We're running into a performance problem with ZFS over NFS. When working with many small files (i.e. unpacking a tar file with source code), a Thor (over NFS) is about 4 times slower than our aging existing storage solution, which isn't exactly speedy to begin with (17 minutes versus 3 minutes).
We took a rough stab in the dark, and started to examine whether or not it was the ZIL. Performing IO tests locally on the Thor shows no real IO problems, but running IO tests over NFS, specifically, with many smaller files we see a significant performance hit. Just to rule in or out the ZIL as a factor, we disabled it, and ran the test again. It completed in just under a minute, around 3 times faster than our existing storage. This was more like it! Are there any tunables for the ZIL to try to speed things up? Or would it be best to look into using a high-speed SSD for the log device? And, yes, I already know that turning off the ZIL is a Really Bad Idea. We do, however, need to provide our users with a certain level of performance, and what we've got with the ZIL on the pool is completely unacceptable. Thanks for any pointers you may have... -- Greg Mason Systems Administrator Michigan State University High Performance Computing Center _______________________________________________ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
