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| Performance Considerations under Windows |
Hardware Considerations
The following hardware factors might affect SAS performance:
| Processor Speed |
In general, a faster processor enables the computer to perform more operations per second. The more operations that can be performed, the more performance will improve.
The amount of processor cache that is available also influences performance. More processing cache will result in better performance.
The processor required to run SAS depends on the operating environment.
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In 32-bit environments, you must have a PC that contains an Intel or Intel-compatible Pentium 4 class processor.
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In x64 64-bit environments, you must have an Intel64 or AMD64 processor.
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In Itanium 64-bit environments, you must have an Intel Itanium II processor.
| Memory |
In general, more physical memory will result in better performance. Systems that have large amounts of available memory are capable of handling large amounts of data without swapping. Swapping uses the temporary space on the hard drive to store the data that could not be loaded into memory. However, memory is faster than the hard drive in manipulating temporary files and other system operations. Consequently, the more memory that is available, the less the hard drive will need to be accessed for these types of operations.
The minimum amount of memory that is required depends on the operating environment.
| Operating Environment | Memory Requirements | ||||
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| Windows XP Professional |
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| Windows Vista and Windows 7 |
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| Operating Environment | Memory Requirements | ||||
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| Windows Server 2003 |
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| Disk Space for I/O |
An application uses I/O for data storage and data access. Therefore, faster I/O results in faster overall performance. The three factors that influence I/O performance are the disk controller and bus, the hard drive, and the hard drive configuration.
- disk controller and bus
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In general, hard drive disk controllers that use their memory buffers to cache data have better throughput than conventional controllers. This configuration can improve I/O performance.
The type of I/O controller can affect I/O performance. SCSI and EIDE controllers generally offer higher bus speeds. A fast SCSI or EIDE bus used with the appropriate SCSI or EIDE drive can offer improved performance over other hard drives and controller types. Currently, SCSI controllers offer the best I/O performance.
- hard drive
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Since SAS is heavily I/O oriented, access time and transfer rate are important to system performance. SCSI and EIDE drives generally have faster access times than MFM or IDE drives.
Low disk space or a heavily fragmented disk can hinder I/O performance. It is recommended that you defragment your hard drive regularly to keep I/O performance from degrading.
- hard drive configuration
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The hard drive configuration can have the greatest impact on I/O performance, especially on large server systems. Generally, a RAID configuration has better I/O performance than a non-RAID system. Consult your system administrator to determine the appropriate configuration for your computer.
| Graphics Adapter |
Since some SAS features use a significant amount of graphics memory, the type of graphics adapter that you use can make a difference in performance. Generally, if the same amount of graphics memory is available, AGP adapters are faster than PCI adapters. However, the type of adapter that you can use depends on your motherboard.
The amount of memory that is available on the adapter can impact the speed at which graphics are rendered. More memory usually results in better performance.
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Copyright © 2010 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.