March 30, 2015 at 13:01SSD Guru - a new utility from OCZ for monitoring and tuning SSDs
Hello Giktayms! In a post about the new SSZ OCZ Vector 180, I mentioned the new SSD software from this company. And since the OCZ SSD Guru will work with the line of SSDs that were released on Barefoot 3 controllers, I think it makes sense to consider its capabilities in detail. Under the cat - screenshots and comments.
First, let's determine what's new in the Guru SSD compared to the OCZ Toolbox. As can be seen from the tablet, SMART monitoring, manual activation of the TRIM command, the function of completely erasing the Secure Erase disk and the ability to update the firmware, including updating the boot disk without loss of performance, have not gone anywhere.
But monitoring of the disk status, connection interface, the ability to automatically check for new firmware, the ability to configure SSD and the operating system (more on them later) and the ability to send a message to tech support directly from the software (apparently, the logs will be automatically scanned and added to the message) with SSD monitoring).
Considering the fact that the new OCZ Vector 180 uses the Barefoot 3 controller, it was logical to expect that all the products on it will be supported by the new software. The full list of supported drives in the picture below: it includes both SATA disks and PCI-E SSD RevoDrive.
We went through the tabs, of which there are only five: Overview, Tuner, Maintenance, Settings and Help.
The first tab is overview, it displays information about disk capacity, connection interface, disk “health” and firmware updates. Next to it, I brought up the window of the well-deserved utility for monitoring Crystal Disk Info disks - everything is the same: both the disk and the parameters are the same. The SSD Details item - model, capacity, interface, serial number, firmware version - an exhaustive set of data about your SSD drive. Point the System the Details - here you can read about her (or author's) system, attentive readers will gaze snagged a 10-core Intel Xeon E5-2687W V3, which is temporarily replaced in my stand of Intel Core i7-5960X. Paragraph
SMART - information about drive self-monitoring. Moreover, lines related to different parameters are indicated by pictograms and you can immediately see what is related to performance, what is the “life” of an SSD, and what is just informational data.
Go to the second tab: Tuner . There is only one sub point for the OCZ Vector 150, probably because the OS is installed on a different SSD. One way or another, on this tab, it is proposed to manually execute the TRIM command (my disk was empty, therefore the item is inactive), or configure overprovisioning on the fly. The functionality is interesting, it is proposed to increase the reserve area of the drive up to 134 gigabytes with a total disk capacity of 480 gigabytes. For drives of smaller capacity and the limit will be less.
Tab number three:The Maintenance . The user is prompted to check for firmware updates or do it manually, while the option of updating via the Web or manually from a local disk is provided. The Secure Erase item erases all data on the solid state drive and puts it in a pristine state. Settings
tab - the fourth in a row, contains autorun settings for the program with the OS and the ability to log drive activity. Proxy server settings are offered for online functionality, for example, to check for updates. And the last but not the least - Help tab
. It offers the opportunity to generate a report on the system for support, contact the support team directly or go to the forums where you can look for advice, brothers in misfortune or just chat with other owners of solid-state drives from OCZ.
Also from the pleasant - the application is available for different operating systems: Windows 7 | Windows 8.1 or Linux Fedora, Mint, and Ubuntu .
Thank you for your attention, we are ready to answer your questions.
Our previous posts:
" Intrepid 3700 SSD for corporate customers
" New flagship Vector 180 SSD
" Evolution of SSD controllers
"SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | part one: theoretical
" SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | Part Two: The Practical
" SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | Part Three and Final: Server
What's new?
First, let's determine what's new in the Guru SSD compared to the OCZ Toolbox. As can be seen from the tablet, SMART monitoring, manual activation of the TRIM command, the function of completely erasing the Secure Erase disk and the ability to update the firmware, including updating the boot disk without loss of performance, have not gone anywhere.
But monitoring of the disk status, connection interface, the ability to automatically check for new firmware, the ability to configure SSD and the operating system (more on them later) and the ability to send a message to tech support directly from the software (apparently, the logs will be automatically scanned and added to the message) with SSD monitoring).
What OCZ SSDs are supported?
Considering the fact that the new OCZ Vector 180 uses the Barefoot 3 controller, it was logical to expect that all the products on it will be supported by the new software. The full list of supported drives in the picture below: it includes both SATA disks and PCI-E SSD RevoDrive.
What can be monitored and configured?
We went through the tabs, of which there are only five: Overview, Tuner, Maintenance, Settings and Help.
The first tab is overview, it displays information about disk capacity, connection interface, disk “health” and firmware updates. Next to it, I brought up the window of the well-deserved utility for monitoring Crystal Disk Info disks - everything is the same: both the disk and the parameters are the same. The SSD Details item - model, capacity, interface, serial number, firmware version - an exhaustive set of data about your SSD drive. Point the System the Details - here you can read about her (or author's) system, attentive readers will gaze snagged a 10-core Intel Xeon E5-2687W V3, which is temporarily replaced in my stand of Intel Core i7-5960X. Paragraph
SMART - information about drive self-monitoring. Moreover, lines related to different parameters are indicated by pictograms and you can immediately see what is related to performance, what is the “life” of an SSD, and what is just informational data.
Go to the second tab: Tuner . There is only one sub point for the OCZ Vector 150, probably because the OS is installed on a different SSD. One way or another, on this tab, it is proposed to manually execute the TRIM command (my disk was empty, therefore the item is inactive), or configure overprovisioning on the fly. The functionality is interesting, it is proposed to increase the reserve area of the drive up to 134 gigabytes with a total disk capacity of 480 gigabytes. For drives of smaller capacity and the limit will be less.
Tab number three:The Maintenance . The user is prompted to check for firmware updates or do it manually, while the option of updating via the Web or manually from a local disk is provided. The Secure Erase item erases all data on the solid state drive and puts it in a pristine state. Settings
tab - the fourth in a row, contains autorun settings for the program with the OS and the ability to log drive activity. Proxy server settings are offered for online functionality, for example, to check for updates. And the last but not the least - Help tab
. It offers the opportunity to generate a report on the system for support, contact the support team directly or go to the forums where you can look for advice, brothers in misfortune or just chat with other owners of solid-state drives from OCZ.
Also from the pleasant - the application is available for different operating systems: Windows 7 | Windows 8.1 or Linux Fedora, Mint, and Ubuntu .
Thank you for your attention, we are ready to answer your questions.
Our previous posts:
" Intrepid 3700 SSD for corporate customers
" New flagship Vector 180 SSD
" Evolution of SSD controllers
"SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | part one: theoretical
" SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | Part Two: The Practical
" SSD SATA vs SSD PCI-E | Part Three and Final: Server