RAID Block size for video

Can anyone share their experience on what block size in a RAID tends to be better for video, or what size you are using? (i.e. 128K, 256K, 512K)

Thanks for the reply Harm. I later noticed that the Areca Controller grays out the block size if RAID 3 is selected.

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Best Raid Block Size for video editing

I cannot seem to get my head round about which Raid Block Size I should set my Striped Raid 50 configuration to.
There seems to be very little info about this, but what info there is seems to imply that it could seriously affect the performace of the Raid.
I have initialized two Raid array's to Raid 5 and was about to stripe them together using Disk Utility, when I decided to click on options in the bottom left of the Disk Utility window. This is where you can set the Raid Block Size.
The default is 32K, but it states that there could be 'performance benefits' if this setting is changed to better match my configuration.
What exactly does this mean?
I want do read multiple dv streams from my Raid 50 - Any ideas which Block Size I should allocate??
Should I just leave it as the default 32K??
Any help will be appreciated
Cheers
Adam

My main concern is really to have as many editors as possible reading DV footage from the Raid simultaneously (up to 5 at once).
I understand that we may struggle at times, but Xsan isn't an option and I just need to get the best out of a limited budget!
Chers
Adam

RAID block size for final cut pro x

Just got one of the new late 2012 27" iMacs and a 6 TB LaCie Thunderbolt drive. Can finally edit the video I took last spring. I'll be using Final Cut Pro X, and doing a lot of multicam stuff with 4 or 5 views and a separate audio track. The LaCie came formatted as a mirrored RAID. I'm going to change that to 0 (Striped RAID set), but am wondering what block size to set. The default is 32k, but I have read that this ought to be increased to the max (256k) for video editing. I have also read it should NOT be increased. And the posts I have read have all been at least 3 years old. So let me ask you all--what block size would you recommend for my situation?
Thanks in advance!

Hi Eddie...
This depends on what kind of source footage you are editing....
For compressed Video, Audio and Uncompressed audio 128k
I have only had BAD results with 256k. 64 is also weird. Whereas 32 is fine.
All my RAIDs have 128k for audio/video editing
you can go further if you editing Image Sequences.. but according to my own findings and I have been dealing with raid since years.... 128k does the job the best.
Rule of thumb.... The smaller the file sizes you are putting the RAID the smaller the block size. And vice versa.
I.e. You would cripple the raid performance if storing a database on it, having a block size of 256. In case of servers and OS 32k would be a good choice, perhaps even 16k if supported.

Best RAID block size for media drive?

What block size give you best performance when it comes to pushing data?
For a striped RAID setup.
32 is standard but since most of the media files are big and consistent would a higher value like 128 or even 256 KB be better?

"fools step in where angels fear to tred"
Well I'm not volunteering to be one of those.
Jerry, if your fiber channel raid is giving you the throughput that you need, don't be concerned.
(I had a quick look through your manual and I'm also confused. But I can't afford that kind of setup so...?)
I have a simple two 250GB LaCie d2 raid 0 set via SoftRaid and firewire 800 using the G5 port and a LaCie card firewire 800 for dual channel setup.
This houses my media for FCP.
My stripe size is set to 128K simply because that's what the SoftRaid manual recommended for video applications.
This two drive setup is fine for multiple SD streams of DV, but can only manage a single 8 bit uncompressed HD 1080i stream without dropped frames.

Choosing block size for RAID 0 & Final Cut

Hi.
I now have 3 500GB internal Seagate drives in bays 2/3/4 and want to make a striped 1.5TB RAID to use with Final Cut Studio 2. The help page talks about choosing a "large" data block size for use with video, but makes no specific size suggestion. What value would you recommend that I select for the block size? I haven't been in there yet so I don't know what the choices are.
Any other settings I should be aware of that will optimize the RAID performance for video capture and editing? Thanks!
Fred
Message was edited by: FredGarvin
Message was edited by: FredGarvin

If you're using Disc Utility to set up your RAID, when you go to the RAID tab, you'll see an options button near the bottom of the window... clicking this will open a small menu where you can set the data block size... the largest is 256K, which is what you'd want to use.
As for you're other question... have a look at this website: http://bytepile.com/raid_class.php
note that disc utility can only set up RAID 0 & RAID 1 (if i remember rightly).

Optimal Block Size for Xserve's RAID hosting Final Cut Server

What would be the optimal block size for the software RAID on the machine that will be hosting Final Cut Server? The default is 36K. Since FCS is essentially a database, would be the optimal settings? Any glimpse what data size chunks FCS write to the disk?

Actually I meant the block size for the internal startup volume where FCS is installed, not Xsan volumes. As to optimal settings for Xsan volumes it really depends on the type of the data you store on Xsan, and if it is primarily video, what format: SD, HD.

What should the "raid block size" be

I just installed 3, 750 sata barracuda's in my 1 hour old 8 core mac. I am stripping them together with the OS to raid o.
It is asking me what "raid block size" to use:
16k
32k
64k
128k
256k
The help menu suggests that for the most thruput, a higher number might be best...
I will be using this raid for DV & HD video with Final cut studio 2 & AFX cs3.
Not sure which value to use.
Thanks,
Steve

I would not include the OS with your HD & DV storage RAID.
And Apple RAID keeps improving so that you can use smaller default for non-video or audio applications as in CS3 scratch disks.
Booting from RAID has limitations and problems, and I would prefer a dedicated fast drive instead, and isolate the system activity as well which also helps.

Raid block size ?

i just purchased two firewire 800
500gb external hard drives.
i want to use them as a raid set up for recording audio, (vocals,guitars etc)
or keeping my komplete ultimate 9 sound library on it.
either way, i have no idea what raid block size to use ?
hope everyone is having a great new year ;-)

Hello d rock,
When creating a RAID array, you'll typically want your block size to match (as closely as reasonable) the size of the files being stored on the array.
...specify an optimal storage block size for the data stored on the set. Set the block size to match the size of data stored on the set. For example, a database might store small units of data, so a small block size might be best. A video processing application might require fast throughput of large amounts of data, so a larger block size might be best.
Disk Utility 12.x: Create a RAID set
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5834
Cheers,
Allen

ORA-00349: failure obtaining block size for '+Z' in Oracle XE

Hello,
I am attempting to move the online redo log files to a new flash recovery area location created on network drive "Z" ( Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0).
When I run @?/sqlplus/admin/movelogs; in SQL*Plus as a local sysdba, I get the following errors:
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00349: failure obtaining block size for '+Z'
ORA-06512: at line 14
Please let me know how to go about resolving this issue.
Thank you.
See below for detail:
Connected.
SQL> @?/sqlplus/admin/movelogs;
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem $Header: movelogs.sql 19-jan-2006.00:23:11 banand Exp $
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem movelogs.sql
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem Copyright (c) 2006, Oracle. All rights reserved.
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem NAME
SQL> Rem movelogs.sql - move online logs to new Flash Recovery Area
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem DESCRIPTION
SQL> Rem This script can be used to move online logs from old online
log
SQL> Rem location to Flash Recovery Area. It assumes that the database
SQL> Rem instance is started with new Flash Recovery Area location.
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem NOTES
SQL> Rem For use to rename online logs after moving Flash Recovery
Area.
SQL> Rem The script can be executed using following command
SQL> Rem sqlplus '/ as sysdba' @movelogs.sql
SQL> Rem
SQL> Rem MODIFIED (MM/DD/YY)
SQL> Rem banand 01/19/06 - Created
SQL> Rem
SQL>
SQL> SET ECHO ON
SQL> SET FEEDBACK 1
SQL> SET NUMWIDTH 10
SQL> SET LINESIZE 80
SQL> SET TRIMSPOOL ON
SQL> SET TAB OFF
SQL> SET PAGESIZE 100
SQL> declare
2 cursor rlc is
3 select group# grp, thread# thr, bytes/1024 bytes_k
4 from v$log
5 order by 1;
6 stmt varchar2(2048);
7 swtstmt varchar2(1024) := 'alter system switch logfile';
8 ckpstmt varchar2(1024) := 'alter system checkpoint global';
9 begin
10 for rlcRec in rlc loop
11 stmt := 'alter database add logfile thread ' ||
12 rlcRec.thr || ' size ' ||
13 rlcRec.bytes_k || 'K';
14 execute immediate stmt;
15 begin
16 stmt := 'alter database drop logfile group ' || rlcRec.grp;
17 execute immediate stmt;
18 exception
19 when others then
20 execute immediate swtstmt;
21 execute immediate ckpstmt;
22 execute immediate stmt;
23 end;
24 execute immediate swtstmt;
25 end loop;
26 end;
27 /
declare
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00349: failure obtaining block size for '+Z'
ORA-06512: at line 14
Can someone point me in the right direction as to what I may be doing wrong here - Thank you!

888442 wrote:
I am trying to drop and recreate ONLINE redo logs on my STANDB DATABASE (11.1.0.7)., but i am getting the below error.
On primary, we have done the changes., ie we added new logfile with bigger size and 3 members. When trying to do the same on Standby we are getting this error.
Our database is in Active DG Read only mode and the oracle version is 11.1.0.7.
I have deffered the log apply and cancelled the managed recovery, and dg is in manual mode.
SQL> alter database Add LOGFILE GROUP 4 ('+DT_DG1','+DT_DG2','+DT_DG3') SIZE 1024M;
alter database Add LOGFILE GROUP 4 ('+DT_DG1','+DT_DG2','+DT_DG3') SIZE 1024M
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00349: failure obtaining block size for '+DT_DG1'First why you are dropping & recreating online redo log files on standby.
On standby only standby redo log files will be used. Not sure what you are trying to do.
here is example how to create online redo log files, Check that diskgroup is mounted and have sufficient space to create.
sys@ORCL> select member from v$logfile;
MEMBER
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO03.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO02.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO01.LOG
sys@ORCL> alter database add logfile group 4 (
2     'C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\redo_g01a.log',
3     'C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\redo_g01b.log',
4     'C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\redo_g01c.log') size 10m;
Database altered.
sys@ORCL> select member from v$logfile;
MEMBER
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO03.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO02.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO01.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO_G01A.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO_G01B.LOG
C:\ORACLE\ORADATA\ORCL\REDO_G01C.LOG
6 rows selected.
sys@ORCL>
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Registered:      Sep 29, 2011
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Close the threads if answered, Keep the forum clean.

Default block size for UFS format in OSX?

Hi,
I formatted an external drive as "unix format" (UFS) using Disk Utility, which subsequently became unrecognizable by the firewire controller. Now in a Unix box, the superblock of this drive is coming up as corrupted or nonexistent. Does anyone know where I can find the default block size for UFS in os x? I need to specify a backup superblock. Thanks!
-Dan

If it is just scratch, run some benchmarks with it set to 128k and 256k and see how it feels with each. The default is too small, though some find it acceptable for small images. For larger files you want larger - and for PS scratch you definitely want 128 or 256k.

Using large block sizes for index and table spaces

" You are not using large blocksizes for your index tablespaces. Oracle research proves that indexes will build flatter tree structures in larger blocksizes.
Is this a generic statement that I can use for all tables or indexes? I also have batch and online activity. My primary target is batch and it should not impact online. Not sure if both have common tables.
How to find the current block size used for tables and index? is there a v$parameter query?
What is an optimal block size value for batch?
How do I know when flatter tree str has been achieved using above changes? Is there a query to determine this?
What about tables, what is the success criterion for tables. can we use the same flat tree str criterion? Is there a query for this?

user3390467 wrote:
" You are not using large blocksizes for your index tablespaces. Oracle research proves that indexes will build flatter tree structures in larger blocksizes.
Is this a generic statement that I can use for all tables or indexes? This is a generic statement used by some consultants. Unfortunately, it is riddled with exceptions and other considerations.
One consultant in particular seems to have anecdotal evidence that using different block sizes for index (big) and data (small) can yield almost miraculous improvements. However, that can not be backed up due to NDA. Many of the rest of us can not duplicate the improvements, and indeed some find situations where that results in a degradation (esp with high insert/update rates from separated transactions).
I also have batch and online activity. My primary target is batch and it should not impact online. Not sure if both have common tables.
How to find the current block size used for tables and index? is there a v$parameter query?
What is an optimal block size value for batch?
How do I know when flatter tree str has been achieved using above changes? Is there a query to determine this?
What about tables, what is the success criterion for tables. can we use the same flat tree str criterion? Is there a query for this?I'd strongly recommend that you
1) stop using generic tools to analyze specific problems
2) define you problem in detail ()what are you really trying to accomplish - seems like performance tuning, but you never really state that)
3) define the OS and DB version - in detail. Give rev levels and patch levels.
If you are having a serious performance issue, I strongly recommend you look at some performance tuning specialists like "http://www.method-r.com/", "http://www.miracleas.dk/", "http://www.hotsos.com/", "http://www.pythian.com/", or even Oracle's Performance Tuning consultants. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Optimal NTFS block size for Oracle 11G on Windows 2008 R2 (OLTP)

Hi All,
We are currently setting up an Oracle 11G instance on a Windows 2008 R2 server and were looking to see if there was an optimal NTFS block size. I've read the following: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/win.112/e10845/specs.htm
But it only mentioned the block sizes that can be used (2k - 16k). And basically what i got out of it, was the different block szes affect the max # of database files possible for each database.
Is there an optimal NTFS block size for Oracle 11G OLTP system on Windows?
Thanks in advance

Is there an optimal NTFS block size for Oracle 11G OLTP system on Windows?ideally FS block size should be equal to Oracle tablespace block size.
or at least be N times less than Oracle block size.
For example - if Oracle BS=8K then NTFS BS better to be 8K but also can be 4K or 2K.
Also both must be 1 to N times of Disk sector size. Older disks had sectors 512 bytes.
Contemporary HDDs have internal sector size 4K. Usually.

Mac Pro RAID block size recommendations for working with audio in Logic Pro

I have recently ordered a Mac Pro and plan to do a RAID configuration across 3 HDD's
The RAID type i am going to do is a RAID 0 striped.
The computer is going to be used primarily for audio post production and working with 20+ 24-Bit audio files at any one time within a Logic project.
I want to know what is the best block size i should use when configuring the RAID.
I understand that using a higher block size is best for working with large files but do i need to do this in my case or will the default 32k block size be enough?
Thanks in advance

Use 64k. Things like databases like having 32k blocks because of all the small files. Audio files are pretty small even at 24-bit 192KHz. Go to 128k if all you are doing is streaming and no samples. But 20+ 24-bit is really not too large anyway considering most modern HDD's can stream 100MB/s off one spindle. You'll probably be fine regardless of the block size you choose. But most audio pro's choose 64k.

Recommended Block Size For RAID 0

I am setting up a RAID configuration (Striping, no Parity, Mac G5, OS-X) and was curious what the recommended Block Size should be. Content is primarily (but not limited to) Images created with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and range in size from 1.5MB to >20MB. The default for OS-X is 32K chunks of data.
Drives are External FW-400.
Many thanks, and Happy Holidays to all!

If it is just scratch, run some benchmarks with it set to 128k and 256k and see how it feels with each. The default is too small, though some find it acceptable for small images. For larger files you want larger - and for PS scratch you definitely want 128 or 256k.

RAID Stripe size for HD Capture

Hey everyone,
So I just captured a lot of Uncompressed 8 bit 4:2:2 1080i60.
The video alone requires ~ 118 MB/s sustained transfer speed for live capture without dropped frames.
I used our new MacPro. We built an internal RAID with 3 250 GB drives all striped together. I had to decide which stripe size to use. Since we have proportionally less files than the average RAID(200 or so at the most), and because our files are HUGE (2-40 GB), I figured a large stripe size would be apropriate. I set it to the max that Mac OS X software RAID supports, though I must confess I dont remember exactly what that was.
We had little trouble with capture, sustaining over 200 MB/s bandwidth with this setup according to the Blackmagic drive speed test. However, when the drives filled up, they (expectedly) slowed down quite a bit. I frequently did speed tests, and when it got low I had to switch into shooting DVCPRO HD to avoid dropped frames.
We had similar experiences before, when I had this same setup with the default stripe size, though it seemed overall a bit better with larger stripe sizes.
My questions are thus:
1) Is there any way to use a really large stripe (2MB or so) without buying a hardware RAID controller?
2) Is my thinking correct that if I have a small number of gigantic files I should use a large stripe size?
3) If I were to wipe out all my drives (including the 250 gig startup drive), and boot off the CD, could I tie all 4 drives together into RAID-0, and then install Mac OS X to that (and presumably partition it for a data storage volume)?
4) Does anyone know of a good 2-4 port eSata PCI Express card that has drivers for the MacPro? I know sonnet has a 2 port, but its one internal SATA and one eSata. I need at least 2 eSata ports for it to be worth my time, because I have a 4 drive eSata RAID box with 4 320GB drives in it. I can use the motherboard's additional 2 SATA connectors through a backplate SATA -> eSATA converter, and with 2 more eSATA ports through PCIe card, I would be able to use all 4 eSATA drives at once.
4 ports would be even better as I would like to leave internal ports for a BD-R or HD-DVD-R (or whatever they're called) drive later on.
Thanks!
-Derek Prestegard

1) Is there any way to use a really large stripe (2MB
or so) without buying a hardware RAID controller?
256k is the largest block size available with Disk Utility.
2) Is my thinking correct that if I have a small
number of gigantic files I should use a large stripe
size?
128k is the largest size I would ever think about using. I even use 32k in many situations. You can test it and see what works best for you. Large block sizes do not always translate into higher performance. I find more drives in the striped RAID set helps me more than larger block sizes.
3) If I were to wipe out all my drives (including the
250 gig startup drive), and boot off the CD, could I
tie all 4 drives together into RAID-0, and then
install Mac OS X to that (and presumably partition it
for a data storage volume)?
You could boot from a FW800 external and use all 4 internals
for a RAID but I think you will be happier with SATA host adapters.
4) Does anyone know of a good 2-4 port eSata PCI
Express card that has drivers for the MacPro
Here are a few options for SATA host adapters on a Mac Pro that I use. The WiebeTech Tera Card TCES0-2e SATA host adapter provides two SATA ports and works with the Mac Pro using SiI-3132 Mac drivers 1.1.6. You can see a review at amug.org:
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/wiebetech/tces0/
The FirmTek SeriTek/2SE2-E 2-port host adapter can be found here:
http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2se2-e/
It works best on the Quad as it provides boot support and SMART drive support. On the Mac Pro you use the Firmtek cardbus 2SM2-E Mac driver until FirmTek can build new EFI drivers for the Mac Pro. No boot support is provided yet but it does pass SMART data to Mac OS X. Eventually the card will have Mac Pro boot support which will be nice.
Both cards use the SiI-3132 controller. If you mix the WiebeTech and the FirmTek cards the Silicon Image Mac driver version 1.1.6 will take over and block the SMART data info that the FirmTek card supplies. As this is the case, I would go with one brand or the other but not mix them in the same Mac Pro.
I have used three cards to provide six external SATA ports. You could use two cards with your external 4-bay enclosure. I would create a striped RAID with 4 external drives and two internal drives. This should provide you with the performance you need to handle 1080HD. If you want more power you could use 7 hard drives = 3 int. and 4 external.
Have fun!

RAID Block size for video

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