|
SAS RAID CONTROLLER COMPARISON
Conclusion
First, let's tabulate and summarize the results
of all four cards:
HD Tach 3.0.1.0,
RAID-0, smallest stripe size, 8MB zones
|
Controller |
Stripe |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
16k |
369.9 MB/s |
6.1 ms |
4
% |
140.9 MB/s |
156.9 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
4k |
1143.9 MB/s |
6.0 ms |
4 % |
226.2 MB/s |
623.6 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
8k |
199.5 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
2 % |
190.8 MB/s |
194.5 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
8k |
194.6 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
5
% |
185.4 MB/s |
202.7 MB/s |
HD Tach 3.0.1.0, RAID-0, smallest stripe size, 32MB zones
|
Controller |
Stripe |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
16k |
292.3 MB/s |
6.1 ms |
3
% |
127.2 MB/s |
107.4 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
4k |
1241.8 MB/s |
6.0 ms |
4 % |
226.2 MB/s |
256.8 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
8k |
201.8 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
5 % |
191.5 MB/s |
187.7 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
8k |
193.9 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
4
% |
185.4 MB/s |
195.6 MB/s |
ATTO Mark, RAID-0, smallest stripe
|
Length |
RAID Card |
Adaptec 31605
(16k) |
Areca ARC-1680
(8k) |
LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP (4k) |
LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP (4k) |
|
0.5 |
21001 |
30669 |
23817 |
23502 |
|
25549 |
31181 |
24906 |
23561 |
|
1.0 |
44647 |
59744 |
45783 |
45527 |
|
48599 |
62304 |
46945 |
46039 |
|
2.0 |
80617 |
115707 |
83689 |
84698 |
|
67620 |
122048 |
86958 |
86741 |
|
4.0 |
133686 |
215859 |
142606 |
143272 |
|
99442 |
235905 |
146702 |
146336 |
|
8.0 |
201889 |
425574 |
158001 |
154704 |
|
225731 |
446644 |
169820 |
168555 |
|
16.0 |
261527 |
851345 |
156449 |
159882 |
|
282194 |
876511 |
157610 |
158001 |
|
32.0 |
315416 |
268238 |
184549 |
188500 |
|
348638 |
410845 |
194328 |
190833 |
|
64.0 |
358024 |
310378 |
208154 |
210728 |
|
382055 |
620756 |
215944 |
214352 |
|
128.0 |
377487 |
326339 |
221508 |
222596 |
|
393281 |
620756 |
210728 |
221508 |
|
256.0 |
391329 |
309604 |
228039 |
230841 |
|
401649 |
620756 |
228039 |
226492 |
|
512.0 |
393281 |
317972 |
232555 |
233132 |
|
411041 |
620756 |
233132 |
233132 |
|
1024.0 |
387483 |
317972 |
230841 |
229712 |
|
403972 |
620756 |
233352 |
233132 |
HD Tach 3.0.1.0, RAID-0, largest
stripe size, 8MB zones
|
Controller |
Stripe |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
1024k |
505.0 MB/s |
6.1 ms |
5
% |
248.9 MB/s |
271.8 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
128k |
1144.6 MB/s |
7.5 ms |
4 % |
228.0 MB/s |
630.9 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
1024k |
219.4 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
3 % |
197.0 MB/s |
175.5 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
1024k |
213.6 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
4
% |
190.8 MB/s |
179.6 MB/s |
HD Tach 3.0.1.0, RAID-0, largest stripe size, 32MB zones
|
Controller |
Stripe |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
1024k |
502.7 MB/s |
6.1 ms |
7
% |
226.6 MB/s |
262.6 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
128k |
1129.0 MB/s |
7.5 ms |
4 % |
226.6 MB/s |
255.8 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
1024k |
220.3 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
3 % |
196.3 MB/s |
182.5 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
1024k |
215.0 MB/s |
6.8 ms |
4
% |
190.3 MB/s |
189.5 MB/s |
ATTO Mark, RAID-0, largest stripe
|
Length |
RAID Card |
Adaptec 31605
(1024k) |
Areca ARC-1680
(128k) |
LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP
(1024k) |
LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP
(1024k) |
|
0.5 |
23561 |
29389 |
15390 |
15390 |
|
25034 |
30925 |
7749 |
8900 |
|
1.0 |
46295 |
58011 |
29773 |
29773 |
|
49367 |
61536 |
17371 |
15981 |
|
2.0 |
84910 |
114171 |
43479 |
43370 |
|
95346 |
121024 |
56475 |
57866 |
|
4.0 |
140011 |
217907 |
83480 |
85934 |
|
166136 |
233660 |
86741 |
86097 |
|
8.0 |
213278 |
440303 |
126611 |
133023 |
|
276627 |
452788 |
134217 |
133686 |
|
16.0 |
244916 |
855638 |
184549 |
178472 |
|
352124 |
901677 |
196542 |
199138 |
|
32.0 |
305597 |
275937 |
232937 |
234684 |
|
469762 |
419233 |
245928 |
245328 |
|
64.0 |
360710 |
301989 |
239085 |
239674 |
|
574505 |
620756 |
249784 |
252472 |
|
128.0 |
382055 |
318767 |
246120 |
247329 |
|
662700 |
620756 |
253704 |
252472 |
|
256.0 |
418384 |
309604 |
241458 |
242662 |
|
738197 |
620756 |
260616 |
254324 |
|
512.0 |
460222 |
317972 |
245520 |
246120 |
|
895342 |
620756 |
240861 |
240861 |
|
1024.0 |
465110 |
317972 |
252472 |
247939 |
|
937181 |
620756 |
233132 |
222596 |
HD Tach 3.0.1.0, RAID-1, 8MB
zones
|
Controller |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
505.0 MB/s |
6.2 ms |
3
% |
139.3 MB/s |
207.3 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
1065.5 MB/s |
7.5 ms |
4 % |
111.6 MB/s |
663.1 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
WOULD NOT RUN |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
WOULD NOT RUN |
HD Tach 3.0.1.0, RAID-1, 32MB zones
|
Controller |
Burst Speed |
Random Access |
CPU Utilization |
Average Read |
Average Write |
| Adaptec 31605 |
506.6 MB/s |
6.2 ms |
4
% |
148.5 MB/s |
116.8 MB/s |
| Areca ARC-1680 |
1054.7 MB/s |
7.8 ms |
4 % |
113.2 MB/s |
146.8 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
218.1 MB/s |
5.4 ms |
2 % |
113.3 MB/s |
55.8 MB/s |
| LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
212.9 MB/s |
5.5 ms |
3
% |
113.4 MB/s |
60.2 MB/s |
ATTO Mark, RAID-1
|
Length |
RAID Card |
|
Adaptec 31605 |
Areca ARC-1680 |
LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
|
0.5 |
21331 |
32333 |
19465 |
16863 |
|
25869 |
33229 |
23433 |
20233 |
|
1.0 |
46179 |
61280 |
37556 |
38674 |
|
50135 |
65376 |
36790 |
24969 |
|
2.0 |
77862 |
117952 |
59232 |
65888 |
|
95858 |
129413 |
24783 |
22409 |
|
4.0 |
140361 |
232636 |
80617 |
81641 |
|
169820 |
241025 |
43663 |
45696 |
|
8.0 |
209518 |
490635 |
125319 |
123775 |
|
285016 |
473858 |
79844 |
68642 |
|
16.0 |
245524 |
922550 |
126756 |
125632 |
|
362090 |
993951 |
79704 |
86681 |
|
32.0 |
315416 |
268238 |
127335 |
126733 |
|
486342 |
503119 |
125829 |
128249 |
|
64.0 |
379239 |
301236 |
127522 |
127522 |
|
562036 |
619208 |
120410 |
123969 |
|
128.0 |
413231 |
317972 |
127522 |
127826 |
|
694518 |
620576 |
177878 |
180048 |
|
256.0 |
426752 |
301989 |
128438 |
127826 |
|
771751 |
620576 |
197863 |
196416 |
|
512.0 |
457938 |
317972 |
130308 |
129366 |
|
744724 |
620576 |
190086 |
193119 |
|
1024.0 |
468590 |
318767 |
129678 |
129366 |
|
937181 |
620576 |
196416 |
196896 |
ATTO Mark, Software RAID-0
|
Length |
RAID Card |
|
Adaptec 31605 |
Areca ARC-1680 |
LSI MegaRAID 8708ELP |
LSI MegaRAID 8888ELP |
|
0.5 |
22025 |
28295 |
17033 |
17246 |
|
24073 |
29005 |
16036 |
22793 |
|
1.0 |
44759 |
54939 |
34578 |
34834 |
|
47456 |
59744 |
44136 |
35602 |
|
2.0 |
83689 |
112123 |
62816 |
63681 |
|
91054 |
118464 |
74788 |
76841 |
|
4.0 |
138313 |
208494 |
125319 |
125319 |
|
158789 |
227516 |
129601 |
130949 |
|
8.0 |
213811 |
375242 |
219602 |
220545 |
|
253073 |
397367 |
228540 |
232056 |
|
16.0 |
266242 |
721223 |
243073 |
243709 |
|
362090 |
721223 |
253222 |
253222 |
|
32.0 |
429567 |
100466 |
237724 |
238892 |
|
499374 |
183893 |
254132 |
254132 |
|
64.0 |
448499 |
268435 |
240861 |
241458 |
|
606305 |
377487 |
254324 |
254324 |
|
128.0 |
451855 |
301989 |
241458 |
241458 |
|
669415 |
619208 |
254324 |
254324 |
|
256.0 |
454555 |
309604 |
240861 |
242662 |
|
694518 |
619208 |
261888 |
245520 |
|
512.0 |
449612 |
310378 |
243148 |
242662 |
|
666092 |
620756 |
260616 |
232555 |
|
1024.0 |
456805 |
310378 |
239674 |
241458 |
|
713031 |
620756 |
189619 |
181822 |
Well, the numbers speak for
themselves. In this four-horse race,
only two were battling to win. Areca's
ARC-1680 dominated in the SATA-II
benchmarks, but here, its lead was
substantially less. Adaptec's
ASR-31605 fought hard and took many wins
away from Areca, some in impressive fashion.
Each product has its own pros and cons, too
many to list here. But the most
critical ones are as follows: Adaptec
has a stronger company and back-end, not to
mention a tech support system that actually
works. Areca simply did not have any,
and may struggle to build the infrastructure
to do so in the future. But as for
Areca, it seems that some firmware
optimization may actually improve
performance of the ARC-1680 when dealing
with larger data sizes. Adaptec's
results already show consistent performance
and may indicate little room for
improvement, comparatively. So let's
call this one a tie.
Adaptec ASR-31605
Areca ARC-1680
LSI MegaRAID SCSI 8708ELP
LSI MegaRAID SCSI 8888ELP
|
