What Is SQLIO?

SQLIO is a Disk Subsystem Benchmark Tool provided by Microsoft for free.

SQLIO lets you push the limits of your disk subsystem in order to determine the hardware’s I/O capacity and to identify performance-related issues before deploying any applications that requires large amount of I/O like SQL Server. You can use the tool to test a variety of I/O types and sizes against various disk subsystems, including direct attached storage, network attached storage, and storage area networks.

It is good practice to benchmark the I/O subsystem using an I/O stress tool to determine the hardware’s capacity and ensure the system is tuned for optimal performance before deploying SQL Server. Doing this initial testing helps to identify any hardware or driver related performance issues early on, before the complexity of SQL Server is introduced. SQLIO.exe is a tool which can be used to determine the I/O capacity of a given hardware configuration. The purpose of SQLIO is not to simulate I/O patterns of SQL Server but rather to test a variety of I/O types and sizes and determine the capacity of an I/O subsystem.

SQLIO is retired and replaced by Diskspd now. But you still use it.

⇒ Download and Install SQLIO

⇐ Getting Started with Microsoft SQLIO

⇑ Getting Started with Microsoft SQLIO

⇑⇑ SQLIO Disk I/O Benchmark Test Tutorials