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I ran ReadSpeed 1,000 times
#1
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
UPDATE: The strange results are isolated to 1 SSD. See Run 4 for more details.
I wrote the following batch file to run ReadSpeed rel 1 on my HP DM1Z laptop with 128 GB Samsung PM830 SSD 1,000 times in a row.
The results were WAY more interesting than I expected! It started off fine, but on run 78 the numbers took a nosedive. I happened to watch this one while it was happening. The bar at the top was noticeably slower, but fairly smooth. However, on the subsequent runs where the numbers were a little lower, there was noticeable stuttering in the top bar. Also, after a couple hours, there was a noticeable hang between runs, and my USB drive's activity light was flashing like crazy. That's strange, because the log files usually write instantly.
I have a few theories:
The CSV is attached below for anyone who wants to create their own charts.
Here's the PowerShell code I used to create the CSV file. This was a 1-liner, but I cleaned it up for this post.
SMART data
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
I wrote the following batch file to run ReadSpeed rel 1 on my HP DM1Z laptop with 128 GB Samsung PM830 SSD 1,000 times in a row.
Code:
:LOOP
RS.EXE
IF NOT EXIST RS999.TXT GOTO LOOPThe results were WAY more interesting than I expected! It started off fine, but on run 78 the numbers took a nosedive. I happened to watch this one while it was happening. The bar at the top was noticeably slower, but fairly smooth. However, on the subsequent runs where the numbers were a little lower, there was noticeable stuttering in the top bar. Also, after a couple hours, there was a noticeable hang between runs, and my USB drive's activity light was flashing like crazy. That's strange, because the log files usually write instantly.
I have a few theories:
- Overheating
- This is a laptop, and the fan was loud during the whole run. However, I didn't notice any slowdown like this when I was filling the drive with random data or zeroes.
- Memory leak
- Is it possible that ReadSpeed doesn't release memory after it runs since it doesn't expect to be run more than a couple times?
- Internal drive maintenance
- Could the drive be doing something in the background?
The CSV is attached below for anyone who wants to create their own charts.Here's the PowerShell code I used to create the CSV file. This was a 1-liner, but I cleaned it up for this post.
Code:
# Grab every file in the current folder and loop through them.
Get-ChildItem | ForEach-Object {
# Read the file and return just the 9th line (PowerShell uses 0-based indexing).
$Line9 = (Get-Content $_.FullName)[8]
# Return an array of the elements that are not spaces.
# '\s+' is regex for "1 or more whitespace characters".
$Elements = $Line9 -split '\s+'
# Grab the 5 results. There's an empty row at the end, otherwise it would have been -5 to -1.
# -1 is the last element of an array, -2 is second to last, etc.
# .. is the range operator.
$RsResults = $Elements[-6..-2]
# Turn the array into a string, using the characters in '' as a delimiter
$CsvString = $RsResults -join ', '
# Add the string to the CSV file. The first line will create the file.
$CsvString | Out-File -FilePath 1000.csv -Append
}SMART data
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
#4
Steve
Steve
#5
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
I'm not worried about this system. It's an old laptop I haven't used for years, and an old SSD I got for cheap as part of a box of SSDs from eBay, so I am more than willing to sacrifice it in the name of science
#8
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
I calculated the time between runs based on the creation time of the log files. As I suspected from watching the later runs, the gap got larger as time went on. Interestingly, the same spikes are present in this chart. (EDIT: I just realized this makes perfect sense. The slower runs take longer 
)
The chart contains 998 data points because the first line will always be 0, and I threw away the second line because my first test (RS000.TXT) was a few minutes before the rest of them since I wrote LOOP.BAT after it. I should have deleted that first log file before running LOOP.BAT, but I forgot.
Theory #4: my laptop was overheating, not the SSD. I am going to run this test on a desktop that has plenty of airflow to test the heat theory.
Here's the PowerShell code I used to generate this CSV.
)The chart contains 998 data points because the first line will always be 0, and I threw away the second line because my first test (RS000.TXT) was a few minutes before the rest of them since I wrote LOOP.BAT after it. I should have deleted that first log file before running LOOP.BAT, but I forgot.
Theory #4: my laptop was overheating, not the SSD. I am going to run this test on a desktop that has plenty of airflow to test the heat theory.
Here's the PowerShell code I used to generate this CSV.
Code:
Get-ChildItem *.txt | ForEach-Object {
$TimeStamp = (Get-ItemProperty $_.FullName).LastWriteTime
if ( $PreviousTime ) {
$Result = ($TimeStamp - $PreviousTime).TotalSeconds
} else {
$Result = 0
}
$Result | Out-File -FilePath TimeBetweenRuns.csv -Append
$PreviousTime = $TimeStamp
}
#9
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
#11
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
I think we can rule out overheating. Here are the results from moving the SSD to a desktop that has a case fan blowing directly over the SSD. This run looks very similar to the first run. Also, I overwrote the drive with zeroes first, just like I did before the first run.
Here's column 0 from run 1 and 2.
Run 3 is already underway. I want to see how much of a difference it makes when I tell ReadSpeed the filename to use, instead of RS having to read the drive to determine the next filename. This requires the previous 1,000 log files to be left behind.
Run 4 will be with a different drive. I've determined this behavior is not linked to the computer, so now I want to see if this drive is just weird, or if this is an artifact of running RS way too many times.
Here's column 0 from run 1 and 2.
Run 3 is already underway. I want to see how much of a difference it makes when I tell ReadSpeed the filename to use, instead of RS having to read the drive to determine the next filename. This requires the previous 1,000 log files to be left behind.
Code:
FOR %%A IN (*.TXT) DO RS.EXE %%ARun 4 will be with a different drive. I've determined this behavior is not linked to the computer, so now I want to see if this drive is just weird, or if this is an artifact of running RS way too many times.
#12
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
Here are the results from Run 3. As I expected, it didn't affect the dips. My main goal was to reduce the total run time, which I did. This run was 3:55, whereas the previous runs were 7:27 and 5:11. One odd thing that happened is that the loop started at RS005.TXT, so I had to edit the CSV file.
Run 2 and 3 together.
The time between runs looks MUCH better now. I had to remove a few outliers due to the log file order problem. Also, I had to switch to LastWriteTime in my PowerShell code since I re-used the log files. I will update my code in the previous post.
I want to find a better way to create a loop. Unfortunately, FOR /L and SET /A aren't supported in FreeDOS.
Run 2 and 3 together.
The time between runs looks MUCH better now. I had to remove a few outliers due to the log file order problem. Also, I had to switch to LastWriteTime in my PowerShell code since I re-used the log files. I will update my code in the previous post.
I want to find a better way to create a loop. Unfortunately, FOR /L and SET /A aren't supported in FreeDOS.
#13
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
#14
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
Run 4 is complete. I swapped out the PM830 for a 120 GB Crucial BX100 SSD. I overwrote it with zeroes first, just like the previous runs.
The results are what I originally expected Run 1 to look like. I believe this shows that the strange behavior is entirely isolated to the PM830. I'm still very curious what's going on, but at least this strange behavior isn't due to ReadSpeed.
The chart with all 5 columns is readable, so I went with it instead of just column 0.
Also, I got tired of fighting with batch scripts, so I switched to QBasic. Here's the script I wrote, LOOP.BAS:
Here's the SMART data for the BX100. I grabbed this before starting Run 4.
Also, I ran ReadSpeed once before overwriting the drive with zeroes.
The results are what I originally expected Run 1 to look like. I believe this shows that the strange behavior is entirely isolated to the PM830. I'm still very curious what's going on, but at least this strange behavior isn't due to ReadSpeed.
The chart with all 5 columns is readable, so I went with it instead of just column 0.
Also, I got tired of fighting with batch scripts, so I switched to QBasic. Here's the script I wrote, LOOP.BAS:
Code:
FOR i% = 0 TO 999
' https://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=565458
padded$ = RIGHT$("000" + LTRIM$(STR$(i%)), 3)
PRINT padded$
SLEEP 1
name$ = "RS" + padded$ + ".TXT"
SHELL "RS.EXE " + name$
NEXT i%Here's the SMART data for the BX100. I grabbed this before starting Run 4.
Code:
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-5.5.4-pmagic64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-19, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Silicon Motion based SSDs
Device Model: CT120BX100SSD1
Serial Number: 1534F00B31FC
LU WWN Device Id: 5 00a075 1f00b31fc
Firmware Version: MU02
User Capacity: 120,034,123,776 bytes [120 GB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: ACS-2 (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is: SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Sat Jan 2 23:22:04 2021 MST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed
without error or no self-test has ever
been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 0) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x71) SMART execute Offline immediate.
No Auto Offline data collection support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
No Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
Conveyance Self-test supported.
Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0002) Does not save SMART data before
entering power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 10) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
SCT capabilities: (0x0035) SCT Status supported.
SCT Feature Control supported.
SCT Data Table supported.
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 1
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 1411
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 86
160 Uncorrectable_Error_Cnt 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
161 Valid_Spare_Block_Cnt 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 109
163 Initial_Bad_Block_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 19
164 Total_Erase_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 33662
165 Max_Erase_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 97
166 Min_Erase_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 1
167 Average_Erase_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 30
168 Max_Erase_Count_of_Spec 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 2000
169 Remaining_Lifetime_Perc 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 100
175 Program_Fail_Count_Chip 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
176 Erase_Fail_Count_Chip 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
177 Wear_Leveling_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 1
178 Runtime_Invalid_Blk_Cnt 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
181 Program_Fail_Cnt_Total 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
182 Erase_Fail_Count_Total 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 34
194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 27
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 119397
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
232 Available_Reservd_Space 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 100
241 Host_Writes_32MiB 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 84601
242 Host_Reads_32MiB 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 79756
245 TLC_Writes_32MiB 0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 134648
SMART Error Log not supported
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
No self-tests have been logged. [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t]
SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
1 0 0 Not_testing
2 0 0 Not_testing
3 0 0 Not_testing
4 0 0 Not_testing
5 0 0 Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.Also, I ran ReadSpeed once before overwriting the drive with zeroes.
Code:
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ReadSpeed: Hyper-accurate mass storage read-performance benchmark. rel 1 |
| Benchmarked values are in megabytes read per second at five locations. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Driv Size Drive Identity Location: 0 25% 50% 75% 100
---- ----- ---------------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
81 120GB CT120BX100SSD1 520.2 542.4 420.4 431.2 542.5
Benchmarked: Sunday, 2021-01-03 at 06:01
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the ReadSpeed forums at forums.grc.com for help and community support.
#15
rfrazier
rfrazier
@DiskTuna I didn't read the whole paper, just the abstract. But, that's interesting ... and disturbing.
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast. Ron
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast.
Ron
#16
ColbyBouma
ColbyBouma
Run 5. This time I rebooted after every test. Unfortunately, the results are pretty boring
0% is lower because I installed Windows on this PC, so that region is no longer empty.
Here's how long each run took:
Here's the script I wrote, REBOOT.BAS. It took me a while because I am very rusty with QBasic.
Here's my AUTOEXEC.BAT:
0% is lower because I installed Windows on this PC, so that region is no longer empty.
Here's how long each run took:
Here's the script I wrote, REBOOT.BAS. It took me a while because I am very rusty with QBasic.
Code:
File$ = "COUNT.DAT"
' Read the current count.
OPEN File$ FOR INPUT AS #1
INPUT #1, Count
CLOSE #1
' https://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=565458
padded$ = RIGHT$("00" + LTRIM$(STR$(Count)), 3)
PRINT padded$
SLEEP 1
' Build the filename, and run RS.
name$ = "RS" + padded$ + ".TXT"
SHELL "RS.EXE " + name$
' Increment the count and write it to the file.
Count = Count + 1
OPEN File$ FOR OUTPUT AS #1
WRITE #1, Count
CLOSE #1
IF Count < 1000 THEN
' The "REBOOT" alias isn't recognized for some reason.
SHELL "FDAPM WARMBOOT"
ELSE
' Delete the count file.
KILL File$
PRINT "Done"
' End without "press any key to continue".
SYSTEM
END IFHere's my AUTOEXEC.BAT:
Code:
@echo off
SET PATH=\;\FREEDOS
IF EXIST COUNT.DAT GOTO run
ECHO 0 > COUNT.DAT
:run
QBASIC.EXE /RUN REBOOT.BAS
#18
danlock
I also think my FireCuda drive—with its NAND cache—will probably also be affected by those errors as time goes on.
danlock
I think reading the Conclusion (rather short, on page 12) might be helpful as well, as a truncated summary of the many specifics discussed in the paper.
I also think my FireCuda drive—with its NAND cache—will probably also be affected by those errors as time goes on.
#19
danlock
danlock