Bitcoin Core IBD slow

[apogio]

I wanted to test it further, so I did:

Code:

sudo hdparm -tT /dev/sda

To my surprise, I got:

Code:

/dev/sda:
 Timing cached reads:   1776 MB in  2.00 seconds = 888.80 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads:  62 MB in  4.67 seconds =  13.28 MB/sec

Isn't it too slow for an SSD ? Especially the second timer.

[LoyceV]

Code:

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads:  62 MB in  4.67 seconds =  13.28 MB/sec

Isn't it too slow for an SSD ? Especially the second timer.

Most microSD cards are faster than this nowadays. It should be 10 times faster:

(image source)

Did you run your disk speed test during IBD? If so, that's probably why it's slow.

The type of SSD matters too: some perform just as you'd expect, and others are only fast "in short burst", and after writing the burst data, it gets much slower, up to the point that combined read and writes can make the entire system freeze for a while. That doesn't matter much for normal computer usage, but it matters a lot during heavy tasks (such as the IBD).

[apogio]

Most microSD cards are faster than this nowadays. It should be 10 times faster:

Did you run your disk speed test during IBD? If so, that's probably why it's slow.

The type of SSD matters too: some perform just as you'd expect, and others are only fast "in short burst", and after writing the burst data, it gets much slower, up to the point that combined read and writes can make the entire system freeze for a while. That doesn't matter much for normal computer usage, but it matters a lot during heavy tasks (such as the IBD).

Hi Loyce.

No my IBD is finished and my node is stopped. So essentially my RPi is connected to an SSD which has the whole bitcoin-core structure, but bitcoind is not running.

I also ran fstrim -v on the mounted directory and it trimmed some data, but it didn't work afterwards. I mean no amelioration was seen.

[LoyceV]

No my IBD is finished and my node is stopped. So essentially my RPi is connected to an SSD which has the whole bitcoin-core structure, but bitcoind is not running.

Which SSD do you have exactly?
I'm just guessing here: is it possible you're using a very low quality USB cable?
Have you tried Gnome Disks? It has a Benchmark feature.
Or have a look at GSmartControl, see if it can give you a reason for the low speed.

I also ran fstrim -v on the mounted directory and it trimmed some data, but it didn't work afterwards. I mean no amelioration was seen.

That shouldn't matter for "hdparm -tT", it doesn't use the file system.

[apogio]

Which SSD do you have exactly?

This is my disk: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Intenso-Internal-Inch-SATA-Black/dp/B0B63HPPG3

I'm just guessing here: is it possible you're using a very low quality USB cable?
Have you tried Gnome Disks? It has a Benchmark feature.
Or have a look at GSmartControl, see if it can give you a reason for the low speed.

No errors unfortunately... with GSmartControl

Could the format be an issue? My disk is exfat

EDIT: I think I will backup my drive and then format to ext4

[LoyceV]

This is my disk: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Intenso-Internal-Inch-SATA-Black/dp/B0B63HPPG3

I can't find an English review for this exact model, but my Intenso USB stick is faster than what you get.

Could the format be an issue? My disk is exfat

The filesystem matters, but not for raw speed tests.

[apogio]

I can't find an English review for this exact model, but my Intenso USB stick is faster than what you get.

Perhaps a format will solve the issue...

[LoyceV]

Perhaps a format will solve the issue...

Nope. A hdparm speed test doesn't care about the filesystem.

[apogio]

Nope. A hdparm speed test doesn't care about the filesystem.

So the current speeds have gone up to:

Code:

/dev/sda:
 Timing cached reads:   1666 MB in  2.00 seconds = 834.15 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 328 MB in  3.15 seconds = 104.15 MB/sec

I feel stupid, but here is what happened... I was using the USB 2.0 port and not the 3.0 port.