cache ratio on a DL380 PS400 controller??

[tlyczko]

I've just begun setting up our DL380, and in reviewing the ACU, I found out about the cache ratio setup for the RAID controller.

There's two 36GB disks RAID 1 for ESX and its associated stuff, and four 146GB RAID5 disks for the VMs.

ACU gives some choices for the cache's (battery-backed, accelerator turned on, 512MB cache) read/write ratio, and for the array's expand/rebuild priorities, which are set to Low.

For now I have a 50-50 read-write cache ratio, is this appropriate for ESX Starter Edition and its VMs? There's 8GB RAM and two 2.66 Ghz dual-core Xeons in it.

Thank you, Tom

[VirtualNoitall]

Hello,

That is where I would start as well. Monitor it for the next little while; paying attention to read vs write numbers. You can do this with esxtop or your favourite perf tool. Then, based on the numbers, tune your ratio to a similair number.

[tlyczko]

Can you recall if the Windows Virtual Client (I can't recall the exact name) gives any similar reports for basic monitoring the ESX server??

Thanks, Tom

[VirtualNoitall]

Yes, in VI, on the host performance tab, you should be able to select Read Requests and Write Requests to monitor.

Happy to help!