2016 SSD recommendations for L2ARC and SLOG

[viniciusferrao]

Hello guys,

I've been looking around for SSD recommendations for new FreeNAS builds. The gold standard of Intel S3700 seems to be obsolete with the release of S3510 series. Meanwhile I cannot see any changes in the SLOG area. ZeusRAM appears to still be the "best" but expensive solution for SLOG.

So I'm opening this thread to discuss what's the alternatives and options for today.

 

[Mlovelace]

Why not use the updated Intel DC S3710 for the slog?

 

[jgreco]

Neither the S3510 nor the S3710 are a good idea; use the P3700. The NVMe and the write endurance are both ideal for the task.

The Intel 750 is a good choice for L2ARC, inexpensive yet large.

 

[viniciusferrao]

Neither the S3510 nor the S3710 are a good idea; use the P3700. The NVMe and the write endurance are both ideal for the task.

The Intel 750 is a good choice for L2ARC, inexpensive yet large.

Really? But for using NVMe I need an NVMe compatible hardware, right?

EDIT: I was considering two 480GB S3510 for L2ARC and one 200GB S3710 for ZIL. So you do recommend two S750 for L2ARC and one P3700 for ZIL?

 

[viniciusferrao]

Oh my gosh, I just looked at the numbers. The Intel 750 is a beast. This thing already works in FreeNAS since it's PCI-E NVMe?

 

[jgreco]

Oh my gosh, I just looked at the numbers. The Intel 750 is a beast. This thing already works in FreeNAS since it's PCI-E NVMe?

Yes, FreeNAS supports NVMe and some of us have been pounding on it for awhile now.

The Intel P3700 is the ideal SLOG device. It has power loss protection and phenomenal write endurance, but is expensive.

The Intel 750 also has power loss protection, so if you do not need to be writing more than 70GB/day, it is likely to be a great SLOG at a lower price.

The NVMe SSD's aren't particularly necessary for L2ARC but could work very well in that role as well. For L2ARC, anything that's faster than your pool hard disks is probably a win.