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I'm using ESXi to host several virtual servers and I'd like to test the speed of various hard drives and protocols. (ie. I'd like to know which drive/setup works best for working operating systems)

I'm going to be comparing:

  • Local SATA drive
  • ZFS - RAID10 (via NFS)
  • ZFS - RAID10 (via iSCSI)
  • ZFS - RAIDZ2 (via NFS/iSCSI)

I'd just like to do some very simple disk benchmarks and I really like the ease-of-use of CrystalDiskMark. Is there a better alternative for simple OS drive benchmarks?

Also, can somebody explain the different numbers of these tests and what they mean?

For example, should I always use a 1 GB test? (in CrystalDiskMark)

Also, what is important for an OS drive and what is important for a storage drive? (ie. 512k speed is most important for an OS drive?)

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    Intel released a program called IOMETER a few years ago which would allow you to do this. You are able to install on the ESXi environment and/or run it from a different machine to test a network share. However, it can be taxing on your server while it's running and usually works best with a drive not yet partitioned.
    – kobaltz
    Oct 3, 2011 at 2:14

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Passmark have a Hard Disk(including SSDs) section. You can benchmark your own HDDs arrangement and compare the results with the record list on the site. This is the best that I know because it includes a large range of models and manufacturers.

Another benchmark software that I know is HDTune, however it not have a good record list of user's results.

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