3Gb/s vs 6Gb/s - OS or VM

[racielrod]

Hello,

I'm using a X9SRL-F motherboard which has a total of 10 internal SATA ports (more than enough for my setup) but only 2 are 6Gb/s.
So far I had 2 mirrored SSDs for the OS on the 6Gb/s ports; but now I'm adding a 1TB SSD for my VMs.

Question: How to better use my 6Gb/s SATA ports?

1. Keep the mirrored SSDs there.
2. Move one of the mirrored SSDs to a 3Gb/s port and use one of the 6Gb/s ports for the VM SSD.
3. Any other alternative?

TIA!

 

[kdragon75]

Hello,

I'm using a X9SRL-F motherboard which has a total of 10 internal SATA ports (more than enough for my setup) but only 2 are 6Gb/s.
So far I had 2 mirrored SSDs for the OS on the 6Gb/s ports; but now I'm adding a 1TB SSD for my VMs.

Question: How to better use my 6Gb/s SATA ports?

1. Keep the mirrored SSDs there.
2. Move one of the mirrored SSDs to a 3Gb/s port and use one of the 6Gb/s ports for the VM SSD.
3. Any other alternative?

TIA!

No reason to have the OS on the 6Gb ports. Also running VMs without redundant storage is super sketchy but totally up to you and your budget. Be sure to have and test a backup plan.

 

[racielrod]

Thanks for your answer @kdragon75
The VMs - at least initially- will be for lab/testing purposes - this is a home setup.
I'm going to move the OS mirrored ssds to two 3Gb/s ports and free the 2 6Gb/s for the VM SSD.

I'm dedicating an SSD for VMs because I remember seeing that recommendation in this forum.
If I move from a testing environment to a more serious VM setup, what is the recommended approach?

Thanks!

 

[pschatz100]

Most of the posts by VM users point to performance issues and constraints due to not having enough memory. Make certain you have enough RAM for whatever it is you want to do.