Is IOPS Important for SSD? The Answer Might Surprise You.
It’s no secret that SSDs are becoming more and more popular as the storage of choice for home and business users alike. IOPS, or input/output operations per second, is a critical measurement for storage devices. This is true for traditional spinning hard drives and the newer solid state drives. So in this blog post, let’s take a closer look at IOPS and why it matters for SSDs.
In summary IOPS, or input/output operations per second, is a measure of how many IO tasks a device can handle in a given period of time. The higher the number of IOPS, the better the performance. Click here to jump recommended SSD section.
What is IOPS
IOPS stands for Input/Output Operations per Second and measures a system’s speed when working with input and output operations. This can include tasks such as reading or writing data to a storage device or sending or receiving data over a network.
IOPS is often used as a metric when comparing storage devices or networks, providing a way to compare their performance directly. However, it is important to note that IOPS is only one factor to consider when choosing a storage device other factors such as capacity and reliability are also important. Nonetheless, IOPS can be a helpful metric for assessing the speed of a system.
IOPS and Storage Media
The input/output operations per second (IOPS) is a standard performance metric used to measure the speed of computer data storage devices such as hard drives and solid state drives.
The following formula can measure IOPS.
AVG IOPS = 1000 milliseconds / (Average Seek Time + Average Latency)
Average Seek Time
The average seeks time of a storage device is the average time it takes to move the read/write head to the correct track on the disk to locate a particular piece of data. This is an important performance metric for storage devices, as it directly impacts the speed at which data can be accessed.
Faster seek times generally result in better performance, particularly for applications that require frequent access to small files. Seek time is typically measured in milliseconds. The average seek time for a hard disk is between 2 and 4 milliseconds, but some high-end models can have a seek time as low as 1 millisecond.
The full stroke is the amount of time it takes to seek the whole disc, and this is also measured in milliseconds. A seek time below 10ms is generally considered acceptable for a regular hard disk. Some factors that can affect the seek time of a regular HDD include the
- number of platters,
- the rotational speed,
- and the interface speed.
Seek times have been steadily improving over the past few years, and today’s hard disks are much faster than their predecessors. Typical SSDs have a seek time between 0.08 and 0.16 ms, compared to an average of 9 ms for hard drives. This means that SSDs can start up your computer more quickly and access files much faster than hard drives.
Average Latency
Storage media latency measures how long it takes for the storage media to respond to a request. In another word how long it takes for data to be retrieved from storage media on average. The term can apply to either a single storage device or to a system composed of multiple devices.
For example, if a hard disk drive has an average latency of 5 ms, it takes, on average, 5 milliseconds for the drive to respond to a request. Similarly, if a storage system has an average latency of 10 ms, this means that, on average, it takes 10 ms for the system to respond to a request. “latency” is often used interchangeably with “response time.”
However, strictly speaking, response time is the time between when a request is initiated and when it is completed. At the same time, latency is the time between when a request is initiated and when the first response is received. In other words, response time includes both the latency and the time required to process the request.
In general, lower latencies are better than higher latencies because they result in snappier performance. However, there are trade-offs involved; lower latencies usually come at the expense of higher cost and/or reduced capacity.
So the above formula provides a reasonable estimate of a storage device’s true capabilities. However, it is important to note that other factors, such as controller speed and queue depth, can also affect IOPS performance.
Does SSD Win The IOPS Rating?
Regarding computer storage, there are two main options:
- solid state drives (SSD)
- hard disk drives (HDD).
Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but SSDs generally provide faster data access and lower power consumption. One of the key performance indicators for storage devices is seek time, which measures how long it takes to locate a particular piece of data.
On average, an SSD has a seek time of 0.1 milliseconds, while an HDD has a seek time of 4-10 milliseconds. This difference is because HDDs rely on spinning disks to store data, while SSDs use microchips. As a result, SSDs can access data much more quickly than HDDs.
Another critical performance metric is latency, which measures the delay between the time a request is made and the time the data is accessed. Once again, SSDs have lower latency than HDDs, with an average of 0.04 milliseconds compared to 4-10 milliseconds. This difference is because SSDs have no moving parts, while HDDs do. Consequently, SSDs can access data much more quickly than HDDs.
Generally, an HDD will have an IOPS range of 55-180. This is because HDDs rely on spinning disks to write data, which can be a slower process. On the other hand, If you take a product like WD Blue SN570 NVMe 1TB SSD it comes with Random Reads of 460,000 IOPS and Random Writes of 450,000 IOPS.
This makes writing data to an SSD a much quicker process. However, it’s essential to remember that most of these ratings are given to you by the manufacturers and may not reflect real-world usage.
SSDs With the Highest IOPS
When it comes to storage devices, IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) is one of the most important performance metrics. The higher the IOPS, the faster the device will be. This is why high-IOPS storage devices are often used in applications where speed is critical, such as video editing and gaming. There are a number of SSDs on the market that boast high IOPS ratings. Here are some of them.
NVME
| Brand | Available Sizes | |
|---|---|---|
| WD BLACK SN750 | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | For 1TB: Read IOPS = 515K & Write IOPS = 560K |
| Seagate FireCuda 530 | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | For 1TB: Read IOPS = 800K & Write IOPS = 1000K |
SATA
| Brand | Available Sizes | |
|---|---|---|
| WD Blue SATA | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | For 1TB: Read IOPS = 100K & Write IOPS = 80K |
| SAMSUNG 870 EVO | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | For 1TB: Read IOPS = 98K & Write IOPS = 88K |
References
- Seek Time : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3558/seek-time
- Hard disk drive performance characteristics : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive_performance_characteristics
