OVERVIEW

SuperCache II implements patented block-level caching technology to raise system performance beyond that of the NT file-level cache alone. It breaks the disk I/O bottleneck by using the server's system memory to store the most frequently used data, executing read and write requests from memory rather than from disk. SuperCache II's core component is a storage volume filter driver which resides in the storage stack just above the storage volume class drivers."

How it works

SuperCache II intelligently stores frequently used disk data in system memory. The memory used to store the data is called a cache. SuperCache II intercepts requests for disk data and, when possible, fulfills the request using the cache instead of requesting data from the disk. When data is read from or written to the cache, the performance is similar to a RAM disk – extremely fast.

Unlike our RamDisk or SuperVolume products, some requested data will not always be present in the cache. Although data for all requests come from or go to the cache, some will also involve the disk. Nonetheless, depending upon the size of the cache and the nature of the disk I/O requests, performance accelerations can be significant and often dramatic."

Deferred-writes

When deferred writing is enabled, SuperCache II accelerates disk writes. With deferred writing, write requests are fulfilled immediately by simply writing the data to the cache. Later, SuperCache II writes the data to the hard disk. Deferred writing is also known as lazywriting, since the write data stored in the cache is 'lazily' written to the disk afterward.

The effect of deferred writing is to 'smooth out' I/O activity on the hard drive. Applications and services with large flows of write data will especially benefit from deferred writing.

It is important to note that enabling deferred writing increases the risk of data loss in the event of a system crash or power failure. SuperSpeed Software recommends that you enable the lazy-write feature ONLY on systems equipped with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

Why another cache?

Doesn’t Windows already have a cache? The Windows operating system supports a file-system level cache, the NT file-system cache. However, the flow of data at the file-system level and the flow of data at the block (or storage volume) level are not the same. Each level – the file-system level and the block level – represents a different data flow paradigm, or model. Optimization of flows at the file system level does not optimize flows at the block level. SuperCache II enhances disk I/O throughput by optimizing flows at the block-level.

When to use

SuperCache II can be used to cache the system drive (e.g. drive C:), including the pagefile. It is the appropriate product when the data files of a particular program or service (e.g. database, web server, etc.) must reside on a disk partition or volume that is larger than the size of available physical memory.

Licensing

A SuperCache II license specifies an operating system edition and a processor count. A license specifying a particular operating system edition will permit usage of the product on that and inferior editions. Similarly, a license specifying particular processor count (physical processor socket count) will permit usage of the product on machines with that or an inferior number of processors enabled.

SYSTEM REQUIRMENTS

Processor (CPU) Support

Memory Support