nMP: 2xTB1 or 1xTB2 for storage

[ozbimmer]

Hi folks,

I am contemplating which option is better in terms of maximising the throughput of TB2 ports of the nMP. In both situations I am using identical spec SSD.

1. Two dual bay TB1 enclosure attached to 2 TB2 ports (shared by one controller)
2. One quad bay TB2 enclosure attached to 1 TB2 port

Thanks in advance.

 

[VirtualRain]

Hi folks,

I am contemplating which option is better in terms of maximising the throughput of TB2 ports of the nMP. In both situations I am using identical spec SSD.

1. Two dual bay TB1 enclosure attached to 2 TB2 ports (shared by one controller)
2. One quad bay TB2 enclosure attached to 1 TB2 port

Thanks in advance.

Theoretically they are similar, but practically the single TB2 enclosure is simpler and likely to offer you better performance if you want to RAID0 four drives with SSDs at some point.

Don't assume that every enclosure can max out its TB connection. For example, I have a WD Velociraptor Thunderbolt Duo that has two bays. I noticed it's only got a x1 PCIe interface to the TB bus however. That's plenty of bandwidth for a pair of spinning disks, but if one wanted to swap those out for SSDs they would be disappointed with the results. However, in this case the enclosure is apparently hard coded to only work with VR drives. But you get the point... A two bay TB1 enclosure is not necessarily going to give you access to a full 10Gbps of bandwidth. Your better bet for no bottlenecks is something designed for TB2.

 

[ozbimmer]

Thanks, VR.

The reason why I am asking this is because of the availability of quad bay TB2 enclosure. I only know of the Promise Pegasus2 R4 but not sure of its reliability and compatibility.

 

[VirtualRain]

Thanks, VR.

The reason why I am asking this is because of the availability of quad bay TB2 enclosure. I only know of the Promise Pegasus2 R4 but not sure of its reliability and compatibility.

The Pegasus2 looks like a great product. Their TB1 products have been around for awhile... Perhaps check the Peripherals forum here on MR to see what members say about them.