[mythtv-users] An SSD for Backend OS / Database Drives?

[Robert Longbottom]

On 14 Mar 2012, at 09:29 PM, tortise <tortise at paradise.net.nz> wrote:

> My Server's OS/Database HDD is possibly showing signs of aging being an 
> older and noisier 7200 120G that's got a few bad sectors reallocated.
> 
> Having found SSD on frontends give a significant user speed upgrade 
> (faster on/off and faster menu responses) I am now considering replacing 
> the backend OS drive with an SSD. (Also 3 x 2TB drives for recordings 
> seem happy there)
> 
> Some of the new 6G series 3 SSD's such as the Adata S510's seem a 
> possible replacement, capable of 550/510MB read and write speeds.
> 
> My motherboard (Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L)is a SATA 2 which I understand to 
> mean it can transfer 3Gb/s over the SATA interface.
> 
> There seems little point in spending extra on SDD's that run faster than 
> the SATA II interface, unless there is no disadvantage...
> 
> The b and B's might be confused somewhere, however it seems the full 
> 550/510MB read and writes may be available on the SATA II interface.
> 
> If one uses a SSD on a backend (no frontend use) then the only 
> difference I expect I am going to see is faster mythweb page loads, 
> which might be nice for the recordings page.  The frontend recordings 
> lists might also populate quicker.  This basically assumes the database 
> reads are read from the disc and not from RAM, my understanding is its 
> done from the disc, if so there seems considerable scope for speeding up 
> the user experience that relies on the myriad of reads?
> 
> Can anyone comment about this analysis, do you agree or see it 
> differently?  I presume some people have now done this, what has been 
> their experience?

I've had my backend and database running off SSD for about 12 months now and I will never buy another computer without an SSD.  You are right that the main point of improvement is mythweb. Other than that I guess I don't see much direct improvement in mythtv performance and some might argue that with appropriate MySQL tuning and ram you can achieve the same effect. (which I've recently done anyway)

My backend is also my file / web / mail / squeezebox server and vm host and for a 4+ year old core 2 quad with only 4gb ram it performs superbly with the SSD, much better than it did when I ran everything off an hdd. 

So my advice is just go with SSD wherever you can these days. 

Robert.