How to benchmark a drive in you Synology NAS
In today’s data-driven world, ensuring the optimal performance of your storage system is critical, especially when using a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device like Synology. One of the key aspects of maintaining a high-performing NAS is monitoring the health and performance of your hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). Over time, individual drives within a RAID array may experience performance degradation, which can slow down the entire system and create bottlenecks. To address this, Synology provides built-in tools to benchmark your drives, allowing you to measure critical performance metrics such as read/write speeds, IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second), latency, and throughput. By conducting regular disk benchmarks, you can gain valuable insights into the true performance of your storage array, identify underperforming drives, and take proactive steps to optimize your NAS for better efficiency and reliability. This guide will walk you through the process of benchmarking your disks step by step, empowering you to maintain a high-performing storage solution.
In Synology you have the option to check the performance of all you hard disk drives. This will give you the read and write capabilities of the drives and also IOPS, latency and throughput.
This is important because you may have a disk in your raid array that is slowing it down and being your bottleneck.
Based on the above, you can also get an idea of the true values of reading and writing in your array.
Based on the above, you can also get an idea of the true values of reading and writing in your array.
Now here is a step by step guide on how to benchmark a disk:
Step One:
Open Synology DSM and go to Storage Manager
Step Two:
In the HDD/SDD section Select the disk you want to benchmark and in the top ACTION menu select BENCHMARK
In step Three....
In step three in the new windows click START and be patient you will have a window like this for a long time:
After the big wait you will be rewarded whit the data in mind :)
In conclusion
Benchmarking your hard disk drives in a Synology NAS is a crucial step to ensure optimal performance of your RAID array. By evaluating key metrics such as read/write speeds, IOPS, latency, and throughput, you can identify any under performing disks that may be acting as bottlenecks. This process not only helps you understand the true performance capabilities of your storage system but also allows you to take corrective actions, such as replacing slow drives or reconfiguring your array, to maintain efficiency and reliability. Regularly benchmarking your disks is a proactive measure to ensure your NAS operates at its full potential, supporting your data storage and access needs effectively.