Microsoft has announced plans to launch Windows Server 2025 by the end of 2024, which will include an updated version of Diskspd, an I/O generating, command-line tool for micro-benchmarking. The update aims to offer better storage performance evaluation capabilities for system administrators.
DISKSPD is a tool that admins can customize to create their own synthetic workloads and test applications before deployment. It offers the freedom to configure and tweak the parameters to create a specific scenario that resembles a real workload. DISKSPD can give a glimpse into what a system is capable of before deployment by issuing a bunch of read-and-write operations.
Handling Modern Workloads with NVMe Storage
The revamped Diskspd tool is explicitly designed to cope with modern workloads and advanced NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) storage devices. Microsoft has optimized the storage stack in Windows Server 2025 to leverage NVMe technology advancements. Internal tests showcased new latency measurement techniques that revealed disk device limits with the new server operating system.
Batched Completions and Look-a-sides Features
A prominent upgrade in the Diskspd tool is the introduction of Batched Completions. Previously, Diskspd processed I/O operations one by one. Now, with Batched Completions, it gathers all completed I/Os simultaneously, providing an accurate reflection of completion time and reducing inflated storage latency figures.
The Look-a-sides feature is another significant improvement. Previously, Diskspd would issue 16 I/Os and only record the first two completions before reissuing them, causing delayed recordings of subsequent I/Os. This method distorted latency measurements, particularly with high numbers of in-flight I/Os. The Look-a-sides feature allows prompt checking of the completion queue, ensuring prompt recordings.
Performance and Security Enhancements
Microsoft describes Windows Server 2025 as their most secure and performant release yet. Dan Cuomo, who authored a blog post detailing these updates, stresses the need for thorough performance testing before deploying the server in production environments. Microsoft suggests using Diskspd, along with NTTTCP and other testing tools, to compare server performance against a baseline.
Internal Use and Recommendations
Internally, Microsoft’s teams utilize Diskspd to better understand storage performance, especially in Azure’s demanding workload environments. The changes in Diskspd are implemented starting from version 2.2. Due to the updated features, Microsoft recommends re-baselining storage performance with the latest Diskspd version.
To accurately measure performance, separate tests for IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) and latency are suggested. Commands for these tests with Diskspd are provided to aid system administrators in evaluating storage performance.
Availability and Download
Administrators can now download the updated Diskspd version and the Windows Server 2025 Preview to start evaluating these new features. These enhancements aim to offer more precise and efficient performance metrics, ensuring the new server can meet demands in the modern storage environment.
Last Updated on November 7, 2024 3:56 pm CET