RAID Levels – Spans, Stripes, IOPS, Oh My!
“What RAID level should I use?” “Raid 10 is better than RAID 5.” These are all common discussion topics but the truth is that there is more to it than that! Check out this benchmark test showing the strengths and weaknesses of each configuration!
How to add enough storage to not care anymore (with no down time)!
In this blog entry we add 8 WD Red 4TB disks to an ESXi server, extending its usable space to 21.x TB without any downtime at all!
How does disk performance really affect VMs? Part II
So I left off last time with simple benchmark results having moved my test VM around from one type of storage to the next. If you haven’t read that article, here is a link for you to catch up on. As you may recall we just wrapped up measuring throughput on the various storage types (two SSDs, an eight-disk RAID10 array, and a five-disk RAID5 array). Now, we’ll be measuring the IOPS (I/O Operations Per Second) that these...
How does disk performance really affect VMs?
Part 1 Most people know that SSDs are fast with high IOPS and mechanical disks are slower, offering less speed per unit and lower IOPS, but a better cost per TB. Most “high end” enthusiast SSDs (read: consumer) these days will offer 400+ MB/s and at least 70k IOPS at medium queue depths. Mechanical disks might only offer 75 – 140 IOPS per disk and 100 – 125 MB/s transfer. However, we also know that we can...
About Me
I am a Sr. Systems Engineer by profession and am interested in all aspects of technology. I am most interested in virtualization, storage, and enterprise hardware. I am also interested in leveraging public and private cloud technologies such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and vRealize Automation/vCloud Director. When not working with technology I enjoy building high performance cars and dabbling with photography. Thanks for checking out my blog! 
