Passmark Advanced Multi-User Tests

Version and / or Patch Used: 6.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.passmark.com
Test Homepage: http://www.passmark.com

Many users complain that I/O Meter is too complicated of a benchmark to replicate results so my quest to find an alternative was started. Passmark has added several multi-user tests that measure a hard drives ability to operate in a multi-user environment.

The tests use different settings to mimic basic multi-user operations as they would play out on your server. Variances in read / write percentage as well as random / sequential reads are common in certain applications; Web Servers read nearly 100% of the time while Database Servers write a small amount of data.

The Workstation test is the only single user environment and will be similar to how you use your system at home.

The line between SandForce's consumer and enterprise class drives is clear when looking at SF controllers. The SF-2200 is the client part and the SF-2500 is the enterprise part. That line really becomes blurred, though, when comparing SandForce products to the competition since the SandForce client part is in many cases faster than existing enterprise products from other controller manufacturers.

The SF-2200 controller is physically identical to the SF-2500, so this isn't all that surprising. The SF-2200 has been tuned with programming for desktop loads and is actually faster than the SF-2500 products at desktop tasks.

Here we see several client SSDs running server loads and it isn't a surprise to see the SF-2200 outperforming everything else on the charts. OWC will most likely make an enterprise model with the SF-2500, but that product has yet to be announced at the time of writing.