Storage: Boost I/O Performance

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Known limitation

This guide is applicable only to Intel-based VMs. I/O boost is always enabled on Apple silicon VMs and cannot be disabled.

For more information, see Feature Parity: Apple Hardware and Compatibility: Performance Improving Features.

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Quick navigation

Jump to: Defaults | Limitations | Enable I/O Boost for existing VM configurations | Disable I/O Boost for new VM configurations

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Quick command summary

Orka CLIOrka API

orka vm create-config --io-boost [yes/no]
orka vm create --io-boost [yes/no]

POST /resources/vm/create

By default, IO Boost is enabled on the environment level for both Intel- and Apple silicon-based nodes. For Intel-based VM configurations, you can choose to disable the io boost setting.

Keep in mind that, based on your workload, the observable performance boost might vary. For I/O-intensive workloads (for example, multiple or frequent read-write operations), you will experience a significant improvement. For non-I/O-intensive workloads, the change might not be noticeable. You will not experience any performance degradation.

Before you begin, make sure that your Orka environment is updated to Orka 1.5.0 or later.

Defaults

• For environments running Orka 1.5.0 or later, I/O boost is always enabled on the environment level (for Intel-based, Apple silicon-based, and mixed clusters).
• For VM configurations created with Orka 1.4.3 and earlier, this setting is disabled. If you want to enable I/O boost for these configurations, you need to re-create them.

Limitations

• I/O boost is compatible with macOS 10.14.5 (Mojave) and later. For Intel-based VMs running earlier macOS versions, you need to manually disable the setting when creating the VM configuration.
• I/O boost is always enabled for Apple silicon-based VMs and you cannot disable it.
• You can enable or disable IO boost only in direct mode for the Orka CLI, or with the Orka API.
• You cannot override this setting during deployment.

Enable I/O boost for existing VM configurations

For VM configurations created with Orka 1.4.3 and earlier, I/O boost is disabled. The setting cannot be changed. You need to re-create your existing VM configurations to enable the feature. You don't need to enable I/O boost explicitly. Orka will enable the feature when you run the create operation.

orka vm create-config -v <VM_NAME> -b <IMAGE> -c <CPU_AMOUNT> -C <VCPU_AMOUNT>  [other options as needed] -y

OR

orka vm create -v <VM_NAME> -b <IMAGE> -c <CPU_AMOUNT> -C <VCPU_AMOUNT> [other options as needed] -y

curl --location 'http://<ORKA_API_IP>/resources/vm/create' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>' \
--data '{
	"orka_vm_name": "<VM_NAME>",
	"orka_base_image": "<IMAGE>",
	"orka_image": "<VM_NAME>",
	"orka_cpu_core": <CPU_AMOUNT>,
	"vcpu_count": <VCPU_AMOUNT>,
  <other options as needed>,
}'

Disable I/O boost for new VM configurations

Sometimes, you might need to create a VM configuration with disabled I/O boost. For example, if you want to create an Intel-based VM running an incompatible macOS version.

orka vm create-config -v <VM_NAME> -b <IMAGE> -c <CPU_AMOUNT> -C <VCPU_AMOUNT> --io-boost no -y

OR

orka vm create -v <VM_NAME> -b <IMAGE> -c <CPU_AMOUNT> -C <VCPU_AMOUNT> --io-boost no -y

curl --location 'http://<ORKA_API_IP>/resources/vm/create' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>' \
--data '{
	"orka_vm_name": "<VM_NAME>",
	"orka_base_image": "<IMAGE>",
	"orka_image": "<VM_NAME>",
	"orka_cpu_core": <CPU_AMOUNT>,
	"vcpu_count": <VCPU_AMOUNT>,
	"io_boost": false
}'

See also

• Feature Parity: Apple Hardware
• Compatibility: Performance Improving Features