Adaptec 6805TQ maxCache RAID controller

Introduction:

 

This review is the second in our series of  two Adaptec RAID adapter products. Earlier we reviewed the 6805E RAID adapter which is considered a entry level RAID card in the Adaptec line. For comparison you can read through that review here. The “E” version of the card represents an inexpensive RAID solution and did provide better scores then an on-board RAID chip. This review is focuses on the 6805TQ RAID adapter which has the newest feature of FAST maxCache 2.0 which uses an SSD to cache out the data in order for the data to be Written/Read to the RAID volume at a faster speed than any standard HDD heads can seek to Read/Write the data.

This time through we took the results of the 6805TQ RAID adapter and added them to the bar graphs we generated for the 6805E review. With all these results compiled into one graph, you will be able to see the difference between a single connected HDD, on-board RAID, 6805E and the 6805TQ adapters. The 6805TQ ($850) being considerably more expensive than the 6805E card ($230), it is likely the 6805TQ adapter would appeal to large companies who are looking to build a server-like workstation that is accessing, Reading, writing data on such a grand scale that the additional cost of the 6805TQ wouldn’t even be considered an issue. So, let’s see what the 6805TQ is capable of, shall we?

 

 

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Specifications:

Adaptec’s take on maxCache

Adaptec maxCache 2.0 Storage Controllers– Evolved Performance First generation maxCache offered significant performance gains for read-intensive applications, delivering up to 11x performance improvement in 100% random read workloads.  Using SSDs to cache copies of frequently accessed – or ‘hot’ – data, maxCache exploits the performance capabilities of SSDs to access the read data from the SSD rather than spinning media.  Read caching is improved with maxCache 2.0, with additional optimizations to the learned-path algorithm delivering an increase in overall IOPs performance to 13x for read-intensive environments. To deliver the advanced performance capabilities of SSD caching to a broader set of application workloads, maxCache 2.0 evolves to offer caching of write data as well.  By caching writes to the SSDs, maxCache 2.0 leverages the performance and latency capabilities of SSD technology for workloads with reads and writes

Specifications taken from Adaptec’s site:

Supported Operating Systems Microsoft Windows Red Hat Linux SUSE Linux Fedora Debian Linux Ubuntu Linux Sun Solaris FreeBSD VMware For a detailed list see ASK Answer ID 17137 Benefits Supports Adaptec maxCache SSD caching with any SSDs. Unified Serial storage controller supports both SATA and SAS devices. Ideal for I/O intensive storage applications requiring low latency; NAS, OLTP servers, web servers, databases, and digital surveillance. Key DifferentiatorsAdaptec maxCache SSD caching support Zero-Maintenance Cache Protection Intelligent Power Management Customer Needs High I/O transaction and high bandwidth processing. Form Factor MD2 Low-Profile Cache Memory512MB of DDR2 memory RAID Levels RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 10, 50 and 60 Key RAID Features • Supports Adaptec maxCache SSD caching with any SSD • Supports SSD cache pool capacity up to size of 1TB •Supports up to 8 SSDs in cache pool • Supports 8 direct-attached or up to 256 SATA or SAS disk drives using SAS expanders • RAID levels 0, 1, 1E, 5, 5EE, 6, 10, 50 and 60 • Quick initialization • Online Capacity Expansion • Copyback Hot Spare • Dynamic caching algorithm • Native Command Queuing (NCQ) • Background initialization • Hot-plug drive support • RAID Level Migration • Hot spares – global, dedicated, and pooled • Automatic/manual rebuild of hot spares • SAF-TE enclosure management • Configurable stripe size • S.M.A.R.T. support • Up to 512TB array sizes • Multiple arrays per disk drive • Bad stripe table • Dynamic sector repair • Staggered drive spin-up • Bootable array support • Optimized Disk Utilization Bus System Interface Type 8-lane PCIe Gen2 Internal Connectors2 internal (SFF-8087) Mini SAS Data Transfer Rate 6 Gb/s per port

Package Contents • Adaptec maxCache 6805TQ Controller with AFM-600 • Additional low profile vented bracket • Adaptec RAID Installation DVD (bootable, including Driver &  Management Software) Warranty 3 yearsManagement UtilitiesAdaptec Storage Manager™ (ASM) • Adaptec maxCache 2.0 SSD caching Software • Java-based GUI Management Utility • Remote configuration, monitoring & notification • ASM OS Support: Windows, Linux,  Solaris, FreeBSD • Microsoft VDS Support • SNMP, SMTP • Remote firmware updatesARCCONF • Command Line Interface • SMI-S support for VMwareAdaptec BIOS Utility (ACU) • BIOS level configuration utility • Flashable BIOS supportPhysical Size2.5″ H x 6.6″ L (64mm x 167mm)Operating Temperature0°C to 50°C* (with 200 LFM airflow) Note: This Adaptec card contains a powerful RAID processor which requires adequate airflow to operate reliably. Please install this card only into server or PC chassis with recommended airflow (200 LFM). * Ambient temperature measured 1″ away from the RAID processor Operating Voltage 0.17 A @ 3.3 VDC 1.25 A @ 12.0 VDC Regulatory Certification CE, FCC, UL,  C-tick, VCCI, KCC Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) 860,953 hours at 40 degree C.

Closer Look:

The noticeable points on the 6805TQ card are the second layer circuit board that is sandwiching a large portion of the circuitry of the card. Also the locations where the cables are connected to the card are located in the middle of the card. The 6805TQ doesn’t have a sticker warning that it requires sufficient air-flow for cooling like the 6805E.  The 6805TQ needs only standard computer case airflow, so you do not need to breakout the nitrogen cooling system.

The cables are the same as the 6805E card review. These two cable branch out to four HDD each, for a total of eight supported HDDs.

 

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Test Rig:

Windows7 64bit Home Edition
ASUS Crosshair IV Formula Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Tuniq Ensemble 1200 Watt PSU
LIAN LI PC-A77F
Crucial Ballistix 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory

Four Western Digital 2.oTB SATA 6GBs HDD
Adaptec 6805TQ

 

Benchmarking software:

Crystal Disk mark
HD Tuner Pro
ATTO
Datamarck

 

Benchmarks:

Crystal Disk Mark

Crystal Disk Mark Sequential Read	Crystal Disk Mark Sequential Write

Sequential read and write results

Crystal Disk Mark 512k Read	Crystal Disk Mark 512kWrite

512K Read and Write results

Crystal Disk Mark Sequential Read	Crystal Disk Mark Sequential Write

Sequential Read and Write results.

HD Tune Pro

HD Tune Pro Read	HD Tune Pro Write

 

ATTO

Two HDD RAID

two drive stripe ATTO	Two Drive Stripe queue depth set to 10

 

Four HDD RAID

four HDD stripe	Four HDD Stripe with queue depth set to 10

 

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Datamarck

Showing MBs comparisons (higher is better)	Showing access times in milliseconds (lower is better)

 

 Conclusion:

The Adaptec 6805TQ with maxCache 2.0 feature would be taking the hybrid hard drives with a built-in solid state drive and a spindle drive and bringing it to the enterprise level. The 6805TQ is a lot more expensive than the 6805E card we reviewed earlier, but with maxCache 2.0 and the ability to support more RAID options and the addition of a RAID battery, the 6805TQ has everything one would expect to find on an enterprise server. We did see a speed increase between the 6805E and 6805TQ, and both were much faster than the on-board RAID options, but due to additional expense of each card, it is not likely that a general consumer would purchase either card unless you have a serious need for speed or a particular purpose intended for the machine such as rendering or as a data server. Though if you have the disposable income for the 6805E and two SSD drives for a two drive stripe, there is very little out there that would be able to compete. The 6805TQ is an enterprise I/O beast which intended for large amounts of data I/O in a business setting. We did enjoy setting up multiple arrays in our attempts to find the limits of the 6805TQ, but in our lab environment, we never seemed to find a limit outside of synthetic benchmarks. The Adaptec 6805TQ has been every bit a jaw dropping experience to see I/O scores this high. We would like to thank Western Digital for assisting us with a set of their enterprise HDDs to be used in these two RAID card reviews.