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Bad NVME VROC RAID-0 performance [across VMD domain]

dracocephalum
Novice
4,957 Views

Hi,

I came to the need of a durable, high performance, large scratch disk, so I am using 8x Intel P3700 2TB SSDs to do the job. They are all connected to the same CPU, and each 4x SSDs are connected to a VMD domain (x16 bandwidth). Basic specs are:

- 4x Intel Xeon Platinum 8276L

- Windows Server 2019

- VROC version 7.0.0.2291

- NVME direct attach via backplane - no PLX chips in between. Bifurcation set to x4x4x4x4 for each root complex.

For each VMD, I did a test with 4x SSD forming a RAID-0 array. While none of the numbers are impressive here, they are still somewhat "acceptable":

vmd1.png

vmd2.png

But for a 8x P3700 2TB array across VMDs, it was just a failure:

vmd-x8.png

Does anyone know if this is a known issue / bug in the VROC driver / software? 

I also did a 4x SSD but cross VMD domain array to compare:

vmd-cross.png

The performance seems to be on par with 4x SSDs within the same domain, so my guess would be this performance issue was not hardware related.

In comparison, if I don't use VROC (but still has VMD enabled) and just use Windows Storage Space, I can get something slightly better, but it is still not on par with what I would expect (linearly):

ss.png

Any thoughts? The entire VROC business has let me down quite a bit - I was expecting this to be an enterprise quality solution.

Thanks.

Chris

19 Replies
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,950 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Thank you for contacting the Intel Community Support.

 

I received your ticket regarding the performance issues of the RAID created spanning VMDs, I will be glad to assist you.

 

Regarding this particular issue, I would like to know the model of the server motherboard being used, is this an Intel® server or is it from a different manufacturer?

 

If this is not an Intel® server motherboard, please contact the system manufacturer to confirm where in the platform the issue is occurring. The platform manufacturer will then work with us directly to resolve issues or they may refer you back to us if they determine that it is necessary for a specific reason.

 

As a note, we don't actually recommend the use of CrystaDiskMark for Data Center related workloads, the use of Iometer is preferred, you can find more information about VROC related testing in the following link:

- RAID Performance Analysis on Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000032376/memory-and-storage/ssd-software.html

 

I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

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BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,928 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

This message is to follow up on your ticket to check if we can be of assistance.

 

I previously wanted to confirm the system where you are implementing your Intel VROC configuration to check if contacting the platform manufacturer is necessary.

 

Please let us know if there is anything else or if we can proceed to close the ticket.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

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dracocephalum
Novice
4,924 Views

Hi Bruce, thanks and the system is a Supermicro SuperServer 8049U-E1CR4T. I will try to contact manufacturer for more info, but to be honest, if the array can't perform well with CrystalDiskMark, which is a "general purpose" application, then it won't perform well enough for other general purpose applications that won't have been fine tuned for a particular type of storage.

I hope Intel can look into the VROC software stack and see if there are underlying problems to impact sequential (especially read) performance. I believe RAID 0 must be simple enough so the CPU shouldn't be a bottleneck...

Cheers

Chris

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BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,905 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Thank you for the response.

 

Please allow us to investigate and I will contact you back if I can get any information from our end.

 

If you get any information from the system manufacturer before I contact you, please let us know.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,899 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Good day,

 

I would like to know if you can provide us with a system report generated via Intel VROC GUI.

 

Go to Help > System Report > Save

 

Please generate the report with all the drives connected and attach the file to this thread. 

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

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dracocephalum
Novice
4,896 Views

Hi Bruce, FYI there is a defective slot (non nvme) identified on the backplane so I have RMA'ed it back to Supermicro and waiting for a replacement - not sure if this is related tho...

I will generate the report once I receive back the backplane. Will do another round of tests as well.

Cheers

Chris

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,877 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Thank you for letting me know, I will keep the thread open and I will let you know if I have any updates to share with you.

 

I will follow up next week (Oct 27th) just to "bump" the thread, if you would like me to follow up later on a specific date, please let me know.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,856 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Good day,

 

This message is just to follow up on your ticket and make sure it stays active in our system.

 

If you still need more time to generate the report, please let me know when you would like to get the next follow-up as right now it will be set in one week (Nov 3rd).

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

0 Kudos
dracocephalum
Novice
4,844 Views

Hi Bruce,

The backplane is still in transit but it is getting close, so 3rd Nov looks good.

I will let you know once got it installed back to the chassis.

Thanks

Chris

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BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,839 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Perfect, thank you for letting me know.

 

I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce c.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A contingent Worker at Intel

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,813 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

This message is just to follow up on your thread and make sure it stays active.

 

I will follow up again next Monday (Nov 9th), if additional time is required, please let me know.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce c.

Intel Customer Support Technician

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dracocephalum
Novice
4,806 Views

There's a delay at the customs so hopefully can arrive shortly. Let's check back on next Mon if no update then.

Cheers

Chris

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,756 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Good day,

 

This message is to follow up on your thread to check if additional time is required.

 

I will follow up again on November 12th, if you require additional time and would like me to follow up later on a specific date, please let me know.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

0 Kudos
dracocephalum
Novice
4,745 Views

Hi Bruce, please find the attached report. I have done similar tests with the replaced backplane and obtained same results, so this was not related to the faulty backplane.

Cheers

Chris

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,726 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Is it possible for you to also provide a full system report using the Intel SSU?

 

Download: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-

Guide: 

  1. Download the Intel® System Support Utility and save the application to your system.
  2. Open the application and click Scan to see system and device information. The Intel® System Support Utility defaults to the Summary View on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says summary to change to Detailed View.
  3. To save your scan, click Next and click Save. You can save the file to any accessible location on your computer.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

0 Kudos
dracocephalum
Novice
4,715 Views

Hi Bruce, please find the attached SSU report.

Thanks

Chris

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,709 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Thank you for the SSU report.

 

I will contact you back as soon as I can share any updates with you.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

0 Kudos
BrusC_Intel
Moderator
4,692 Views

Hello, @dracocephalum.

 

Thank you very much for waiting.

 

After reviewing all the information provided, this needs to be taken to the motherboard manufacturer (OEM) instead, in this case, Supermicro, and they will work with us (Intel) directly in case there are any real issues related to VROC or SSD performance.

 

We can assure you It's the OEM that should work with us in case of any real issue related to VROC or SSD performance.

 

I will proceed to close the thread will be closed right now, as there is no additional information for us to provide, and the article and documents I shared before can still be used as reference:

- RAID Performance Analysis on Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC): https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000032376/memory-and-storage/ssd-software.html

- Analysis document: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/memory-and-storage/ssd-software/Performance-Analysis-Intel-VROC.pdf

 

If you have any other questions and we can be of assistance, please open a  new thread since this one will no longer be monitored.

 

Best regards,

 

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

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Vegan
New Contributor I
4,657 Views

I wonder what AS SSD would reveal for SSD performance of your setup.

Definitely seems a tad sluggish for some M.2 class SSD products stuffed into PCIe card

I have a similar card but mine has a PLX chip on it to multiplex into a x8 slot

 

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