Speed test LiveUSB

[ElCuervo]

Finally got around to installing PCLinuxOS KDE on a flash drive and it works quite nicely. For those who "think" that it is "almost as fast" as running from a SATA HD, here are some numbers:

[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 198 MB in  3.03 seconds =  65.39 MB/sec
[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb:
 Timing buffered disk reads:  48 MB in  3.08 seconds =  15.57 MB/sec

Certainly running from a flash drive is better that a LiveCD, but...

[Was_Just19]

Finally got around to installing PCLinuxOS KDE on a flash drive and it works quite nicely. For those who "think" that it is "almost as fast" as running from a SATA HD, here are some numbers:

[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 198 MB in  3.03 seconds =  65.39 MB/sec
[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb:
 Timing buffered disk reads:  48 MB in  3.08 seconds =  15.57 MB/sec

Certainly running from a flash drive is better that a LiveCD, but...

I doubt anyone was under the mistaken impression that USB flash drives have better read and write figures than SATA drives.

What is more of interest to most people I believe is the comparison of a live install on a CD and a USB, and their relative boot times and how they function afterwards when logged in.

regards.

[ElCuervo]

I doubt anyone was under the mistaken impression that USB flash drives have better read and write figures than SATA drives.

Me, too, neither. Merely trying to point out that there are tools to verify or disprove whatever we think.

[Was_Just19]

I doubt anyone was under the mistaken impression that USB flash drives have better read and write figures than SATA drives.

Me, too, neither. Merely trying to point out that there are tools to verify or disprove whatever we think.

Also makes me wonder what the hit would be compared to an old noisy IDE drive.

I built a server rig at one time which ran a small server from a USB drive - live.
Made room for an extra HDD for the server and ensured the OS would be back to pristine after a reboot if anything untoward were to happen.

Well worth the effort in that case as I recall.

Would probably be suitable for a firewall also.

regards.

[Dragynn]

Thanks El C, I really like seeing actual test data of such things, good info to add to the database!

[menotu]

Finally got around to installing PCLinuxOS KDE on a flash drive and it works quite nicely. For those who "think" that it is "almost as fast" as running from a SATA HD, here are some numbers:

[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 198 MB in  3.03 seconds =  65.39 MB/sec
[root@localhost alan]# hdparm -t /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb:
 Timing buffered disk reads:  48 MB in  3.08 seconds =  15.57 MB/sec

Certainly running from a flash drive is better that a LiveCD, but...

Hey ElCuervo what type of HDD are running? (Maxtor - Seagate - WD etc)

[ElCuervo]

Hey ElCuervo what type of HDD are running? (Maxtor - Seagate - WD etc)

This is the one tested for this thread - Gsmartcontrol is another great tool, too: