I understand the reason (batch of excess drives leftover from OEM) for using the Micro 5100 MAX, but for "enterprise" SSD use, I really would have liked to see Intel's DC-series (DC = Data Center) of enterprise SSDs compared.
This is a new benchmark suite, which means all the drives Billy has will need to be re-ran through it to get fresh numbers which is why the comparison selection is so limited. More drives will come in as they're retested; but looking at the bench SSD 2018 data it looks like the only enterprise SSDs Intel has sampled are Optanes.
This review was specifically to get the SATA drives out of the way. I also have 9 new enterprise NVMe drives to be included in one or two upcoming reviews, and that's where I'll include the fresh results for drives I've already reviewed like the Intel P4510, Optane P4800X and Memblaze PBlaze5.
I started benchmarking drives with the new test suite at the end of November, and kept the testbed busy around the clock until the day before I left for CES.
I appreciate getting more enterprise storage reviews! Not enough of them, especially for those times when you might have some leeway on which storage to choose.
I love those old stock enterprise drives. Before I went NVME just a few months ago, my primary drive was a Samsung SM863 960gb which was a pumped up high endrance 850 Pro.
Hi Billy, thank for the review. I always appreciate similar article.
That said, this review really fails to take into account the true difference between the listed enterprise disks, and this is due to a general misunderstanding on what powerloss protection does and why it is important.
In the introduction, you state that powerloss protection is a data integrity features. While nominally true, the real added value of powerloss protection is much higher performance for synchronized write workloads (ie: SQL databases, filesystem metadata update, virtual machines, etc). Even disks *without* powerloss protection can give perfect data integrity: this is achieved with flush/fsync (on application/OS side) and SATA write barrier/FUAs. Applications which do not use fsync will be unreliable even on drive featuring powerloss protection, as any write will be cached in the OS cache for a relatively long time (~1s on Windows, ~30s on Linux), unless opening the file in direct/unbuffered mode.
Problem is, synchronous writes are *really* expensive and slow, even for flash-backed drive. I have the OEM version of a fast M.2 Samsung 960 EVO NVMe drive and in 4k sync writes it show only ~300 IOPs. For unsynched, direct writes (ie: bypassing OS cache but using its internal DRAM buffer), it has 1000x the IOPs. To be fast, flash really needs write coalescing. Avoiding that (via SATA flushes) really wreack havok on the drive performance.
Obviously, not all writes need to be synchronous: most use cases can tolerate a very low data loss window. However, for application were data integrity and durability are paramount (as SQL databases), sync writes are absolutely necessary. In these cases, powerloss protected SSD will have performance one (or more) order of magnitude higher than consumer disks: having a non-volatile DRAM cache (thank to power capacitors), they will simply *ignore* SATA flushes. This enable write aggregation/coalescing and the relative very high performance advantage.
In short: if faced with a SQL or VM workload, the Kingston DC450R will fare very poorly, while the Micron 5100 MAX (or even the DC500R) will be much faster. This is fine: the DC450R is a read-intensive drive, not intended for SQL workloads. However, this review (which put it against powerloss protected drives) fails to account for that key difference.
I agree perfectly finally someone that explains the real importance of power loss protection. Frankly speaking an "enterprise ssd" without plp and with low write endurance is really should be called "enterprise"? Which is the difference with a standard sdd?
There is a difference between data integrity and persistency, but power-loss protection is needed for either.
Data integrity is when your data is not corrupted if the system fails, e.g., from a poweroff; this needs the software (in particular the data base system and/or file system) to request the writes in the right order), but it also needs the hardware to not reorder the writes, at least as far as the persistent state is concerned. Drives without power-loss protection tend not to give guarantees in this area; some guarantee that they will not damage data written long ago (which other drives may do when they consilidate the still-living data in an erase block), but that's not enough for data integrity.
Persistency is when the data is at least as up-to-date as when your last request for persistency (e.g., fsync) was completed. That's often needed in server applications; e.g., when a customer books something, the data should be in persistent storage before the server sends out the booking data to the customer.
fsync(), write barrier and SATA flushes/FUAs put strong guarantee on data integrity and durability even *without* powerloss protected drive cache. So, even a "serious" database running on any reliable disk (ie: one not lying about flushes) will be 100% functional/safe; however, performance will tank.
A drive with powerloss protected cache will give much higher performance but, if the application is correctly using fsync() and the OS supports write barrier, no added integrity/durability capability.
"So, even a "serious" database running on any reliable disk (ie: one not lying about flushes) will be 100% functional/safe; however, performance will tank."
industrial strength RDBMS still offer (on *nix OSs, at least) raw devices, which means the database engine does all the I/O, and always (IIRC) runs with more integrity guarantees and efficiency. it's just that *nix OSs have gotten sufficiently better at both over the last couple of decades that most RDMBS app developers discourage their clients from configuring that way.
"There is a difference between data integrity and persistency, but power-loss protection is needed for either."
depends on what the definition of 'it' is. way back in the late 80s and early 90s, SQL databases ran on machines without UPS or other forms power persistence. what industrial strength RDBMS did guarantee is that a use session would lose only its last in-memory transaction. app developers took this into account when designing transactions. they still have to, since any number of failure modes exist beyond just pulling the plug. RDBMS did, and still do, only guarantee integrity of data written to the write-ahead-log, which is where in-memory data is flushed on transaction completion. widespread use of storage class memory, and OS support for same beyond simulating a filesystems (gad!), will change this protocol. won't be next week.
Is there something I can do to stop your endless loop video popups? I understand you earn your living with advertising but the popups actually block your content. I usually spend a couple minutes on website and go somewhere because of the popups.
I exclusively use edge mobile browser on this website (the forums are even worse a floating video that follows you when you move up and down blocking over 70% of the page) 3 other sites that I use it on as well as they launch full screen ad when you click on a link for the first time or i page ads are floating with the page or randomly opening other pages when you try to swipe down (it thinks your tapping the add when your trying to pull down)
Nothing about the Kingston drives are "Enterprise" . The DWPD are nothing special. The lack of power loss protection capacitors is a deal breaker. I don't care if it is read heavy. Enterprise means, critical data and business use with $$$$ at stake. Loss of data and downtime is very expense. No power caps and <1 DWPD makes this just another SATA SSD, "Enterprise" is some label they threw on to make some extra cash from suckers.
I bought a samsung 983 for 200 something euro's. Nice to install Windows server in about 2 minutes (and then need about 10 to go thought the bloatware options).
Its a shame they couldnt do a quick re-write of the firmware , nobody? needs 42% over provisioning. Maybe take it down to 5,10.. that can be changed on installation. Voila , a shedload of extra capacity, which I would presume is the second selling point , after simply being a SATA ssd.
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romrunning - Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - link
I understand the reason (batch of excess drives leftover from OEM) for using the Micro 5100 MAX, but for "enterprise" SSD use, I really would have liked to see Intel's DC-series (DC = Data Center) of enterprise SSDs compared.DanNeely - Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - link
This is a new benchmark suite, which means all the drives Billy has will need to be re-ran through it to get fresh numbers which is why the comparison selection is so limited. More drives will come in as they're retested; but looking at the bench SSD 2018 data it looks like the only enterprise SSDs Intel has sampled are Optanes.Billy Tallis - Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - link
This review was specifically to get the SATA drives out of the way. I also have 9 new enterprise NVMe drives to be included in one or two upcoming reviews, and that's where I'll include the fresh results for drives I've already reviewed like the Intel P4510, Optane P4800X and Memblaze PBlaze5.I started benchmarking drives with the new test suite at the end of November, and kept the testbed busy around the clock until the day before I left for CES.
romrunning - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
I appreciate getting more enterprise storage reviews! Not enough of them, especially for those times when you might have some leeway on which storage to choose.pandemonium - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Agreed. I'm curious how my old pseudo enterprise Intel 750 would compare here.Scipio Africanus - Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - link
I love those old stock enterprise drives. Before I went NVME just a few months ago, my primary drive was a Samsung SM863 960gb which was a pumped up high endrance 850 Pro.shodanshok - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Hi Billy, thank for the review. I always appreciate similar article.That said, this review really fails to take into account the true difference between the listed enterprise disks, and this is due to a general misunderstanding on what powerloss protection does and why it is important.
In the introduction, you state that powerloss protection is a data integrity features. While nominally true, the real added value of powerloss protection is much higher performance for synchronized write workloads (ie: SQL databases, filesystem metadata update, virtual machines, etc). Even disks *without* powerloss protection can give perfect data integrity: this is achieved with flush/fsync (on application/OS side) and SATA write barrier/FUAs. Applications which do not use fsync will be unreliable even on drive featuring powerloss protection, as any write will be cached in the OS cache for a relatively long time (~1s on Windows, ~30s on Linux), unless opening the file in direct/unbuffered mode.
Problem is, synchronous writes are *really* expensive and slow, even for flash-backed drive. I have the OEM version of a fast M.2 Samsung 960 EVO NVMe drive and in 4k sync writes it show only ~300 IOPs. For unsynched, direct writes (ie: bypassing OS cache but using its internal DRAM buffer), it has 1000x the IOPs. To be fast, flash really needs write coalescing. Avoiding that (via SATA flushes) really wreack havok on the drive performance.
Obviously, not all writes need to be synchronous: most use cases can tolerate a very low data loss window. However, for application were data integrity and durability are paramount (as SQL databases), sync writes are absolutely necessary. In these cases, powerloss protected SSD will have performance one (or more) order of magnitude higher than consumer disks: having a non-volatile DRAM cache (thank to power capacitors), they will simply *ignore* SATA flushes. This enable write aggregation/coalescing and the relative very high performance advantage.
In short: if faced with a SQL or VM workload, the Kingston DC450R will fare very poorly, while the Micron 5100 MAX (or even the DC500R) will be much faster. This is fine: the DC450R is a read-intensive drive, not intended for SQL workloads. However, this review (which put it against powerloss protected drives) fails to account for that key difference.
mgiammarco - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - link
I agree perfectly finally someone that explains the real importance of power loss protection. Frankly speaking an "enterprise ssd" without plp and with low write endurance is really should be called "enterprise"? Which is the difference with a standard sdd?AntonErtl - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
There is a difference between data integrity and persistency, but power-loss protection is needed for either.Data integrity is when your data is not corrupted if the system fails, e.g., from a poweroff; this needs the software (in particular the data base system and/or file system) to request the writes in the right order), but it also needs the hardware to not reorder the writes, at least as far as the persistent state is concerned. Drives without power-loss protection tend not to give guarantees in this area; some guarantee that they will not damage data written long ago (which other drives may do when they consilidate the still-living data in an erase block), but that's not enough for data integrity.
Persistency is when the data is at least as up-to-date as when your last request for persistency (e.g., fsync) was completed. That's often needed in server applications; e.g., when a customer books something, the data should be in persistent storage before the server sends out the booking data to the customer.
shodanshok - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
fsync(), write barrier and SATA flushes/FUAs put strong guarantee on data integrity and durability even *without* powerloss protected drive cache. So, even a "serious" database running on any reliable disk (ie: one not lying about flushes) will be 100% functional/safe; however, performance will tank.A drive with powerloss protected cache will give much higher performance but, if the application is correctly using fsync() and the OS supports write barrier, no added integrity/durability capability.
Regarding write reordering: write barrier explicitly avoid that.
FunBunny2 - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
"So, even a "serious" database running on any reliable disk (ie: one not lying about flushes) will be 100% functional/safe; however, performance will tank."industrial strength RDBMS still offer (on *nix OSs, at least) raw devices, which means the database engine does all the I/O, and always (IIRC) runs with more integrity guarantees and efficiency. it's just that *nix OSs have gotten sufficiently better at both over the last couple of decades that most RDMBS app developers discourage their clients from configuring that way.
FunBunny2 - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
"There is a difference between data integrity and persistency, but power-loss protection is needed for either."depends on what the definition of 'it' is. way back in the late 80s and early 90s, SQL databases ran on machines without UPS or other forms power persistence. what industrial strength RDBMS did guarantee is that a use session would lose only its last in-memory transaction. app developers took this into account when designing transactions. they still have to, since any number of failure modes exist beyond just pulling the plug. RDBMS did, and still do, only guarantee integrity of data written to the write-ahead-log, which is where in-memory data is flushed on transaction completion. widespread use of storage class memory, and OS support for same beyond simulating a filesystems (gad!), will change this protocol. won't be next week.
Siddhartha - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Is there something I can do to stop your endless loop video popups? I understand you earn your living with advertising but the popups actually block your content. I usually spend a couple minutes on website and go somewhere because of the popups.RealBeast - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
What video popups? cough, MVPS host file blocking, coughleexgx - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
I exclusively use edge mobile browser on this website (the forums are even worse a floating video that follows you when you move up and down blocking over 70% of the page) 3 other sites that I use it on as well as they launch full screen ad when you click on a link for the first time or i page ads are floating with the page or randomly opening other pages when you try to swipe down (it thinks your tapping the add when your trying to pull down)Supercell99 - Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - link
Nothing about the Kingston drives are "Enterprise" . The DWPD are nothing special. The lack of power loss protection capacitors is a deal breaker. I don't care if it is read heavy. Enterprise means, critical data and business use with $$$$ at stake. Loss of data and downtime is very expense. No power caps and <1 DWPD makes this just another SATA SSD, "Enterprise" is some label they threw on to make some extra cash from suckers.Foeketijn - Saturday, February 8, 2020 - link
I bought a samsung 983 for 200 something euro's.Nice to install Windows server in about 2 minutes (and then need about 10 to go thought the bloatware options).
dromoxen - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
Its a shame they couldnt do a quick re-write of the firmware , nobody? needs 42% over provisioning. Maybe take it down to 5,10.. that can be changed on installation. Voila , a shedload of extra capacity, which I would presume is the second selling point , after simply being a SATA ssd.