#Starwind 19 install
#Starwind 19 software
#Starwind 19 free
#Starwind 19 windows

Here we measured 46.6GB/s read at 0.68ms of latency and 7.2GB/s write at 0.13ms of latency. We then moved to a larger 64K transfer size with the same random access profile. 4K random write came in at 1.54M IOPS or 6GB/s at 0.07ms of latency. Here we measured 4.17M IOPS in 4K random read or 16.3GB/s at 0.35ms of latency.

#Starwind 19 windows

Next, we switched to Windows where we leveraged the StarWind NVMeoF initiator across the same four clients. 1M sequential came in at 42.9GB/s read at 1.48ms of latency, and 25.4GB/s at 1.26ms of latency for write. In 64K random read we measured 46.6GB/s at 0.69ms of latency, and 7.2GB/s at 0.14ms of latency in write. Moving to large-block transfers we measured both 64K random, and finally, a 1M sequential test focusing on bandwidth across the fabric. 4K random write performance measured 1.58M IOPS at a bandwidth of 6.2GB/s with a latency of 0.08ms. In our first group looking at the performance of the Linux NVMeoF initiator performance across 4 clients, we measured 5.54M IOPS at a bandwidth of 21.6GB/s at 0.369ms latency in 4K random read. All the tests have been performed three times and the average value was used as a final result. Prior to benchmarking the write operations, storage has been first warmed up for 3600 seconds (1 hour).

Sequential Write 1M вЂ“ 1 Thread, 8 Queue DepthДЄ single test duration is 3600 seconds (1 hour).

Sequential Read 1M вЂ“ 2 Thread, 8 Queue Depth.

Random Write 64K вЂ“ 4 Thread, 1 Queue Depth.

Random Read 64K вЂ“ 4 Thread, 32 Queue Depth.

Random Write 4K вЂ“ 8 Thread, 4 Queue Depth.

Random Read 4K вЂ“ 16 Thread, 32 Queue Depth.

NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows PerformanceДЇor this testing, we ran the following benchmarks via FIO leveraging both Linux and Windows initiators. TheyвЂ™re configured in RAID0 for maximum performance. The SSDs are split into two batches of four for NUMA alignment with the CPUs. Within the host, weвЂ™re using eight Intel P5510 Gen4 NVMe SSDs. In this case weвЂ™re using CentOS (kernel вЂ“ 5.13.) and SPDK v21.07. We again used NVIDIA ConnectX-5 EN 100GbE NICs (MCX516A-CDAT), this time we had four in the host. The storage host is an Intel OEM server (M50CYP2SB2U) equipped with two Intel Xeon 8380 CPUs at 2.3 GHz with 512GB of DRAM. The servers are direct-attached to the storage host. For the Linux testing, we used CentOS (kernel вЂ“ 4.18.0-305.10.2) with nvme-cli 1.12. The servers are installed with Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition, leveraging the StarWind NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows version 1.9.0.455. For connectivity, weвЂ™re using NVIDIA ConnectX-5 EN 100GbE NICs (MCX516A-CCAT). TheyвЂ™re each running two Intel Xeon Gold 6130 CPUs at 2.1GHz with 256GB of DRAM. In our scenario, we have a very simple configuration of one storage host and four clients.Д®ach of the four clients are Dell PowerEdge R740 servers.

#Starwind 19 software

The software is Windows-certified (Server 2019 and Windows 10) and tested for compatibility with the major NVMe-oF storage vendors. ThereвЂ™s no need for specialized hardware or additional Windows componentry.

#Starwind 19 install

The StarWind NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows is a simple install on any Windows host. NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows Configuration They OEM the solution to a variety of partners that need to build out their offerings. In fact, if youвЂ™re looking at any NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows, youвЂ™re probably consuming StarWind IP.

#Starwind 19 free

They still offer the free version for those who want to play, but the GA shipping version is what weвЂ™re looking at today. Up to commercialization, StarWind had been offering their NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows as a free tool for development and PoC use cases. Earlier this year StarWind commercialized an NVMe-oF Initiator for Windows. Sadly in Windows, thatвЂ™s a problem, until recently that is. As NVMe SSDs continue to dominate the enterprise, becoming the standard for SSD server storage, thereвЂ™s increased demand to be able to share that storage.

As such, thereвЂ™s a tremendous opportunity for enterprising companies to develop solutions for Windows shops. That said, itвЂ™s not perfect, especially when it comes to embracing new storage standards. Windows is great for a lot of things, thereвЂ™s a reason itвЂ™s the number one operating system in the world.