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hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger ---
The Big Picture |
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The following
provides a quick and simple "big picture" overview of what
the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger is, what it does and which metrics
it provides, the targeted audiences, how it operates,
some practical examples of how you can use
it, pricing, along with links for
additional, specific information about hIOmon. |
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What
is the hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger? |
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The
hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger (hDIOR) is a file and disk I/O operation and performance
measuring/monitoring software utility package that
currently supports the Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista™, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows
Server 2008 R2 operating system
platforms. It does not require any
application, file, or file system
modifications nor does it require any operating system code changes.
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger is an unique, licensed
software tool that has been developed and is offered exclusively by
hyperI/O LLC. A separate
"hIOmon
I/O Performance Monitor" (hIOPM) software package is also available from hyperI/O; this licensed
software product includes the "hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger Display Add-On"
(that offers the same
functionality as that provided by the "hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger" software package) along with a comprehensive suite of
many other features and functions
(e.g., "I/O
Trace", the hIOmon Presentation
Client, the hIOmon WMI
Browser, Windows Performance Monitor / System Monitor support,
and much more).
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What
does hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger do? |
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hIOmon is an
innovative, unique performance analysis software tool that lets you
both measure and monitor disk I/O operations and their performance
up at the application level upon an individual,
specific file (as well as device and process) basis.
It can examine and efficiently record the activity and performance
of the file (and device) I/O operations associated with the
user-selected files and devices.
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger software enables you to configure the
hIOmon software so that summarized I/O operation performance
information is collected and automatically aggregated by the
hIOmon I/O Monitor for those specific files and devices of
particular interest to you -- and all from the perspective of individual files, disks, and
applications within your
own particular computer system environment, and using your very own
applications, files and devices as you normally do!
The ability to
capture these summarized
metrics (that reflect the actual I/O operation activity observed by
the hIOmon I/O Monitor for the selected files/devices) is an unique
hIOmon feature that does not require the collection and
post-processing of I/O operation trace information!
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger software package includes the hIOmon
"Disk I/O
Ranger Display" application, which is used to configure the
hIOmon software and to display and export in real-time
a selected set of the empirically-collected
summarized I/O operation performance metrics.
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Which
metrics are made available by the hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger? |
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The hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger software product has been specifically tailored to collect,
display, and export a selected set of key summarized I/O operation
performance metrics; these metrics include (separately for read and
write I/O operations and also for read and write I/O operations
combined):
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The
I/O
operation counts and the corresponding amount
of data transferred
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The
minimum,
average, and maximum response times. The percentage
of I/O operations whose observed response time was less than one
millisecond is also provided.
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Random
access percentages, both the percentage of I/O operations
observed to perform a random access plus the percentage of the
overall amount of data transferred that was transferred by the
random access I/O operations.
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The
concise hIOmon "Performance Threshold Range Metrics",
which are a set of summarized
I/O operation performance metrics that are specifically focused upon
the ranges of I/O operations per second (IOPS), megabytes-per-second
(MB/s) data transfer rates, response time (RT), I/O operation
queue depths/lengths (QD), and data transfer sizes/lengths (DTS) actually observed by the hIOmon I/O
Monitor for individual files, devices, and processes.
For example, the "IOPS < 100" Range Count metric
for read I/O operations reflects the number of one-second
intervals during which the hIOmon I/O Monitor actually observed
a total number of monitored read I/O operations that was less
than 100 read I/O operations.
Similarly, the "MBS 100 < 200" Range Count metric
for write I/O operations reflects the number of one-second
intervals during which the hIOmon I/O Monitor actually observed
a total amount of data transferred by write I/O operations that
was 100 000 000 bytes (i.e., 100 megabytes) or more, but less
than 200 000 000 bytes (i.e., 200 megabytes).
The hIOmon "Performance Threshold Range Metrics", which are uniquely
collected in the summarized manner by the hIOmon I/O Monitor,
provide a quick and easy way to assess the actual "speeds
and feeds" I/O performance of your particular files,
devices and applications in everyday, normal usage!
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The
hIOmon "DataTransferred/Time
Index (DXTI)" metric, which provides a
"high-level" means for relative comparison of I/O
performance, where basically "higher is better"; that
is, the "higher" the DXTI number, the better the
performance - as in more data transferred and/or less required
response time (i.e., application wait).
The hIOmon DXTI metric resembles the "fuel economy"
index for an automotive vehicle (i.e.,
"miles-per-gallon" or "kilometres/litre") as
an overall measure of "performance efficiency".
Please
note that the hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger software can provide all
of the above I/O operation performance metrics upon an individual, specific file (or device or even
process/application) basis, as illustrated by the hIOmon Disk
I/O Ranger Display screen
shots.
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Who
are the targeted audiences for this tool? |
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The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger software package is primarily
targeted towards those users who are looking for a file and disk
I/O operation measuring/monitoring tool that:
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Is simple and easy-to-use. The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger
utilizes the standard Windows Installer for installation and
installs within minutes. It features a default
configuration of the hIOmon software when first started after
installation. The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger Display
application can be used to quickly and easily modify
the basic configuration of the hIOmon software, e.g., to select
which particular files/devices are to be monitored by the
hIOmon software (please note that the separate hIOmon I/O
Performance Monitor software product provides for a more
extensive configuration of the hIOmon software where
circumstances warrant).
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger Display application also enables you
to easily select the particular file, device, or process for
which the collected I/O operation metrics are to be displayed
in real time; in addition, you can limit the display of the
"Performance Threshold Range Metrics" to only those
metric types that are of particular interest to you.
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger Display application also allows you
to selectively export (to a CSV-formatted file) the
displayed metric values.
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Provides
automatically summarized metrics. The hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger leverages the unique hIOmon Summary
feature. The I/O operation performance metrics that are to
be collected are automatically
aggregated by the hIOmon I/O Monitor, so there is no need to
deal with the collection and post-processing of individual I/O
operation trace data. This can not only tremendously
reduce time and effort on your part, but also eliminates the
potential need for large volumes of disk space to contain I/O operation
trace files.
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Fosters
a "top-down" approach towards evaluating I/O
operation performance. Discussions about disk I/O
performance often (if not usually) center upon the "speeds
and feeds" of the physical device themselves. But
ultimately it is the performance at the other end of the cable
(i.e., at the host -- and
particularly at the applications themselves) that is of
uppermost interest to most users.
The hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger provides a quick and easy way to
actually observe storage I/O operations and their
performance at this "other end of the cable". By
observing the actual
I/O operation activity performed by your particular
applications, hIOmon can collect empirical metrics that reflect
I/O operation activity as seen from the perspective of individual files, disks, and
processes within your
own specific computer system environment using your very own
applications, files, and devices as you normally do!
Moreover, the hIOmon "Performance
Threshold Range Metrics" that can be displayed and
exported by the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger Display application
enable users interested in "speeds and feeds"
to readily determine how their particular devices and
applications actually perform in terms of these commonly-used
types of I/O performance metrics -- and especially during everyday usage.
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Promotes
a simple, straightforward yet fundamental
way to compare
relative performance efficiency. The common I/O
performance metrics (such as IOPS, MB/s, etc.) can provide
valuable information about the characteristics and
particularities of I/O operations. However, one can lose
sight of the "forest for the trees".
That is, "better" storage I/O operation performance is
fundamentally about transferring (more) data faster, i.e., in less response time. This concept is supported by the hIOmon "DataTransferred/Time
Index (DXTI)" metric, which as an overall measure of
"performance efficiency" provides a
"high-level" means for relative comparison of I/O
performance.
By making the DXTI metric available for display/export upon an
individual file, device, and process basis, the hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger enables you to quickly and easily evaluate the relative
I/O performance of your particular systems, even upon a specific
file, device, or even process/application basis!
As an unique yet modestly-priced
tool, the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger software can be a valuable aid when
dealing with a variety of disk storage
I/O-related issues and tasks.
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How
does the hIOmon Disk
I/O Ranger operate? |
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Similar to the hIOmon
I/O
Performance Monitor software product, the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger
software promotes a flexible, adaptable, scalable three-tier
architecture that is comprised of three (3) main software components:
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The
hIOmon I/O Monitor. This lightweight component
performs the actual
monitoring of the selected file and disk I/O operations at the
requisite level with the operating system kernel (e.g., the file
system level). Based upon such passive
monitoring (i.e., no changes are made to the file or disk I/O
operation nor is the actual data accessed), it collects the requested I/O operation performance
information (which it maintains within its memory buffers until retrieved by the
hIOmon Manager
component). The hIOmon I/O Monitor is very
efficient and introduces negligible overhead into the overall file/disk
I/O operation (especially when compared to the typical time durations of I/O
operations).
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The hIOmon Manager.
This hIOmon component runs as an operating-system
service (or daemon). It
manages the hIOmon I/O Monitor based upon control option requests
set by the hIOmon clients. The hIOmon
Manager also concurrently transforms, records, and transfers the
collected file and disk I/O performance information (that is has retrieved
from the hIOmon I/O Monitor) to the various hIOmon clients.
The hIOmon Manager allows the hIOmon I/O Monitor and
various hIOmon clients to be much more
simpler, faster and efficient in operation.
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The hIOmon Disk
I/O Ranger Display application. This hIOmon client
is run as a Microsoft Windows
HTML Application (HTA) and provides an Internet Explorer windows-type graphical user
interface (GUI). The metrics
displayed by the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger Display application are
those currently collected by the hIOmon I/O Monitor; this
application communicates with the hIOmon Manager, which upon
request from the application retrieves these metrics from the hIOmon I/O
Monitor and then transfers
them to the hIOmon Disk I/O
Ranger Display application for display (and optional export).
The
hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger
Display application also
communicates with the hIOmon Manager to set the various
control and management options of the hIOmon I/O Monitor (such as which
particular files/devices are to be monitored).
Please see the hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger Display application help
information for additional details about the operation of the hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger software.
For additional
information about the architecture of hIOmon, please see the
hIOmon architecture page.
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How
can I use the hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger? |
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As an
industrial-strength software tool, the hIOmon
Disk I/O Ranger provides the robust functionality required to
tackle a variety of disk storage I/O-related issues, including such
fundamental tasks as:
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Identifying
your "hot" files, devices, and applications. Use hIOmon
to find those particular applications (and files) that are best suited for Solid
State Disk (SSD), RamDisk,
disk-caching software,
and other higher-performance disk solutions. Base your
decisions upon empirical metrics (such as the actual read and write
I/O operation counts, IOPS, responses times, data transfer
amounts, and random access counts) that hIOmon can provide upon an
individual specific file, device, and process basis (and moreover, using your very
own particular applications as you normally do).
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Evaluating
proposed improvements. Thinking about buying faster (but more expensive)
hard disk drives, SSDs, and/or disk storage
subsystems? Or leveraging lower-cost (but lower-performance) SATA disk arrays and/or
iSCSI? Or adding additional system memory and/or faster
processors? Trying to determine the actual performance impact associated with the various
"storage virtualization" approaches upon your particular computing system
environment?
Use the hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger to easily and quickly obtain
empirical, accurate file-specific (and disk-specific) performance metrics to make
better, more-informed decisions. More appropriately
configure benchmarking programs (such as IOmeter) based upon the
I/O
performance metrics (e.g., read/write I/O operation counts and
random access counts) captured by hIOmon so as to better represent the
actual I/O activity of your particular applications. Substantiate benefits
in terms of actual performance metrics (including the hIOmon
"Performance Threshold Ranger Metrics" and the
hIOmon "DataTransferred/Time
Index (DXTI)" metric) that are specific to your key files/devices and
the associated applications.
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Verifying and
ensuring QoS? Armed
with the empirical file and disk I/O performance metrics
collected by hIOmon, users can validate and continually verify that those
steps taken to maximize disk storage utilization/performance and to achieve
the Quality-of-Service (QoS) levels of file and disk I/O performance
required by key applications are indeed of benefit. This
can also include such tasks as evaluating the actual performance impact of various
paging and file-defragmentation approaches and policies.
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Other Use-Case
Scenarios. Please see the
hIOmon use-case
scenarios for other practical, real-world issues and concerns where
the unique capabilities of hIOmon can be of quick, easy, and
cost-effective benefit to you.
By providing you with
a robust set of I/O performance metrics upon an individual, specific
file and disk (and process) basis, hIOmon helps give you the upper hand in your efforts
to identify actual file and disk access activity and the associated I/O
performance within your particular production environment. And
with such key empirical metrics in hand, you can more confidently
engage in your efforts, for example, to move files around the storage hierarchy,
SAN, NAS, SSD, etc. so as to improve utilization/performance by making
the best use of newly purchased hardware/software or without
spending IT dollars upon new hardware/software.
Please see the hIOmon
I/O Performance Monitor product page for additional
information about how you can benefit by using hIOmon.
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Where
can I learn more about hIOmon? |
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For additional
information about hIOmon,
please see the following links:
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