P4801x or 900p for SLOG

[DaveFL]

I currently have a small home lab setup where I have been using an S3700 for a few years as my slog. I’d like to update to a newer device.

The 900p seems to be a popular choice but lacks PLP. The p4801x 100mb has PLP and the 100gb model has good write performance but about half the sustained speed as the 900p. The 200gb model is about on par with the 900p but also costs double.

With that said - any preference between these two devices? Will there be much of a difference for real world use? Really just looking for a bit better write performance on my VMs. They can be slow relative to what is possible now with hardware.

System is a Xeon D 1541 and has a x4 M.2 slot.

 

[HoneyBadger]

From an old post of mine:

Optane by design is DRAM-less so it shouldn't need power-loss-protection, even down to the 16GB "Optane Memory" products. That said, Intel's claimed differentiation is that the DC P4800X has "circuit checks on the power loss system" - I have no idea what that actually means, and in all likelihood the Optane 900p is perfectly fit for purpose. The DC P4800X also has 4X the total TBW rating.

(For the M.2 form factor, I believe you'd be looking at the 905p as well, not the 900p.)

In a homelab scenario, I'd take a look at the total writes your S3700 has seen, and consider maybe even a cheaper Optane solution if it has the write endurance.

 

[DaveFL]

So your advice is to go with retail 9xxp with no advertised PLP over the enterprise similarly priced (slightly slower solution).

 

[HoneyBadger]

So your advice is to go with retail 9xxp with no advertised PLP over the enterprise similarly priced (slightly slower solution).

Yes, for a homelab there shouldn't be any issues from using the 900p/905p. For a very light workload, even the Optane Memory (800p or M10/M15 cards) would likely suffice. There's also a used P3700 or P4600 as an option, or the consumer equivalent Intel 750.

In an enterprise setting I would suggest sticking with the P-series cards, since Intel has language that invalidates their consumer card warranty if it's used in a "server" or "multiple user access" scenario. And it's always better to be able to pass the buck in a failure.

 

[DaveFL]

Just for my own sanity. When it comes down to real world use. Is there much of a performance difference between 800p, 4801x 100GB and 900p/905p?

 

[DaveFL]

905p is expensive.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Just for my own sanity. When it comes down to real world use. Is there much of a performance difference between 800p, 4801x 100GB and 900p/905p?

Check the thread in my signature about SLOG benchmarking:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...rking-and-finding-the-best-slog.63521/page-10
Page 10 has some P4801X benchmarks, I think page 5/6 is where the Optane 32GB and 800p cards were. I should circle back and update the chart/graphs.