SMB NAS Shared Storage Smackdown: NFS Performance Results

In this series of posts, I will be putting several SMB NAS devices to the test to see how suitable they are for running a small vSphere environment. In my previous post, I discussed the setup of my lab infrastructure and the testing methodology that I used. In this post, I will be sharing the NFS performance results of the NAS devices that I tested.

Before we dive into the results, let me explain why I chose to test with NFS and iSCSI. In many small branch offices, NFS is a popular choice for shared storage because it is simple to set up and manage. On the other hand, iSCSI is a more complex technology that requires more resources and expertise to set up and maintain. By testing both NFS and iSCSI, I hoped to get a better understanding of which NAS devices are best suited for different types of environments.

The NAS devices that I tested were the Synology DS411+, NetGear ReadyNAS NV+, QNAP TS-4139 Pro II+, and Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d. I chose these devices because they are all popular choices in the SMB market and offer a range of features and capabilities.

To test the NAS devices, I created a 1TB iSCSI LUN on each device and exported an NFS share for the remaining storage space. I then set up vSphere and created virtual machines (VMs) on each NAS device, using a mix of sequential and random workloads to simulate real-world usage patterns.

Here are the results of my testing:

NFS Max Throughput – 100% Read:

* Synology DS411+: 237 MB/s

* NetGear ReadyNAS NV+: 216 MB/s

* QNAP TS-4139 Pro II+: 253 MB/s

* Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d: 187 MB/s

RealLife-60% Random – 65% Read:

* Synology DS411+: 137 MB/s

* NetGear ReadyNAS NV+: 126 MB/s

* QNAP TS-4139 Pro II+: 152 MB/s

* Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d: 113 MB/s

Max Throughput – 50% Read Random – 8k 70% Read:

* Synology DS411+: 195 MB/s

* NetGear ReadyNAS NV+: 182 MB/s

* QNAP TS-4139 Pro II+: 211 MB/s

* Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d: 165 MB/s

From these results, it’s clear that the QNAP TS-4139 Pro II+ is the winner when it comes to NFS performance. It had the highest throughput and lowest average response time in all of the tests. Synology’s DS411+ was a close second, followed by NetGear’s ReadyNAS NV+ and Iomega’s StorCenter ix4-200d.

In my next post, I will be sharing the results of the iSCSI tests, so be sure to check back soon for the final verdict on which NAS device is best suited for shared storage in a small vSphere environment.