Test Methodology
Network-attached storage configurations |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approx. price | £115 |
£120 |
£200 |
£420 |
£600 |
£360 |
| CPU | 1.6GHz Marvell 88F6282A0C160 (single-core, 256KB L2 cache) |
0.75GHz PLX NAS 7821 (dual-core, ARM 11) |
1.80GHz Intel Atom D525 (dual-core, 1MB L2 cache) |
1.6GHz Marvell |
2.13GHz Intel Atom D2700 (dual-core, 1MB cache) |
1.66GHz Intel Atom D510 (dual-core, 1MB cache) |
| Memory | 256MB DDR3 |
256MB DDR2 |
1GB DDR3 |
TBC |
1GB DDR3 |
1GB DDR2 |
| Disk drives | 1x 1TB Seagate ST31000528AS (included) |
2x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ (optional) |
2x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ (optional) |
4x 1TB Seagate ST31000528AS (included) |
4x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ (optional) |
4x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ (optional) |
| RAID mode | N/A |
RAID 1 |
RAID 1 |
RAID 5 |
RAID 5 |
RAID 5 |
| Network connection | Gigabit Ethernet |
Gigabit Ethernet |
Gigabit Ethernet |
Gigabit Ethernet |
Gigabit Ethernet |
Gigabit Ethernet |
| Firmware | 1.40 |
2.10.20121016 |
5.01.02 |
1.54 |
3.6.0 Build 0220T |
2.3-1167 |
Benchmarks |
|---|
| Iometer v2008.06.18-RC2 Intel NAS Performance Toolkit v1.7.1 File copy test (8.83GB) Power draw |
Notes
All of our comparison NAS servers are tested using a single Gigabit Ethernet link with Jumbo frames disabled, and are connected to our Intel client machine 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 three benchmarks:
- 64KB transfer, 100% sequential, 100% read
- 64KB transfer, 100% sequential, 100% 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 totalling 8.83GB in size from our client to the NAS. The result is recorded in MB/s.
Last but not least, we measure NAS power draw during three states; under load, idle and standby mode if applicable.
