Swap (and low memory) performance

[SteveRiley]

Yes, I included only the first portion, because what appears interesting is the "Transport" line. I figured this was a way to determine which kind of SATA interface the drive is connected to. But yours is very uninformative, offering only the word "serial" and nothing else. I don't understand that.

So why is my "Transport:" information deficient compared to everyone else's?

So it turns out that "Transport:" is an indication of what the drive can do, not the controller. Apparently your drive has decided not to reveal this information. Perhaps if you weren't so secretive yourself, your equipment wouldn't feel the need to do the same

And I've also learned that the SATA interface in my X1 supports rev.3 hardware! Since I use the X1 more than the T520, I will swap the drives. I just successfully finished slimming 2.5mm off the height of my Crucial M4, so that it'll fit in the X1's drive bay.

[ronw]

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       ST9500420AS                             
        Serial Number:      5VJEVRDP
        Firmware Revision:  0002SDM1
        Transport:          Serial

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 300 MB in  3.00 seconds =  99.93 MB/sec

[Snowhog]

Okay, me too.

paul@tanagra:~$ sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda


/dev/sda:
Timing buffered disk reads: 242 MB in 3.02 seconds = 80.22 MB/sec
paul@tanagra:~$ sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/sda


/dev/sda:
Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 242 MB in 3.02 seconds = 80.26 MB/sec
paul@tanagra:~$

[whatthefunk]

I want to play!
HDD

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0                   
	Serial Number:      WD-WMAYU8671853
	Firmware Revision:  15.01H15
	Transport:          Serial, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 392 MB in  3.01 seconds = 130.15 MB/sec

SDD

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       INTEL SSDSC2CW060A3                   
	Serial Number:      CVCV1532055W060AGN  
	Firmware Revision:  400i    
	Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0

/dev/sdb:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 928 MB in  3.00 seconds = 309.27 MB/sec

[SteveRiley]

You win the award for having the slowest drive so far.

And quite possibly also for having the longest hostname

[claydoh]

My ata laptop drive in my Compaq Evo N610c for comparo

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
Model Number: WDC WD800BEVE-00UYT0
Serial Number: WD-WXH308413191
Firmware Revision: 01.04A01

jake@jake-the-laptop-of-DOOOOOM-muahahahah:~$ sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
Timing buffered disk reads: 140 MB in 3.01 seconds = 46.53 MB/sec

I have NOT had a swap hit like I did on the Dell as of yet, though I am going somewhat easy on the old guy. I will see what the used motherboard brings me in a few days.

[SecretCode]

So why is my "Transport:" information deficient compared to everyone else's?

[vinnywright]

OK I'll join in

sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda
[sudo] password for vinny:

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
Model Number: WDC WD5000BEVT-60A0RT0
Serial Number: WD-WXR1EA0YSR08
Firmware Revision: 02.01A02
Transport: Serial, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6

and

vinny@Vinnys-HP-G62:~$ sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
Timing buffered disk reads: 226 MB in 3.01 seconds = 75.04 MB/sec

and

vinny@Vinnys-HP-G62:~$ sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 226 MB in 3.00 seconds = 75.33 MB/sec

one day if the SSD fairy comes to my house maby I to can sport a SSD .............LOL

VINNY

[HalationEffect]

I'm running a 128GB SATA3 SSD, but it's connected to my motherboard's SATA2 interface. Here are my results:

sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       OCZ-AGILITY3                            
        Serial Number:      OCZ-YL89X9LB1I5N0570
        Firmware Revision:  2.22    
        Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0

sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 794 MB in  3.01 seconds = 264.02 MB/sec

sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 794 MB in  3.00 seconds = 264.45 MB/sec

[SteveRiley]

For comparison, here's my T520, with a Crucial SSD.

First, disk information:

steve@t520:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       M4-CT256M4SSD2
        Serial Number:      000000001140031E608A
        Firmware Revision:  0009
        Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0

Note the SATA Rev. 3.0, so this is a faster controller.

Now, read timing tests:

steve@t520:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 1142 MB in  3.00 seconds = 380.09 MB/sec


steve@t520:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:
 Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 1266 MB in  3.00 seconds = 421.37 MB/sec

Curious observation: when I run the command without --direct, I can hear a very faint "squeaking" sound while the test runs. But with the parameter, there's no noise at all. Since raw I/O bypasses RAM completely, does this mean that my RAM is squeaky? For the sake of comparison, I checked my X1, and it exhibits a similar phenomenon. It is very faint, but noticeable.

[SteveRiley]

I never thought this was a fast disk. But your SSD is only 2.5 times as fast?

I think the SSD in my X1 isn't necessarily soooooooper fast, and I also suspect the controller is slow. Here's an alternate pass, this time using raw I/O to bypass the page cache (with the --direct parameter):

steve@x1:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:
 Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 586 MB in  3.00 seconds = 195.24 MB/sec

Multiple passes of the test show variations anywhere from 188 to 203 MB/sec.

hdparm -i returns a lot more information than yours - did you quote only some of it?

Yes, I included only the first portion, because what appears interesting is the "Transport" line. I figured this was a way to determine which kind of SATA interface the drive is connected to. But yours is very uninformative, offering only the word "serial" and nothing else. I don't understand that.

[SecretCode]

$ sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 228 MB in  3.00 seconds =  75.98 MB/sec

I never thought this was a fast disk. But your SSD is only 2.5 times as fast?

hdparm -i returns a lot more information than yours - did you quote only some of it?

$ sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       ST9500325AS                             
        Serial Number:      6VE4CHJJ
        Firmware Revision:  0002SDM1
        Transport:          Serial
Standards:
        Used: unknown (minor revision code 0x0029) 
        Supported: 8 7 6 5 
        Likely used: 8
Configuration:
        Logical         max     current
        cylinders       16383   16383
        heads           16      16
        sectors/track   63      63
        --
        CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
        LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
        LBA48  user addressable sectors:  976773168
        Logical/Physical Sector size:           512 bytes
        device size with M = 1024*1024:      476940 MBytes
        device size with M = 1000*1000:      500107 MBytes (500 GB)
        cache/buffer size  = 8192 KBytes
        Nominal Media Rotation Rate: 5400
Capabilities:
        LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
        Queue depth: 32
        Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
        R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16  Current = 16
        Advanced power management level: 254
        Recommended acoustic management value: 254, current value: 0
        DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5 *udma6 
             Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
        PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
             Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
        Enabled Supported:
           *    SMART feature set
                Security Mode feature set
           *    Power Management feature set
           *    Write cache
           *    Look-ahead
           *    Host Protected Area feature set
           *    WRITE_BUFFER command
           *    READ_BUFFER command
           *    DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
           *    Advanced Power Management feature set
                SET_MAX security extension
           *    48-bit Address feature set
           *    Device Configuration Overlay feature set
           *    Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
           *    FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
           *    SMART error logging
           *    SMART self-test
           *    General Purpose Logging feature set
           *    64-bit World wide name
           *    IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
                Write-Read-Verify feature set
           *    WRITE_UNCORRECTABLE_EXT command
           *    {READ,WRITE}_DMA_EXT_GPL commands
           *    Segmented DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
           *    Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
           *    Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
           *    Native Command Queueing (NCQ)
           *    Phy event counters
                Device-initiated interface power management
           *    Software settings preservation
           *    SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
           *    SCT Long Sector Access (AC1)
           *    SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
           *    SCT Features Control (AC4)
           *    SCT Data Tables (AC5)
                unknown 206[12] (vendor specific)
Security: 
        Master password revision code = 65534
                supported
        not     enabled
        not     locked
        not     frozen
        not     expired: security count
                supported: enhanced erase
        132min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 132min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 5000c5001ec68fb1
        NAA             : 5
        IEEE OUI        : 000c50
        Unique ID       : 01ec68fb1
Checksum: correct

[SteveRiley]

When I get my Dell repaired I will take a screen cap of how useless it is when the drive goes wild using swap. I wonder if it is hardware specific?

Possibly just a poky slow drive or low-bandwidth interface.

My X1, with a 128 GiB SSD:

steve@x1:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       TOSHIBA THNSNC128GCSJ                   
        Serial Number:      81LS11MLTMAZ
        Firmware Revision:  CJLA0201
        Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6

steve@x1:~$ [B]sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda[/B]

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 570 MB in  3.00 seconds = 189.96 MB/sec

Would be interesting to see the results of various other configs of members on the forum here. Then, Claydoh, when you get your laptop back, let's see yours.

[claydoh]

When I get my Dell repaired I will take a screen cap of how useless it is when the drive goes wild using swap. I wonder if it is hardware specific?

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

[vinnywright]

IDK .......but hears a screen capture of my box doing a lot of stuff at once with some swap being used and no lagging ......well hear we go O the sound didn't come through to well but I was tired from splitting loges for this winters fire wood and didn't feel like fixing it

the shot of the desktop right after the cube shots is a multimedia activity with a vid playing in rosa media player

VINNY