Storage Benchmarking Hits a Snag

We’ve had a number of external storage platforms on-hand which will be reviewed once we can obtain a resolution for a bug that’s impeding the testing of a specific SSD. Numbers have been run for three different solutions using Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test. In order to capture alternate usage patterns or workloads, AmorphousDiskMark and ATTO Disk Benchmark have been called into service. Unfortunately, there appears to be a bug with ATTO Disk Benchmark when testing a USB-C-based product. A support ticket has been opened and we’re cautiously optimistic that a solution will be found for the initialization bug we’re encountering. The finishing touches are also being put on the extensively past-due review on a set of headphones which has fluctuated in price over the past holiday season. As this review also covers a more long-term look at the product in question, there will be a surprise near the end.

Update (2/7/2023): We’ve received a response from ATTO. Their tool is provided “as is” and they’ve opted to point the finger at the vendor of the USB-C product. The same USB-C product that produces metrics and numbers using AmorphousDiskTest and BlackMagic’s Disk Speed Test. Additionally, the Apple Silicon kernel panic bug for SoftRAID reared its ugly head after transferring 4 TB of data to a product which was being tested. Instead of updating the software and default RAID configurations in a manner which would prevent users from triggering this errata on newly created arrays, OWC has opted to point fingers at Apple. This is now the second time we’ve been burned by the SoftRAID solution.