BestPerf: Performance & Best Practices

Significance of Results

Results on the Sun Storage 6180 Array with 8Gb connectivity are presented for the SPC-2 benchmark using RAID 5 and RAID 6.

• The Sun Storage 6180 Array outperforms the IBM DS5020 by 77% in price performance for SPC-2 benchmark using RAID 5 data protection.

• The Sun Storage 6180 Array outperforms the IBM DS5020 by 91% in price performance for SPC-2 benchmark using RAID 6 data protection.

• The Sun Storage 6180 Array is 50% faster than the previous generation, the Sun Storage 6140 Array and IBM DS4700 on the SPC-2 benchmark using RAID 5 data protection.

Performance Landscape

SPC-2 Performance Chart (in increasing price-performance order)

Sponsor	System	SPC-2 MBPS	$/SPC-2 MBPS	ASU Capacity (GB)	TSC Price	Data Protection Level	Date	Results Identifier
Sun	SS6180	1,286.74	$45.47	3,504.693	$58,512	RAID 6	10/08/09	B00044
IBM	DS5020	1,286.74	$87.04	3,504.693	$112,002	RAID 6	10/08/09	B00042
Sun	SS6180	1,244.89	$42.53	3,504.693	$52,951	RAID 5	10/08/09	B00043
IBM	DS5020	1,244.89	$75.30	3,504.693	$93,742	RAID 5	10/08/09	B00041
Sun	J4400	887.44	$25.63	23,965.918	$22,742	unprotected	08/15/08	B00034
IBM	DS4700	823.62	$106.73	1,748.874	$87,903	RAID 5	04/01/08	B00028
Sun	ST6140	790.67	$67.82	1,675.037	$53,622	RAID 5	02/13/07	B00017
Sun	ST2540	735.62	$37.32	2,177.548	$27,451	RAID 5	04/10/07	B00021
IBM	DS3400	731.25	$34.36	1,165.933	$25,123	RAID 5	02/27/08	B00027
Sun	ST2530	672.05	$26.15	1,451.699	$17,572	RAID 5	08/16/07	B00026
Sun	J4200	548.80	$22.92	11,995.295	$12,580	Unprotected	07/10/08	B00033

SPC-2 MBPS = the Performance Metric
$/SPC-2 MBPS = the Price/Performance Metric
ASU Capacity = the Capacity Metric
Data Protection = Data Protection Metric
TSC Price = Total Cost of Ownership Metric
Results Identifier = A unique identification of the result Metric

Complete SPC-2 benchmark results may be found at http://www.storageperformance.org.

Results and Configuration Summary

Storage Configuration:

30 146.8GB 15K RPM drives (for RAID 5)
36 146.8GB 15K RPM drives (for RAID 6)
4 Qlogic HBA

Server Configuration:

IBM system x3850 M2

Software Configuration:

MS Win 2003 Server SP2
SPC-2 benchmark kit

Benchmark Description

The SPC Benchmark-2™ (SPC-2) is a series of related benchmark performance tests that simulate the sequential component of demands placed upon on-line, non-volatile storage in server class computer systems. SPC-2 provides measurements in support of real world environments characterized by:

• Large numbers of concurrent sequential transfers.
• Demanding data rate requirements, including requirements for real time processing.
• Diverse application techniques for sequential processing.
• Substantial storage capacity requirements.
• Data persistence requirements to ensure preservation of data without corruption or loss.

Key Points and Best Practices

• This benchmark was performed using RAID 5 and RAID 6 protection.
• The controller stripe size was set to 512k.
• No volume manager was used.

See Also

• Sun Storage 6180 Array (RAID-5) SPC-2 Executive Summary (6 pages, acrobat pdf)
• Complete Sun Storage 6180 Array (RAID-5) SPC-2 Full Disclosure Report (acrobat pdf)
• Sun Storage 6180 Array (RAID-6) SPC-2 Executive Summary (6 pages, acrobat pdf)
• Complete Sun Storage 6180 Array (RAID-6) SPC-2 Full Disclosure Report (acrobat pdf)
• Storage Performance Council (SPC) Home Page
• Ideas International Benchmark Page

Disclosure Statement

SPC-2, SPC-2 MBPS, $/SPC-2 MBPS are regular trademarks of Storage Performance Council (SPC). More info www.storageperformance.org. Sun Storage 6180 Array 1,286.74 SPC-2 MBPS, $/SPC-2 MBPS $45.47, ASU Capacity 3,504.693 GB, Protect RAID 6, Cost $58,512.00, Ident. B00044. Sun Storage 6180 Array 1,244.89 SPC-2 MBPS, $/SPC-2 MBPS $42.53, ASU Capacity 3,504.693 GB, Protect RAID 5, Cost $52,951.00, Ident. B00043.