Home Forums Discussions Problems Should I change my main computer to SSD??

After upgrading to version 8.2.5, I thought I had dodged the SLOW speeds some had talked about. However, after a week of use, writing scripts and signing off on charts is painfully slow. I am on p to p network with win 7 machines. Some machines are wireless.....I know...I know...but wireless is what works for me.

I was wondering if changing the HD of the main computer to a SSD would help speeds. Seems to me the parts of AC where the workstations are trying to access the database on main computer is when it slows down....any ideas??

Hi AJ,
We switched to 8.2.4 2 weeks ago. Intermittent speed issues.

We have NOT found a significant difference between wireless and hard wired PCs. The wireless may be a little slower, but it does not seem to be a major factor.

Bert or Sandeep or Indy can comment on the SSDs. My impression is that they would help a little, but not solve the problem, which is basically the programming.

Good luck!

Gene

Your buffer is full after a week. So it's now reading from the disk. SSDs will help in that case. Restarting the server would do the trick. But it's easier just to start/stop SQL. You can schedule it to run nightly.

ACUB - Post 64338

Also, how much RAM is on your main computer?

Main computer has 8 gigs RAM. I plan to put in another 2 this week.

Sandeep: Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by 'buffer' and 'start/stop SQL'. I don't have an actual server...its a PC.

Dr. Godbole, I will leave it to the tech savvy for a more detailed reply. What you need to know from Sandeep is simply that you should restart your main computer.
See if that works to speed things up and report back. It does work for us.
If so, we can then discuss how to prevent the problem from recurring.

A.J.

Sandeep and I slightly differ on this (which normally means going with Sandeep). But, we don't differ technically on the buffer. Basically, it is the memory of the SQL Server.

All SQL Servers contain a buffer or memory. In ALL Express modesl, this memory is limited to 1GB. This is one of the reasons Express is free. 1GB is enough for most people but not businesses or entities that query a database all the time.

When you make a query, "Click on a medication list so AC has to go to your main computer to get that data from the AC database, it takes longer than if it went to just the SQL Server's memory. We call that hitting the database. So, when you send a query to get information, it is stored as pages in SQL memory. Eventually, it fills up. What happens then, is the query you used two months ago to find something on Joe Smith is flushed and the latest/newest query is stored. TECH: The query is saved NOT the result of the query.

This is very similar to the RAM on your computer. Once you open an app and enter it into RAM, the app and all the data you use is stored temporarily in very fast RAM. When you first open AC, you wait for it to load. Once loaded it is running in RAM. When you run out of RAM, you end up having to use your actual drive to retrieve data. This is why more RAM is better to an extent. You likely don't use more than 4GBs of RAM, but it is always good to have extra.

In a Full Edition of SQL, the RAM is limited either to the edition or the amount of RAM you have on your server. Some SQL will take all the RAM so it has to be limited.

If you start and stop SQL, it will give all of its RAM in its cache back to the OS. This can be very helpful if you are using a computer (say a server with only 4GBs) RAM and Express takes a GB of RAM. You are using the server RAM for other purposes, so eventually the RAM for the operating system itself gets low, and you have very more performance.

Rebooting that server will give all the SQL RAM back to the OS (plus OS will regain RAM it was utilizing in other things that no longer needed it.

This is where Sandeep and I differ. Up to now, we are saying the same thing. He will tell you AND HE IS DAMNED GOOd, that flushing the RAM from the SQL makes it faster. I will tell you the opposite. Everytime you flush the cache from SQL, you have just flushed all the "pages" (individual queries). Now, you have to hit the database every time until you get the queries in RAM again. You can Google to see which you think.

So, basically, the cache in SQL is the memory. Express has 1GB, others have all the way up to the totally about of the server. Another reason to have a server. It usually has more RAM.

But, ultimately, SSDs don't always speed everything up. Certainly, when you have to hit the database of AC, it can. But, the bottom line is. SSDs are generally always better than HDDs and the prices are getting ridiculously cheap.

Plus, an added bonus is, if you have a 128GB SSD, which is getting full, you can upgrade to a 250GB SSD in less than an hour with a perfect clone. It is much easier than with HDDs. You plug in this cable with a USB on it to your PC. You plug the other end into the new SSD. Use the inclucded software to find the PC's SSD and the new external SSD. Click start, and within 30 minutes or so, you have identical drives. Now you just switch them out. And, the great thing is you can keep the 128GB drive (label and date it) for awhile in case there are issues or you need to go back and get some data that you may write over.

RAM in your computer. Much faster. You know how it works. Everytime you close a program, all the stored data and the app is gone from memory freeing it up for other things.

RAM (cache) (buffer) in SQL contains only queries or pages. They are supposed to go there and stored.

Local cache (the most important speed issue for AC) Similar to RAM, applications such as AC which have databases "pull over" tons of data during loadup. You will see this when you start it. It will say "Preloading data for speed." Speed is a relevant term. So, it pulls over all the demographics and other information so when you click on Joe Smith, he and his demographics are there. Not all. Which is why it opens faster the second time. That data is now cached in AC. Of course, on RAM. The really cool thing is. When you open Joe Smith, it takes about five seconds to open as it has to go get more information that wasn't originally caches. Diagnoses, problems, some meds, etc. So, if you close and reopen it is faster next time.

So, why then, when you open a "different" chart, does it open in three seconds instead of five? Because when you opened the original chart, some of the information brought over from AC's database or RAM is common to the next chart.

I am sure this is a little technical. If you have questions, fire away.

Also, you may want to consider durability of the drives as well as noise (as in none).

The formula you may use is:

X - Y = Z where,

X = length of time you anticipate before retiring
Y = length of time certain SSDs last
Z = length of time your SSD with last you after retirement

SSD 850 PRO 2.5? 250GB SATA III predicted run time is 60.12 years


Of course, make sure your mobo has a SATA III slot

Again, as I do with wireless, I HIGHLY recommend NOT to use the main computer as anything but the main computer. No one should be using it at all, ever. But, if one does use it, becasue an office decides not to invest in a relatively inexpensive computer that would come with an SSD, reboots (which would be a given if someone used the computer during the day), would be 15 seconds instead of 90 to 120 seconds.

A new computer could be purchased with a better processor, the latest Intel i7, more and better RAM and the SSD. A RAID0 setup would make it even faster, while a RAID1 would make it faster and redundant. You could even use a Windows 10 OS, which would give you even more options, but be sure it is the Pro version. The added benefit is the complexity of first using it would deter anyone from using the main computer. You could certainly use software RAID.

As you may see above, I would highly recommend the Samsung Pro 256GB Sata III model. Do NOT get the 128GB. If you are planning on running VMs, then upgrading to 512GBs or a TB would make sense, otherwise no.

But, remember 60 years is a long time, and you may would likely add a lot of data, although by then SSDs will probably be compared with floppy drives.

While you may find it cheaper (Samsung's site has it at $149), I would recommend getting it directly from its site as it is more straightforward, and it does come with a 5-year warranty. Samsung would honor that whether you got it at Amazon or NewEgg or eBay, but they have free shipping so why not?

Wow guys (Bert and Sandeep)...thanks for the detailed answers. I have decided to reboot main computer on a daily basis and at least for now, it seems to be helping speed things up a bit. Thanks.