Using Dell Perc H310 Sata 3.0 Gbps on Sata 6 Gbps drives


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I have always felt my access to my NAS wasn't snappy enough.  I'm talking about the access to shares.   When initially I did my build on unraid, I'm not well acquainted with SAS/ SATA, HBA controllers yet, and drive speeds.  

 

With a little free time right now, I tried to check the drives I'm using.  I know some of them are old, and maybe that's the reason.  But with my checking the modes now, I'm shocked that quite a bit of them are actually SATA 3.0, 6 Gbps capable.  And checking my Dell Perc H310, it is SATA 2.0, 3 Gbps only.  Sadly, my motherboard, Supermicro X11SSZ-F only has 4 SATA 3.0 ports, so it's not enough for all 9 drives.

 

I want to ask, do you think my access to files in array aren't as snappy  as other systems is due to the Perc controller?  Does changing this give significantly better user experience?

 

Any cheap HBA you can suggest that supports Sata 3.0?  For 8 drives.

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It is unlikely that use of SATA2 is what is limiting your throughput as HDD drives do not exceed SATA2 limits.    It is only when using SSD that SATA3 becomes important.   Having said that there may be some other factor (such as the overall throughput of the controller across all drives) that can be limiting throughput.

 

You have not mentioned what speeds you are seeing to get feedback on whether the speeds you are seeing are typical of unRAID.    UnRAID is optimised for things other than performance.

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Hi!  I've got my controller set to IT mode.  All drives are connected to the controller via fan out cable sff-8087.  I have my SSD Samsung Evo 850 connected to onboard Sata port.  The rest of the drives are all connected to HBA controller.  

 

My drives are 

 

1. https://www.storagereview.com/seagate_barracuda_green_2tb_review_st2000dl003   2 units, (Parity) & (Disk 1 of Media Share)

2. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178264 (Disk 2 of Media Share)

3. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236343 (Disk 3 of Media Share)

4. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413 (Disk 4 of Media Share) 

5. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136798 (Disk 5 of Media Share)

6. https://www.amazon.com/WESTERN-DIGITAL-WD5003ABYZ-500GB-internal/dp/B00FMHE4HQ (single disk share on it's own)

7. & 8. https://www.ebay.com/itm/SUN-HITACHI-HDS7250SASUN500G-500GB-SATA-HARD-DRIVE-P-N-390-0247-05-F-W-REV-AJ0A-/332580218359 (2 of these on the same share, Useless share, I know this will be slow.  Seldom access this share)

9. Samsung Evo 850 connected to onboard SATA port of MB (cache)

 

How do I test throughput of drives?  Any unraid tools?

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