Test Methodology
Network-attached storage configuration
| Thecus N7700PRO | Thecus N4200 | Armari BrontaStor 4TE | QNAP TS-439 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (without HDDs) | £855 | £515 | £497.99 | Discontinued |
| CPU | 1.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 (dual-core, 2MB L2 cache) |
1.66GHz
Intel Atom D510 (dual-core, 1MB L2 cache) |
1.60GHz
Intel Atom 330 (dual-core, 1MB L2 cache) |
1.60GHz
Intel Atom N270 (single-core, 512KB L2 cache) |
| Memory | 4GB DDR2 | 1GB DDR2 | 2GB DDR2 | 1GB DDR2 |
| Disk drives | 7x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ | 4x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ | 4x 2TB Hitachi 7K2000 | 4x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ |
| RAID mode | RAID 5 | RAID 5 | RAID 5 | RAID 5 |
| Network connectivity | Dual Gigabit Ethernet / PCIe 10GbE | Dual Gigabit Ethernet | Dual Gigabit Ethernet | Dual Gigabit Ethernet |
| Firmware | 3.03.00.4 | 3.02.01 | S3115 R1.01 | 3.2.6 Build 0423 |
Client
| CPU | 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | |
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |
| Memory | 2GB Corsair DDR3 | |
| Memory timings and speed | 7-7-7-20 1T @ 1,066MHz | |
| Network connectivity | Marvell Yukon 88E8056 GbE | |
| Network interface card | Intel X520-SR1 (10GbE) | |
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |
| Disk drive(s) | Corsair Nova V128 SSD | |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | |
Software
| Benchmarks | Iometer v2008.06.18-RC2 Intel NAS Performance Toolkit v1.7.1 File copy test (8.83GB) Power draw |
|---|
Notes
For comparison's sake, we've included benchmark results for three alternative mid-to-high-end NAS solutions; the Thecus N4200, Armari BrontaStor 4TE and QNAP TS-439 Pro.
The Thecus N7700PRO is configured with seven 1TB Samsung hard drives in a RAID 5 array, and is benchmarked in two scenarios; when connected to a network via a standard single Gigabit Ethernet link, and when connected directly to the client via 10GbE Intel network interface cards (model number X520-SR1).
Readers should note that the Thecus N7700PRO does not ship with a 10GbE NIC as standard. A list of compatible cards can be found at Thecus.com, and the Intel X520-SR1 used in our review fetches upward of £800 at retail.
All four units are tested with Jumbo frames disabled and, when not utilising a 10GbE fibre link, are connected to our client and network via a Netgear GS108 switch.
Iometer, a familiar benchmark in our test suite, is an I/O subsystem measurement tool. For the purpose of our NAS testing, we set a queue depth of 16 (outstanding I/Os) and run the following four benchmarks:
- 64KB transfer, 100% sequential, 100% read
- 64KB transfer, 100% sequential, 100% write
- 64KB transfer, 100% random, 67% read and 33% write
- 1MB transfer, 100% sequential, 100% read
Our second benchmark - the NAS Performance Toolkit, developed by Intel - is a file-system exerciser specifically designed to provide performance comparisons between NAS devices. Intel's utility focuses on user-level performance using real-world workload traces gathered from typical digital home applications such as HD video playback and record. Intel NASPT reproduces the file-system traffic observed in these traces onto a chosen storage solution and records performance in MB/s.
Taking a look at a simple usage scenario, our file copy test involves copying a mixed assortment of files totaling 8.83GB in size from our client to the NAS. The result is recorded in time taken to complete.
Last but not least, we measure NAS power draw during three states; under load, idle and standby mode if applicable.
