Intel SSD DC P3520 Series poor performance

[idata]

Hello we are using a bunch of 24 NVMe Intel SSD DC P3520.

Being disappointed with Lustre performance (although every possible Lustre/ZFS optimization where applied), I proceeded with testing them one by one

reading and writing as block device.

This is the result I got with the first bunch of 6 disk. I am concerned about read performance and not about write performance which looks fairly good.

w (GB/s) r(GB/s)

nvme0n1 1.1 1.9

nvme1n1 1.1 0.623

nvme2n1 1.1 0.626

nvme3n1 1.1 0.624

nvme4n1 1.0 0.618

nvme5n1 1.1 0.622

given that the first disk was performing well I reformatted them using isdct tool (4K per sector):

isdct start -intelssd 0 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

isdct start -intelssd 1 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

isdct start -intelssd 2 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

isdct start -intelssd 3 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

isdct start -intelssd 4 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

isdct start -intelssd 5 -nvmeformat LBAFormat=3 SecureEraseSetting=0 ProtectionInformation=0 MetaDataSettings=0

then I run again the tests and here is the result:

after reformat

nvme0n1 1.1 2.1

nvme1n1 1.1 2.1

nvme2n1 1.1 2.1

nvme3n1 1.1 1.9

nvme4n1 1.1 2.0

nvme5n1 1.1 1.8

So after being used for some time the performance drops especially the read performance. The DeviceStatus is Healthy though.

Is there any problem related to the firmware automatic TRIM/garbage collection ?

Should I upgrade the firmware ?

currently installed firmware version is MDV10253

thank you

[idata]

Hi Riccardo73,

There are not issues reported with the Intel® SSD DC P3520 Series. The results you reported are kind of expected. When the performance of a SSD is tested, there are several variables that affect the result; for example if the drive is configured as boot or storage device, or if the SSD is empty or with data stored in it. The recommendation always is to run the test performance when the SSD is configured as a storage device and after performing a secure erase so that we make sure the drive is empty.According to your results, you can see the performance is higher after the drives were secure erased. If the drive has data, it will take more time for the drive to search for an empty cell, store a value in the empty location and then go again to that cell to read that particular value. These details may end in high differences between performance test results.I hope this information clarifies your concern. On the other hand, it's always recommended to keep the firmware version updated. Currently the latest firmware version for this SSD is the MDV10271. We recommend you to update the firmware to this version.If there is anything else we can help you with, please feel free to ask.Have a nice day.Regards,Diego V.

[idata]

Hi Riccardo73,

I was wondering if the information above clarified your concern about the SSD performance test or if there is anything else I can help you with.Have a nice day.Regards,Diego V.