own power
seq read speed: 33.55 MB/s
seq write speed: 15.79 MB/s
Result, the Thecus connected via LAN does not seem any quicker than a USB drive powered via the USB port. Interesting.
It would be great if you would have time to run CrystalDiskMark with the mini PCI card.
Cheers,
Per
I ran some tests tonight with CrystalDiskMark.
Internal HDD (160GB a few years old)
seq read speed: 50.86 MB/s
seq write speed: 51.23 MB/s
USB 2.0 connected external 500GB HDD 2.5'' USB powered
seq read speed: 31.32 MB/s
seq write speed: 17.39 MB/s
Test on Thecus N0205 NAS LAN connected with processor and own power
seq read speed: 33.55 MB/s
seq write speed: 15.79 MB/s
Result, the Thecus connected via LAN does not seem any quicker than a USB drive powered via the USB port. Interesting.
It would be great if you would have time to run CrystalDiskMark with the mini PCI card.
Cheers,
Per
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- Posts: 539
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:49 pm
Re: NAS or external drive
I took the time to test a few of my disks with CrystalDiskMark, and the results are quite interesting:
CompuLab stock 2.5" 160GB SATA HDD (Hitachi, manufactured July 2009)
The results are exactly the same for internal Fit-PC2 connection and connection via mini PCIe card - both sequential read and write speeds are 60 MB/sec.
KingSpec Motive G1 2.5" 128GB SATA MLC SSD (manufactured March 2010, based on JMF612 SSD controller)
When connected internally:
Sequential read speed: 90 MB/sec
Sequential write speed: 75 MB/sec
When connected through MPX-3132 mini PCIe card:
Sequential read speed: 115 MB/sec
Sequential write speed: 106 MB/sec
This gives us a few conclusions:
1) For CompuLab stock "platter" disk, the transfer speed is exactly the same for internal connection and for mini PCIe connection via MPX-3132 bridge, and both times it's lower than SSD speed limit. This hints on hard disk max. throughput limit of about 60 MB/sec (which is below internal PATA->SATA bridge limit and below MPX-3132 bridge limit). So if you plan to use regular 2.5" disks, any bus that will provide you >60 MB/sec is enough, and in particular mini PCIe card provides better result than USB 2.0 or LAN connection.
2) For faster SSD disks, it looks like the PATA->SATA bridge throughput limit is around 90 MB/sec for reading and 75 MB/sec for writing (the SSD disk itself is capable of higher speeds). So if you plan to speed-up the internal disk in Fit-PC2, installing any disk with throughput >90 MB/sec will be good enough as it's impossible to reach more. On the other hand, PCIe bridge allows faster speeds of 115 MB/sec read and 106 MB/sec write, respectively. Here it looks like 115 MB/sec is the limit of the disk, and if higher throughput disks become available, the PCIe bridge will support them.
3) A side note on your Thecus NAS speed via LAN connection: I could not find the IC specification for Thecus NAS on the internet, but it could be that LAN is implemented via USB-to-LAN bridge, so the LAN speed is actually limited by USB 2.0 speed...
CompuLab stock 2.5" 160GB SATA HDD (Hitachi, manufactured July 2009)
The results are exactly the same for internal Fit-PC2 connection and connection via mini PCIe card - both sequential read and write speeds are 60 MB/sec.
KingSpec Motive G1 2.5" 128GB SATA MLC SSD (manufactured March 2010, based on JMF612 SSD controller)
When connected internally:
Sequential read speed: 90 MB/sec
Sequential write speed: 75 MB/sec
When connected through MPX-3132 mini PCIe card:
Sequential read speed: 115 MB/sec
Sequential write speed: 106 MB/sec
This gives us a few conclusions:
1) For CompuLab stock "platter" disk, the transfer speed is exactly the same for internal connection and for mini PCIe connection via MPX-3132 bridge, and both times it's lower than SSD speed limit. This hints on hard disk max. throughput limit of about 60 MB/sec (which is below internal PATA->SATA bridge limit and below MPX-3132 bridge limit). So if you plan to use regular 2.5" disks, any bus that will provide you >60 MB/sec is enough, and in particular mini PCIe card provides better result than USB 2.0 or LAN connection.
2) For faster SSD disks, it looks like the PATA->SATA bridge throughput limit is around 90 MB/sec for reading and 75 MB/sec for writing (the SSD disk itself is capable of higher speeds). So if you plan to speed-up the internal disk in Fit-PC2, installing any disk with throughput >90 MB/sec will be good enough as it's impossible to reach more. On the other hand, PCIe bridge allows faster speeds of 115 MB/sec read and 106 MB/sec write, respectively. Here it looks like 115 MB/sec is the limit of the disk, and if higher throughput disks become available, the PCIe bridge will support them.
3) A side note on your Thecus NAS speed via LAN connection: I could not find the IC specification for Thecus NAS on the internet, but it could be that LAN is implemented via USB-to-LAN bridge, so the LAN speed is actually limited by USB 2.0 speed...
Re: NAS or external drive
Hi Yogev,
Very interesting benchmarks indeed. Thanks.
The Thecus test was actually done with two 2.5'' SSD drives so you are probably right about the LAN/USB bridge. They also say in the test that standard NAS's are usually much faster (but also much larger and power hungry of course).
Here is the Thecus test:
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1135/1/
Cheers,
Per
Very interesting benchmarks indeed. Thanks.
The Thecus test was actually done with two 2.5'' SSD drives so you are probably right about the LAN/USB bridge. They also say in the test that standard NAS's are usually much faster (but also much larger and power hungry of course).
Here is the Thecus test:
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1135/1/
Cheers,
Per