Proliant ML350 G4p raid0 sata - Low perf & ACU not working

[Pierre-Alain Mannoni]

On this server I have setup a RAID 0 before installing Windows server 2003. It has 2610SA raid controller and 3 x ST316081-2AS of 150 GB= 480 GB. It works but ....
Perf checked using HDTACH are very poor : average read speed = 50 MB/s (whatever stripe size 64,128,1024). This server is used only as a SAMBA file server and occasionnaly with Remote Desktop. All test where done with only me accessing the server.
Array Configuration Utility 7.85.18.0 does not detect any controller, is that a problem ?
HP Storage Manager does see the controller and the drives.
Driver for controller 2610SA is the latest...

Any ideas or other ways to better diagnose this poor perf ?
Thank you very much

[Brian_Murdoch · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The HP Array Configuration Utility (ACU) won't see the controller simply because it isn't a Smart Array controller (Compaq/HP) but an Adaptec one. HP Storage Manager is an Adaptec product badged by HP so that's why it can be seen OK by it.

Does the controller have cache installed on it? If so, you might want to check how much and see if you can alter the bias in favour of reads or writes (whichever has the heavier usage in your configuration).
Raid 0 usually has a better read performance, is this why you chose it?

Adding cache to the controller (if possible) or replacing it with something faster (Smart Array P400 for example) might be the answer.

I hope this helps.

Brian

[James ~ Happy Dude]

I would agree with Brian; A Smart Array controller is what you need;

Also, Keeping the Firmware/PSP up-to-date also keeps the server FIT !

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/69_6276.html

James.

[Pierre-Alain Mannoni]

Thanks for your answers.
Yes I installed Raid 0 for read speed. It's a solution I proposed to my boss for that. Unfortunatly with 3 drives in raid0, I still get lower perf that my ATA/IDE drive on my old workstation.
Everything works fine, I don't get it if this low perf is normal. I've enabled write cache, tried read cache on/off. I tried strip size 64,128,1024 and trying now 16 because I'm using it mainly for file transfer through windows shares (8 users max)
It's my first experience with hardware raid, and I don't understand how HP dare sell his things with this level of perf for a last generation server....
Honestly am I the only one with these perf or is it standard with entry level servers ??

P.S.
Thanks Brian for the link to the pack, it seems easier to get the pack than files one by one

[Víctor Cespón]

The "Integrated SATA RAID controller" on low-end server (100 series and some 300 series) it's not even a real controller. It's a feature of the Intel chipset that uses server CPU and RAM to perform RAID calculations and caché.
Do not compare that with a stand-alone RAID card, with it's own CPU and RAM. If you need performance, pay for it, go for a Smart Array controller and SAS drives.

[Jose Edilson de Lira]

I have 2 Proliants ML 350 G5. My problem is about writing on disk instead of reading. It work very well on reading however it gets so slow on writing files over than 2GB. When I start a copy of file for example from one folder to another, the copy starts fast but after a few minutes the server loses the speed and almost stops.

I have already tried all the updates of software and firmware provided by HP but I still have the problem.