winsat disk

 

Applies To: Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8

Measures the performance of a storage device using one of three assessment types:

• A sequential or random read assessment.

• A sequential or random write assessment.

• A write flush policy test.

For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.

Syntax

winsat disk <-seq|-ran> <-read|-write> <-n <disk identification number>|-drive <drive letter>> <optional parameters>
winsat disk flush <-n <disk identification number>|-drive <drive letter>>

Parameters

Important

See the required parameter descriptions for the combination of required parameters that can be used during a single assessment.

Required Parameter	Description
-flush	Assess disk performance in write policy flush mode. Cannot be used in combination with -seq, -ran, -write, or -read.
-seq	Assess sequential IO performance. Cannot be used in combination with -ran or -flush.
-ran	Assess random IO performance. Cannot be used in combination with -seq or -flush.
-read	Assess read performance. Cannot be used in combination with -write or -flush.
-write	Assess write performance. Cannot be used in combination with -read or -flush.
-n <disk identification number>	Identify by physical disk identification number which disk should be assessed. Cannot be used in combination with -drive.
-drive <drive letter>	Identify by drive letter which disk should be assessed. Cannot be used in combination with -n. Note Do not add a colon to the drive letter. -drive c is valid, but -drive c: is not.

Optional Parameter	Description
-count <1-50>	Specify the number of iterations to perform. The default is 1.
-iocount <256-5000>	Specify the number of IO operations that will be issued for the assessment. The default is 256.
-seqsize <65536-1048576>	Specify the size of the IOs that will be issued for a sequential IO assessment in bytes. The default is 65536. Values greater than 1 MB will use 1 MB. Values that are not sector aligned will be rounded down to be sector aligned unless the value is smaller than a sector, in which case it will be rounded up to the sector size.
-ransize <16384-1048576>	Specify the size of the IOs that will be issued for a random IO assessment in bytes. The default is 16384. Values greater than 1 MB will use 1 MB. Values that are not sector aligned will be rounded down to be sector aligned unless the value is smaller than a sector, in which case it will be rounded up to the sector size.
-v	Send verbose output to STDOUT, including status and progress information. Any errors will also be written to the command window.
-xml <file name>	Save the output of the assessment as the specified XML file. If the specified file exists, it will be overwritten.
-idiskinfo	Save information about physical volumes and logical disks as part of the <SystemConfig> section in the XML output.
-iguid	Create a globally unique identifier (GUID) in the XML output file.
-note "note text"	Add the note text to the <note> section in the XML output file.
-icn	Include the local computer name in the XML output file.
-eef	Enumerate extra system information in the XML output file.

Examples

• The following example assesses the sequential I/O read performance of drive C:

  winsat disk -seq -read -drive c
  

• The following example assesses the random I/O write performance of drive number 2:

  winsat disk -ran -write -n 2
  

• The following example assesses the flush performance of drive C:

  winsat disk -flush -drive c
  

Remarks

• Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to use winsat. The command must be executed from an elevated command prompt window.

• To open an elevated command prompt window, click Start, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

Additional references

Winsat