Dell PowerVault RD1000 Manual

Dell | Storage Product Group
Dell PowerVaultTM
RD1000 USB 3.0
Performance
Considerations

Table of Contents
Introduction: The PowerVault RD1000 with USB 3.0 ................................................................................... 3
Performance Considerations ........................................................................................................................ 4
USB 3.0 Performance Improvements over USB 2.0...................................................................................... 4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Appendix 1 – Test Setup ............................................................................................................................... 7
Appendix 2 – Test Results ............................................................................................................................. 7
Appendix 3 - DellTM PowerVaultTM System Storage and USB 3.0 HBAs Matrix. ........................................... 7

Introduction: The PowerVault RD1000 with USB 3.0
The Dell PowerVault RD1000 is a removable disk storage device which offers the data access speed of
storing data on a hard disk, the portability of optical media, and the physical protection of tape media.
The removable disk drive lets you quickly protect all your important information and take it with you.
Designed as a sensible, affordable alternative to tape and CD/DVD backup, the RD1000 is fast, user-
friendly, and reliable.
The latest update to the PowerVault RD1000, changes the game by replacing the USB 2.0 interface on
the external PowerVault RD1000 and PowerVault RD1000 114X versions with the next generation in
USB 3.0 storage interconnects and provides a significant boost in performance over USB 2.0.
At the heart of the RD1000 is the removable disk media that combines a tough exterior design and an
internal shock absorber — all rigorously tested to the highest standards. Simply pop in the removable
disk media, select the files or folders you want to protect, then drag-and-drop them into the directory
folder. To restore files, just reverse the process. Drag-and-drop capability gives you random access for
much quicker restoration of the files you need most. The RD1000 comes with everything you need to
protect data quickly and easily: drive unit, removable disk cartridge, and Symantec Backup Exec
QuickStart software.
The RD1000 is offered in the following form factor, as shown in table 1, for use in data centers utilizing
rack mounted servers and storage.
PowerVault RD1000 Standalone
External Drive (USB 3.0 connection)
Rack-mounted PowerVault RD1000
PV 114X (Drive (USB 3.0 connection)
Available in configuration up to four
RD10000 drives
Internal PowerVault RD1000 SATA
for tower and rack servers (3.5-inch
and 5.25-inch form factors)
Table 1: RD1000 Form Factors

Performance Considerations
Optimizing the PowerVault RD1000 backup solution to provide the best data transfer speeds and
performance is a key focus for many system administrators. Now with the availability of the PowerVault
RD1000 USB 3.0 the key variable to consider for achieving the best throughput with the RD1000 solution
is implementing an end-to-end USB 3.0 solution.
The PowerVault RD1000 USB 3.0 comes complete with the RD1000 dock and the USB 3.0 interface cable,
both of which have been designed to meet the USB 3.0 specification. In order to get a complete USB 3.0
solution, the host system must also be capable of supporting USB 3.0. Most servers have USB 2.0
connections, so in order to realize the performance increase; the host server will need to install a USB
3.0 host bus adapter. By attaching the RD1000 USB 3.0 to a host server which only has USB 2.0 or older,
will limit the performance of the RD1000 significantly but will still provide a increase in performance as
compared to USB 2.0 to USB 2.0 connection .
USB 3.0 Performance Improvements over USB 2.0
The PowerVault RD1000 USB 3.0 has been put through Dell’s rigorous performance testing suite which
measures the read and write performance across multiple different RD1000 configurations. These
performance measurements were compiled and are presented in figures 1 and 2 below to show the
benefits of the RD1000 USB 3.0 over the USB 2.0 version.
Multiple data sets were used; however, the primary data set consisted of 10 GB or randomly generated
data. There were 6,169 files ranging in size from 6 KB to 4 MB which were distributed in nested folder
structure of 157 folders. All testing was performed using the data protection software which is included
with the PowerVault RD1000, Symantec BackupExec 2010 QuickStart.
Backup and restores were performed to and from multiple RD1000 USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 docks with
varying combinations of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 cables and hosts. Averages were then taken across the
various performance tests with each RD1000. Figure 1 shows the results of the write performance on
the RD1000. Three configurations were tested:
1) RD1000 USB 3.0 end-to –end solution,
2) RD1000 USB 3.0 with a USB 2.0 host,
3) RD1000 USB 2.0 end-to-end solution.

Figure 1 - Write Performance Testing - RD1000 USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
The benefits of USB 3.0 on RD1000 are immediately clear. Out of the box RD1000 USB 3.0 provides an
approximate 20% increase with even just a USB 2.0 host. The write performance jumps from an average
of 21.8 MB/s with USB 2.0 to 26.2 MB/s with USB 3.0 connected to a USB 2.0 host. With an end-to-end
USB 3.0 solution the performance reached speeds of 74 MB/s.
On reads, the performance with USB 3.0 over USB 2.0 was also very apparent. RD1000 USB 3.0 also
provides an approximate 20% increase on the read performance over USB 2.0. The read performance
with USB 2.0 was 25.5 MB/s and 30.2 MB/s with USB 3.0 connected to a USB 2.0 host. The RD1000 3.0
end-to-end solution averaged approximately 72 MB/s.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
500 GB
Performance (MB/s)
RD1000 Cartridge Size (GB)
Write Performance
RD1000 USB 2.0 vs. RD1000 USB 3.0
USB 3.0 Dock / USB 3.0 Cable / USB 3.0 Host
USB 3.0 Dock / USB 3.0 Cable / USB 2.0 Host
USB 2.0 Dock / USB 2.0 Cable / USB 2.0 Host

Figure 2 - Read Performance Testing - RD1000 USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
Conclusion
The introduction of the PowerVault RD1000 USB 3.0 provides a significant performance improvement
over USB 2.0 which helps decrease backup windows and provides system administrators access to their
data faster during those critical times. The optimal performance is seen with an end-to-end USB 3.0
solution when a USB 3.0 host is used. However, even with the RD1000 USB 3.0 provided out of the box,
it provides an improvement over the USB 2.0 end-to-end solution when only connected to a USB 2.0
host.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
500 GB
Performance(MB/s)
RD1000 Cartridge Size (GB)
Read Performance
RD1000 USB 2.0 vs. RD1000 USB 3.0
USB 3.0 Dock / USB 3.0 Cable / USB 3.0 Host
USB 3.0 Dock / USB 3.0 Cable / USB 2.0 Host
USB 2.0 Dock / USB 2.0 Cable / USB 2.0 Host

Appendix 1 – Test Setup
Component Configuration
Server Dell PowerEdge R710
Processor Intel 3GHz P
Memory 4GB
Operating System Windows 2008 SP1
Hard drives
8 * 10K 146GB SAS
Hard Drive configuration One SAS hard drives contained the Microsoft Windows
2008 SP1 operating system, while the remaining seven
SAS hard drives were configured in RAID 0 and stored
the data set used for the performance testing.
Appendix 2 – Test Results
The table below summarizes the theoretical and measured performance referenced in this white paper
for the PowerVault RD1000.
Configuration Transfer Rate
(Theoretical)
Maximum Burst
Transfer Rate
Typical Transfer
Rate
RD1000 USB 2.0 + USB 2.0
Cable + USB 2.0 Host
480 Mbps (60MB/s) 35 MBps 25 MBps
RD1000 USB 3.0 + USB 3.0
Cable + USB 2.0 Host
480 Mbps (60MB/s) 35 MBps 30 MBps
RD1000 USB 3.0 +USB 3.0
Cable + USB 3.0 Host
5000 Mbps (640
MB/s)
230 MBps 80 MBps
Appendix 3 - DellTM PowerVaultTM System Storage and USB 3.0 HBAs
Matrix.
Host Bus Adapter Dell
PowerVault
TM
System
Dell Tape Backup Unit
Belkin 2-port PCI Express USB 3.0 External PowerVault RD1000 Ext USB 2.0
PowerVault RD1000 Ext USB 3.0
PV114x PowerVault RD1000 Rack USB 2.0
PowerVault RD1000 Rack USB 3.0
StarTech 2-Port PCI Express USB 3.0 External PowerVault RD1000 Ext USB 2.0
PowerVault RD1000 Ext USB 3.0
PV114x PowerVault RD1000 Rack USB 2.0
PowerVault RD1000 Rack USB 3.0