SSD Config question for openSUSE 13.2 (64 bit efi KDE)

English Hardware
1

Hello, I was reading this guide for my OCZ Agility 3 (60gb) and with 8 Gb RAM : https://lizards.opensuse.org/2015/02/06/ssd-configuration-for-opensuse/ and this is my fstab:

UUID=34e94c91-fc5c-4b55-ba60-0910d18a56e7 swap swap defaults 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a / btrfs defaults 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /boot/grub2/i386-pc btrfs subvol=boot/grub2/i386-pc 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi btrfs subvol=boot/grub2/x86_64-efi 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /opt btrfs subvol=opt 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /srv btrfs subvol=srv 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /tmp btrfs subvol=tmp 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /usr/local btrfs subvol=usr/local 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/crash btrfs subvol=var/crash 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/lib/mailman btrfs subvol=var/lib/mailman 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/lib/named btrfs subvol=var/lib/named 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/lib/pgsql btrfs subvol=var/lib/pgsql 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/log btrfs subvol=var/log 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/opt btrfs subvol=var/opt 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/spool btrfs subvol=var/spool 0 0
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /var/tmp btrfs subvol=var/tmp 0 0
UUID=ee5d399d-0f33-4662-a2bd-b570b40782ab /home xfs defaults 1 2
UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a /.snapshots btrfs subvol=.snapshots 0 0

Now my question is where should i put the noatime in ?
Like this ? UUID=c9b8767d-06a7-4fdf-8e1f-2ff4b4da512a / btrfs noatime,defaults 0 0 for every line ?

Another thing i noticed is that i don’t have this commands: acl,user_xattr 0 1 in my fstab.

Since i have 8 GB RAM (and right now the most usage i saw is always less than 2gb with my normal progs/apps running) should i remove the swap and follow that guide and put those lines at the end of the fstab ?

Another thing i was searching for is the trim etc commands, the guides i found are kinda old (years old) so I’m not sure they are still valid for 13.2.

Thx in advance and if you need more info just ask (not sure what more should i add).

2

Hi
If you use the mount command by itself it will show all the details on the mount points.

There are optimizations already in place for ssd’s on the current releases, so not all howto’s are valid.

You only need to adjust the / entry as the rest are just subvolumes (see the output from mount command).

I wind down swappiness and still keep 8GB of swap as follows in /etc/sysctl.conf;


vm.swappiness=1
vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50

I also use elevator=noop, my Agilty3 60GB device is at 19499 hours without issues without any tweaks in fstab.

The only thing you might want to verify is the OCZ firmware is up to date.

3

Hi
In case your unaware (and other OCZ users) the link is here;
http://ocz.com/consumer/download/firmware

I grab the PC bootable iso image and use that, just need an internet connection (ethernet cable recommended).

Make sure you read the release notes and best to perform before the install if you decide to proceed with a firmware update. :wink:

4

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for your answers.
I didn’t see this ( vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50 ) i suppose is something about the cache ?
Yes I’ using the “elevator=noop” and “vm.swappiness=1” as well now as it was stated in that guide. While for the swap and the “noatime” i was waiting for the answers here.
My SSD is about 2 years old (was using it along windows till over a month ago,when i deleted it completely,so it’s all for opensuse now and wanted to be sure if it was optimized) so i’ll check for the firmware as well if and when i want to reinstall (thank’s for the link).
As i have just reinstalled it a couple of days ago ( after i decided it was time i didn’t need win anymore ) i don’t really feel like reinstalling again :smiley:

5

Can’t edit so i’ll post here:
Actually if you mean for

cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

I’ve set [deadline] for that, as that guide said it was better for SSD .
Why would noop be better ?

6

On Tue 17 Mar 2015 07:16:01 PM CDT, Shino wrote:

malcolmlewis;2700103 Wrote:
> Hi
> If you use the mount command by itself it will show all the details on
> the mount points.
>
> There are optimizations already in place for ssd’s on the current
> releases, so not all howto’s are valid.
>
> You only need to adjust the / entry as the rest are just subvolumes
> (see the output from mount command).
>
> I wind down swappiness and still keep 8GB of swap as follows in
> /etc/sysctl.conf;
> >
Code:

> >
> vm.swappiness=1
> vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50
>

> >
> I also use elevator=noop, my Agilty3 60GB device is at 19499 hours
> without issues without any tweaks in fstab.
>
> The only thing you might want to verify is the OCZ firmware is up to
> date.

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for your answers.
I didn’t see this ( vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50 ) i suppose is something
about the cache ?
Yes I’ using the “elevator=noop” and “vm.swappiness=1” as well now as it
was stated in that guide. While for the swap and the “noatime” i was
waiting for the answers here.
My SSD is about 2 years old (was using it along windows till over a
month ago,when i deleted it completely,so it’s all for opensuse now and
wanted to be sure if it was optimized) so i’ll check for the firmware as
well if and when i want to reinstall (thank’s for the link).
As i have just reinstalled it a couple of days ago ( after i decided it
was time i didn’t need win anymore ) i don’t really feel like
reinstalling again :smiley:

Hi
Have a read here towards the end of the document about
vfs_cache_pressure;
https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt

It just reclaims the unused memory quicker, so lessens the potential
use of swap…

The OCZ Agility3 I have is about 3 years old from memory, to date has
never missed a beat… Have a Vertex 4 and a Vector 460A on it’s
way :wink: I also have a Crucial M500 SSD which performs well.

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° LFCS, SUSE Knowledge Partner (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 GNOME 3.10.1 Kernel 3.12.36-38-default
If you find this post helpful and are logged into the web interface,
please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

7

On Tue 17 Mar 2015 07:36:01 PM CDT, Shino wrote:

Can’t edit so i’ll post here:
Actually if you mean for

Code:

cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

I’ve set [deadline] for that, as that guide said it was better for SSD .
Why would noop be better ?

Hi
I tend to get a bit better performance with noop and bcache, but all
depends on your use case…

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° LFCS, SUSE Knowledge Partner (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 GNOME 3.10.1 Kernel 3.12.36-38-default
If you find this post helpful and are logged into the web interface,
please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

8

Bookmarked link … Thank’s ^^
This is my first SSD so I’m still learning all it’s quirks (that i didn’t know before).
I’m waiting for the prices to lower a bit more before buying more,so i could use it for more than just for the OS. :slight_smile:

9

On Tue 17 Mar 2015 08:06:01 PM CDT, Shino wrote:

Bookmarked link … Thank’s ^^
This is my first SSD so I’m still learning all it’s quirks (that i
didn’t know before).
I’m waiting for the prices to lower a bit more before buying more,so i
could use it for more than just for the OS. :slight_smile:

Hi
I use a rotating disk on two systems as well and then bcache to provide
almost native SSD speeds to rotating rust for linux… Then don’t need
large SSD’s :wink:

I’m about to upgrade my small home server with the Vertex 4 with
mirrored 320GB for my VM’s and mirrored 500GB drives for data, fed
through two separate bcaches (10% of hdd size) which still leaves 34GB
for the OS which is more than enough. The only reason I don’t go bigger
is my backup drive is only 750GB which will handle the bulk of the data
for now.

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° LFCS, SUSE Knowledge Partner (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 GNOME 3.10.1 Kernel 3.12.36-38-default
If you find this post helpful and are logged into the web interface,
please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

10

I was thinking about the 160gb size,would be plenty for me for OS,games and data. They aren’t really what i can call a bargain yet :smiley:
Soon i’ll have to change two of my HDD as well since they were marked on threshold (they really are old after all). Just for storage do you reccommend formatting it in XFS or EXT4 ?. Except the SSD i have 4 HDD with sizes varying from 1,5 Tb to 2 Tb (all WD Green one’s since they are just for storage) so i would need to get one that can accomodate those and right now they are in NTFS (since i was using them in windows).

11

On Tue 17 Mar 2015 09:56:02 PM CDT, Shino wrote:
I was thinking about the 160gb size,would be plenty for me for OS,games
and data. They aren’t really what i can call a bargain yet :smiley:
Soon i’ll have to change two of my HDD as well since they were marked on
threshold (they really are old after all). Just for storage do you
reccommend formatting it in XFS or EXT4 ?. Except the SSD i have 4 HDD
with sizes varying from 1,5 Tb to 2 Tb (all WD Green one’s since they
are just for storage) so i would need to get one that can accomodate
those and right now they are in NTFS (since i was using them in
windows).

Hi
The 120GB SSD I just purchased was US$70, not too bad… :wink:

I use btrfs for operating system and XFS for data etc, the
backup device is ext3…

I have windows 10 preview on the rotating drive, but SSD’s only have
openSUSE/SLED on them (aside from the uefi/windows small partitions).

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° LFCS, SUSE Knowledge Partner (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 GNOME 3.10.1 Kernel 3.12.36-38-default
If you find this post helpful and are logged into the web interface,
please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

12

I guess it will be XFS then, as it’s only for storage, Thanks.
I agree 70$ isn’t much,but since i have to change 2 of my rotating HDD’s soon and with that much i can buy a 2 TB WD Green, (and money is a bit low right now) still not low enough :smiley:

I was testing win10 too for about a month (as what they call it “insider” now), but i’m just not a fan of a smartphone-like desktop. It’s good …and a necessity to be like that in a smartphone,but not on a Desktop (at least for my preference and usage,not going to say much on the performance and all the rest,as one month of testing isn’t much). If i have to re-install win on a vm or dualboot i’ll keep my win 7 pro though.

Ah well…just noticed we got a bit sidetracked from the topic, :smiley: but was a nice convo nonetheless and very informative.

13

Since you’re talking about SSD config in openSUSE 13.2: the recommendation is to add elevator=deadline to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line in /etc/default/grub. However, my SSD is /dev/sda, my spinning disk is /dev/sdb and in /etc/default/grub I have

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=" resume=/dev/sdb7 splash=silent quiet showopts"

where /dev/sdb7 is actually the swap partition.

So how can I change the algorithm to deadline for SSD and keep cfq for the spinning disk? And why the resume parameter points to the swap partition (I guess it means hibernation and that makes sense)?

14

I think you just leave your kernel cmdline alone and check here: /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/60-ssd-scheduler.rules

You should have a file 60-ssd-scheduler.rules that sets the deadline scheduler for non-rotating media.