E5 series servers are widely used in high-performance computing, virtualization deployment, database hosting and enterprise-level applications. They have excellent performance and strong scalability, and are especially suitable for scenarios with high requirements for IO capabilities and reliability. In the whole machine configuration, the hard disk, as a key data-carrying component, has a decisive impact on the overall performance and business stability. When deploying E5 servers, a reasonable choice of hard disk solution can effectively improve read and write performance, reduce system failure rate, and optimize cost investment.
1. Selection of E5 server hard disk types
Currently, server hard disks are mainly divided into three categories: SATA mechanical hard disk (HDD), SATA solid-state hard disk (SATA SSD) and NVMe solid-state hard disk (NVMe SSD). For different business scenarios, the three hard disks have their own advantages.
1. SATA mechanical hard disk (HDD)
Features: low cost, large capacity, generally 1TB-16TB; suitable for large-capacity cold data storage, such as logs and backup files; slow reading speed, poor random IO performance, about 80-120MB/s; usually used for archiving or non-frequent read and write business.
SATA HDD in E5 server is suitable for deployment in "nearline storage pool" and participates in low-cost data persistence tasks as RAID 5 or RAID 6 disk array.
2. SATA solid state drive (SATA SSD)
Features: moderate cost, conventional capacity is 240GB~4TB; random IO performance is much better than HDD, suitable for medium and high frequency read and write applications; interface is limited to SATA III standard, the maximum theoretical speed is about 550MB/s; suitable for Web servers, virtual hosts, database middle layer, etc.
SATA SSD can be used as system disk or light load application disk, providing good responsiveness and reliability for E5 server.
3. NVMe solid state drive (NVMe SSD)
Features: based on PCIe channel communication, high throughput, extremely low latency; single disk read and write performance can reach 3000~7000MB/s; more suitable for deployment of key IO intensive businesses, such as MySQL master library, NoSQL storage, Docker container layer; cost is higher than SATA SSD, heat generation is large, and heat dissipation design is required.
When using NVMe with E5 servers, you should give priority to models whose motherboards support U.2 interfaces or PCIe M.2 slots to ensure compatibility and performance release.
II. Capacity planning and disk layout
Reasonable hard disk capacity planning can effectively avoid I/O bottlenecks and data expansion anxiety:
1. Recommendation for operating system disk
240GB~480GB SATA SSD is recommended; ensure sufficient system space for subsequent patching and installation dependencies; it is recommended to deploy /var and /home in separate partitions to reduce the write load of the system disk.
2. Recommendation for data disk
Calculate based on business data volume, access frequency, and growth curve; it is recommended to use NVMe or enterprise-level SATA SSD for hot data (such as cache, database); use large-capacity HDD in combination with RAID for cold data (such as backup and archiving).
3. Cache disk recommendations
Redis, Memcached or ElasticSearch cache components can use enterprise-level NVMe SSDs; for high-frequency disk write log business, write cache disks can be deployed to improve write efficiency.
4. Disk slot allocation recommendations
System disks are deployed separately on the main SATA channel or M.2 slot; data disks are placed in the hot-swappable position on the front panel to form RAID; cache disks use independent PCIe channels or NVMe slots to prevent I/O interference.
E5 servers have powerful computing resources and good expansion capabilities. Hard disks are the core components of data reading and writing, which directly affect the overall performance and business stability of the server. Selecting hard disk types suitable for business scenarios, reasonably configuring RAID strategies, and paying attention to interface compatibility and enterprise-level product lines will greatly improve server operating efficiency and life cycle.
