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In Windows 10, DiskSpd is an optional command-line tool that Microsoft has designed
to test workload storage performance. Using this tool, you can quickly determine the
performance of a drive to confirm if it's as fast as the manufacturer has advertised. Or
you can compare the reads and writes of different hard drives to find out which is the
fastest for specific workloads. For example, when you are building a server or
workstation to host virtual machines, web hosting server, database, or you plan to run
heavy input/output operations per second (IOPS) applications.
Whatever the reason might be, the DiskSpd includes many options that can help create
a stress test to measure the maximum reads and writes performance a drive can
handle, and the tool works on Windows 10 and Windows Server.
In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the steps to get started
benchmarking a hard drive performance with the DiskSpd command tool designed by
Microsoft.
To install the DiskSpd command-line tool on Windows 10, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, you can start using the tool from Command Prompt.
Before proceeding with the performance test, it's recommended to close all running
applications and ensure that the storage health is in good condition.
To run the DiskSpd tool with Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps:
1. Open Start.
2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as
administrator option.
3. Type the following command to navigate to the folder containing the DiskSpd tool
and press Enter:
cd \PATH\TO\TOOL
In the command, make sure to specify the command to the destination of the
DiskSpd.exe file.
For example, this command opens the tool location inside the "Downloads" folder:
cd C:\Users\username\Downloads\DiskSpd\amd64
Quick note: You must use the version of the tool compatible with your installation.
If you have a 64-bit version of Windows 10, you need to use the executable inside
the "amd64" folder. Otherwise, if you are using the 32-bit version of the OS, then
you should use the executable in the "x86" folder. If you do not know the system
type of the device, you can check on Settings > System > About, under the
"Device specifications" section.
4. Type the following sample command to run the DiskSpd to test a read and write
performance of a local hard drive on Windows 10 and press Enter:
diskspd -d60 -W15 -C15 -c128M -t4 -o4 -b8k -L -r -Sh -w50 c:\disk-
speed-test.dat
7. (Optional) Type the following command to test random reads and press Enter:
diskspd -d60 -c128M -t4 -o4 -b8k -L -Sh -w0 -r c:\disk-speed-
test.dat
8. (Optional) Type the following command to test sequential writes and press Enter:
diskspd -d60 -c128M -t4 -o4 -b8k -L -Sh -w100 -si c:\disk-speed-
test.dat
9. (Optional) Type the following command to test random writes and press Enter:
diskspd -d60 -c128M -t4 -o4 -b8k -L -Sh -w100 -r c:\disk-speed-
test.dat
Once you complete the steps, the DiskSpd tool will test the hard drive performance
based on the parameters you specified in the command.
Here's a breakdown of the options we used in the first command (see step No. 5):
-d60 — Indicates how long the command will stress the hard drive in seconds.
-W15 — Set the warm-up time before the test begins.
-C15 — Set the cool-down time after the test.
-c128M — Customize the size of the file to create for testing.
-t4 — Indicates the number of threads to use. Usually, you can use one per
available core in the processor.
-o4 — Specifies the number of outstanding I/O requests per target per thread.
-b8k — Defines the size of the block (default is 64K).
-L — Measures latency statistics.
-r — Produces random I/O. You can override this with the "-s" option.
-Sh — Disables software and hardware write caching.
-w50 — Specifies the percentage of write and read requests. Using 100 means that
the command will write 100 percent of the time during the test. Using 0 means that
the command will only perform 100 percent reads. For example, "-W50" will
perform 50 percent writing and 50 percent reading. This is a balanced test, but you
can change the number to adjust the test to fit your situation.
c:\disk-speed-test.dat — This is the path to store the target file for the test.
We are focusing on showing some of the command examples to get you familiar with
the tool. You can always use the diskspd /? command to review all the options
available to build a custom command to test the storage based on your situation.
If you plan to use the DiskSpd tool, consider that these are artificial tests, which means
that they will never match the real-world workloads. However, the tests will give you a
good idea of what to expect. You only need to be aware of the options you choose to
match your workload as closely as possible.
The time of completion will depend on the parameters you configured in the command.
As you execute the command, you won't see any information on the screen until the
tool finishes the test.
Once the performance test is complete, the output will print on the screen. The first
part includes a summary of the options you specified in the command, including the
duration, warm-up and cool-down times, latency statistics, and other details.
Source: Windows Central
Then there's the section that includes the results of the test, which is divided into
multiple tables. In the first part of the result, you will find how long the command took
to complete the test, the number of threats and processors. The that follows includes a
summary of the average processor load during the test.
The "Total IO" table shows the reads and writes per thread. The information offers the
average performance in mebibytes per second. Or the operations (reads and writes)
that were executed in a given period (second), and the total input/output (IO) also in a
given period. Usually, the information of importance would be the total result from the
MiB/s, which tells you the average reads and writes in mebibytes per second.
The "Read IO" table shows only the reads statistics per thread. The "Write IO" table
shows only the writes statistics per thread. And the table at the bottom of the page
includes information about the latency.
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows
10, visit the following resources:
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