Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) VMD NVMe* RAID Optimized Wear Leveling for RAID 5 Volumes

Environment

Intel® VROC for Windows*

The Intel® VROC configuration tools: Pre-OS HII, Intel® VROC Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Intel® VROC Command Line Interface (CLI), will automatically select the strip size to help maximize the NVMe* Solid-State Drives (SSDs) wear leveling when creating RAID 5 volumes.

Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe* RAID) Features

The Intel® VROC optimized wear leveling for RAID 5 volumes is one of the key features of the Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe* RAID) sub-product. To learn about other key features of this Intel® VROC sub-product, refer to Key Features of Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) VMD NVMe* RAID for Windows*.

RAID 5 Default Strip Size Settings

When creating a RAID 5 volume, Intel® VROC will select by default the strip size value that maximizes the NVMe* SSDs wear leveling. The following table shows the default values that will be used by the Intel® VROC configuration tools when creating an Intel® VROC RAID 5 volume.

Drives	Default Strip Size Value (kiB)
3	64
4	32
5	128
6	64
7	128
8	16
9	128
10	64
11	128
12	32
13	128
14	64
15	128
16	8
17	128
18	64
19	128
20	32
21	128
22	64
23	128
24	16

Intel® NVMe* Wear Leveling Recommendations

NVMe* drive wear leveling refers to techniques used to prolong the service life of NVMe* drives. The information below outlines the recommended configurations (number of drives vs strip size) to maximize the wear leveling on Intel NVMe* drives when configured as part of a RAID 5 volume. When creating an Intel® VROC (VMD NVMe* RAID) RAID 5 volume, several configuration parameters can be selected, and the number of drives used along with the strip size chosen can have an impact on the wear leveling. The following table outlines the different options for number of drives vs strip size to achieve the optimal wear leveling on Intel NVMe* drives. For default settings, see Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) Various Strip Sizes Support.

When checking the table below, keep the following considerations in mind:

• It is left to the user to determine the most effective combination of parameters (number of drives vs strip size) to achieve the desired performance goals, usage models, and drive endurance.
• If a RAID volume is being migrated to a RAID 5 volume (or a new RAID 5 volume is being created), the strip size chosen should be based on the most optimal performance as defined in the following table.

Drives vs Strip Size	4	8	16	32	64	128
3	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
4	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal
5	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
6	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal
7	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
8	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal
9	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
10	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal
11	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
12	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal
13	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
14	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal
15	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
16	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal
17	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
18	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal
19	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
20	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal
21	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
22	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal
23	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
24	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal	Suboptimal