Following on from the previous dd and bonnie++ tests, here are some diskinfo tests: These are unaligned tests, on disks partitioned such as this: $ gpart show ada1 => 34 488397101 ada1 GPT (232G) 34 540 – free – (270k) 574 488396510 1 freebsd (232G) 488397084 51 – free – (25k) And then aligned thusly: $ gpart show ada1 ada1s1 ada2 ada2s1 => 34 488397101 ada1 GPT (232G) 34 6 – free – […]
In this post, we’re going to demonstrate why aligning your disk partitions can be a good idea. For starters, we’re going to go with the default alignment, do a test, then align, and redo the test. But first, in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, this randomly discovered post may be a useful primer. Create the scheme on the disk This command creates a GPT scheme on the drive. Create
Aligned versus not aligned Read More »
During a recent install of FreeBSD 9.1 onto a gmirror, it was pointed out that my disk partitions were not aligned. Today, I’ll look at how that affects performance, both before and after alignment. Last night, I installed FreeBSD 9.1 onto a separate HDD, which I’ll use as a floater. I can attach this HDD to any system I need to work on without booting from the main HDD. In attached this HDD
Aligning disk partitions for better throughput Read More »
Late last week I installed FreeBSD 9.1 onto a gmirror, which I created during the install process. I documented it via photographs and comments. Hopefully, the next time I do this, it will be useful to refer to this resource. NOTE that when I did this, the partitions were not aligned properly. See the comments in the above URL for details. I will be covering this in a future post.
Installing FreeBSD 9.1 into a gmirror Read More »
Here are a few things I should look at: Is the internal speaker activated? Check the CPU temperatures for a baseline for future reference
Notes to self: for new server Read More »
The recently acquired parts for the server were assembled two nights ago, and FreeBSD was installed last night. I’m thinking of crowd sourcing the tuning of the ZFS monster I’m creating. Interested in watching/helping? See the FreeBSD Forums for details. Here’s the dmesg output for future reference. You will notice that (see line 154-157) one of the drives is running at only 150.000MB/s, as opposed to the other drive (lines 143-146), which is
Assembly of the server and the gateway have started. Both are stalled right now. The gateway is waiting for proper RAM to arrive next week. The server is waiting for an OS install and then the installation of the 8x2TB disks for the ZFS array. Server assembly Last night, while assembling the server, as I went along, I posted photos to my Twitter feed. I later posted those photographs to a Google+ album.
Server/gateway status update Read More »
I ordered the wrong RAM for the motherboard in my new gateway machine. When did I discover this? When I powered it up for the first time, I heard a series of 5 short beeps, 1 one beep. Looking that up in the manual and found: 5 short beeps + 1 long Memory error No memory detected in the beep system Oh. So I rechecked that the sticks were in the right slots,
How not to order RAM for your motherboard Read More »
All parts for the server and the gateway have been ordered. The first deliveries are expected today. Here is the list of what arrives when. Friday 11 Jan 2013 All the internal parts for the server, except those shown below, via UPS. (delivered) Case for Gateway, via UPS. (delivered) Saturday 12 Jan 2013 The 8x2TB HDD for the server ZFS array, via FedEx. (delivered) Tuesday 15 Jan 2013 The main shipment of the
This server describe herein is now known as knew. This is the fourth in a series of posts about building a new server. What’s happened since the last post? I’ve upgraded to an LSI SAS card. Why? Better throughput. And LSI is well supported on FreeBSD. This card is not used for RAID. It is used strictly as a disk controller and the disks will be presented to the OS as JBOD. Background:
Designing a new server, part IV Read More »