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SeriTek/e6G Direct Connect Performance

SeriTek/e6G + PCIe 2.0 + miniSwap/ES + SSD = 392MB/s RAID Performance
The FirmTek SeriTek/e6G provides high performance when used with the miniSwap/ES enclosure and Mercury Extreme Pro RE Solid State Drives. With two 200GB SSD devices mounted on the SeriTek/e6G controller while installed in a PCIe 2.0 slot, RAID 0 average read performance of 392MB/sec. can be achieved.

While the 4-port FirmTek SeriTek/2ME4-E PCIe 4x controller provides superior RAID performance, the SeriTek/e6G offers an inexpensive high performance 2-port option when installed in a PCIe 2.0 slot. The slower PCIe 1.0 performance shown in table 1 below is common among one-lane 6G 2-port eSATA controllers. For optimal performance, one-lane 6G controllers should be installed in a PCIe 2.0 slot. An important advantage the SeriTek/2ME4-E offers is the flexibility to produce ultra high RAID performance results in both PCIe 1.0 and PCIe 2.0 slots.







Area Full
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
empty
226 - 254
252 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 201
10%
226 - 254
252 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 201
20%
226 - 255
251 - 393
125 - 193
134 - 201
30%
226 - 255
252 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 201
40%
226 - 257
251 - 393
125 - 193
134 - 201
50%
227 - 255
252 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 202
60%
227 - 254
251 - 393
125 - 192
134 - 201
70%
226 - 254
251 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 202
80%
227 - 255
251 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 202
90%
226 - 254
251 - 392
125 - 192
134 - 201
100%
226 - 255
251 - 392
125 - 192
134 - 202
Average
226 - 255
251 - 392
125 - 193
134 - 202
Configuration
Single Disk
RAID 0
Single Disk
RAID 0
Volume Size
186GB
372GB
186GB
372GB
Table 1 Testing Detail: The SeriTek/e6G SATA controller was tested in slot 2 (PCIe 2.0) of the 2008 Apple Mac Pro 2.8 running Mac OS X 10.6.4. 200GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro RE Solid State Drives were installed in the miniSwap/ES enclosure and connected to the SeriTek/e6G with driver version 6.0.3 installed. DiskTester 2.0 4GB read and write tests were performed using a run area test to provide the results in MB/s. Next, the SeriTek/e6G was installed in slot 4 (PCIe 1.0) of the same 2008 Mac Pro and the tests were run again. This comparison shows the difference in performance achived with PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 1.0 installations. The PCIe 1.0 slot provides half the bandwidth of a PCIe 2.0 slot.


SeriTek/e6G + SeriTek/2EN2 = Attractive PCIe 2.0 Dual Drive SATA RAID Performance
 The 2-port FirmTek SeriTek/e6G PCIe 2.0 1x eSATA host adapter provides excellent performance. With two 1TB Samsung F3 SATA hard disks mounted in the direct connect SeriTek/2EN2 enclosure and the SeriTek/e6G installed in slot 2 of the 2008 Mac Pro, RAID 0 average Write performance of 224MB/s and average Read performance of 227MB/sec was achieved.







Area Full
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
empty
147 - 146
252 - 293
127 - 147
134 - 202
10%
146 - 145
252 - 271
127 - 146
134 - 202
20%
142 - 141
253 - 263
127 - 142
134 - 201
30%
134 - 134
253 - 253
126 - 135
134 - 202
40%
131 - 131
244 - 237
127 - 132
135 - 201
50%
119 - 120
236 - 229
119 - 120
134 - 201
60%
119 - 118
235 - 228
119 - 118
134 - 201
70%
113 - 112
206 - 201
113 - 112
135 - 201
80%
104 - 103
203 - 198
104 - 103
135 - 200
90%
90 - 89
181 - 175
90 - 89
134 - 178
100%
78 - 77
154 - 147
78 - 77
135 - 151
Average
121 - 120
224 - 227
115 - 120
134 - 193
Configuration
Single Disk
RAID 0
Single Disk
RAID 0
Volume Size
931GB
1.82TB
931GB
1.82TB
AJA Test
Table 1 Testing Detail: The SeriTek/e6G SATA controller was tested in slot 2 (PCIe 2.0) of the 2008 Apple Mac Pro 2.8 running Mac OS X 10.6.4. Samsung F3 model HD103SJ hard disks were mounted in the direct connect FirmTek SeriTek/2EN2 enclosure. Single disk and dual drive RAID 0 configurations were created with Disk Utility. DiskTester 2.0 4GB read and write tests were performed using a run area test to provide the results in MB/s. Next, the SeriTek/e6G was installed in slot 4 (PCIe 1.0) of the same 2008 Mac Pro and the tests were run again. This comparison shows the difference in performance achived with PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 1.0 installations. The PCIe 1.0 slot provides half the bandwidth of a PCIe 2.0 slot.


SeriTek/e6G + SeriTek/5PM Port Multiplier Enclosure = Virtually Unlimited Data Storage
 The combination of a single FirmTek SeriTek/e6G with multiple SeriTek/5PM enclosures can provide large data storage volumes and increased read performance when installed in a PCIe 2.0 compliant slot. With ten 1TB Samsung F1 SATA hard disks mounted in two SeriTek/5PM enclosures, FirmTek obtained RAID 0 average write performance of 246MB/sec. and average read performance of 395MB/sec.

The SeriTek/5PM enclosure provides several interesting advantages.
1. Reduced cable clutter (a single cable per enclosure)
2. Stable RAID performance as the volume fills
3. Huge storage capacity (5x greater than a direct connect configuration)
4. Up to ten hard disks can be supported with a single SeriTek/e6G





# of Drives
5
10
5
10
Area Full
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
Write - Read
[MB/s]
empty
206 - 238
251 - 395
123 - 196
134 - 201
10%
188 - 239
249 - 394
120 - 196
134 - 201
20%
186 - 239
248 - 395
118 - 196
134 - 201
30%
186 - 241
247 - 394
119 - 196
134 - 200
40%
184 - 238
246 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 200
50%
185 - 243
246 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 200
60%
186 - 244
245 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 200
70%
185 - 245
245 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 200
80%
185 - 245
244 - 395
118 - 196
134 - 201
90%
186 - 245
245 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 200
100%
180 - 239
245 - 395
118 - 196
134 - 201
Average
187 - 241
246 - 395
119 - 196
134 - 201
Configuration
RAID 0
RAID 0
RAID 0
RAID 0
Volume Size
4.55TB
9.09TB
4.55TB
9.09TB
Table 2 Testing Detail: The SeriTek/e6G SATA controller was tested in slot 2 (PCIe 2.0) of the 2008 Apple Mac Pro 2.8 running Mac OS X 10.6.4 for the PCIe 2.0 tests. Samsung F1 hard disks were mounted in the FirmTek SeriTek/5PM enclosure(s). RAID 0 configurations were created with Disk Utility. DiskTester 2.0, 10 GB read and write tests were performed using a run area test to provide the results in MB/s. Next, the SeriTek/e6G was installed in slot 4 (PCIe 1.0) of a 2008 Mac Pro and the tests were run again for the PCIe 1.0 results. This comparison shows the difference in performance achived with PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 1.0 installations.

While the 4-port FirmTek SeriTek/2ME4-E controller can provide higher SeriTek/5PM RAID performance, the SeriTek/e6G works well with a five bay SeriTek/5PM when a PCIe 2.0 slot is available. The four lane PCIe design of the SeriTek/2ME4-E provides considerably more bandwidth than a 1x controller and provides the same ultra high performance when installed in either a PCIe 1.0 or a PCIe 2.0 slot.

The reason the four-lane 3G SeriTek/2ME4-E can provide higher performance than a one-lane 6G controller is easy to understand once you do the math. A one-lane 6G PCIe 2.0 controller is limited by the maximum bandwidth of up to 500MB/s for a single lane PCIe 2.0 bus. If the 6G single-lane controller is installed in a PCIe 1.0 bus the maximum bandwidth available drops by half. As SATA 6G one-lane controllers are optimized for a PCIe 2.0 bus, performance obtained while installed in a PCIe 1.0 bus is considerably lower. In contrast, the four-lane SeriTek/2ME4-E is a PCIe 1.0 based controller that works equally well in a PCIe 2.0 slot. It provides bandwidth up to 1000MB/s (250MB/s x 4). This allows the SeriTek/2ME4-E to be placed in a PCIe 1.0 or a PCIe 2.0 slot and still provide stable, consistently high RAID performance.

This information was produced by FirmTek, LLC for Macintosh users desiring an in-depth analysis of the performance options available with the FirmTek SeriTek/e6G and FirmTek enclosures. We hope you find this data helpful. These tests were only performed with FirmTek enclosures. Results will vary with third party enclosures and different hard disk models.

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