We recap how to connect an M.2 SSD to a Raspberry Pi 5 and set it as a startup disk, and we also checked out compatible SSDs and the differences in transfer speeds for each SSD – Livedoor News

The Raspberry Pi 5 is the first in the Raspberry Pi series to support PCI Express (PCIe), and if you're using a board that converts PCIe to M.2, you can recognize the M.2 SSD or set the M.2 SSD as your startup disk. you can do it. To answer questions like “Which M.2 SSD model is recognizable?” and “How fast will it be if you set an M.2 SSD as the startup disk?” We actually tested multiple types of M.2 SSD. 2 SSD I set it up and checked the connection action and transfer speed.

Raspberry Pi 5 – Raspberry Pi

https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5/

Booting NVMe SSD with Raspberry Pi 5 – Geekworm Wiki

https://wiki.geekworm.com/NVMe_SSD_boot_with_the_Raspberry_Pi_5

·table of contents

◆1: Introduction to technical competence

◆2: HAT to convert PCIe to M.2

◆3: Steps to set M.2 SSD as startup disk

◆4: Check compatibility with 5 types of SSD drives

◆5: I measured the transfer speed

◆1: Introduction to technical competence

The Raspberry Pi 5 used this time was sent directly to the editorial department of GIGAZINE from the Raspberry Pi Foundation and did not receive a certificate of compliance with technical standards. Therefore, we have submitted a notification regarding the “Special System for Experiments and Others Using Equipment That Have Not Obtained Technical Conformity.” Additionally, the Raspberry Pi 5 is scheduled to be launched in Japan following technical compliance enforcement by the distributor.

◆2: HAT to convert PCIe to M.2

To make the Raspberry Pi recognize an M.2 SSD, you need a board (HAT) that converts PCIe to M.2. This time I bought the Geekworm “X1000 Pcie M.2 Key-M NVMe SSD PIP PCIe Peripheral Board for Raspberry Pi 5 (hereinafter referred to as X1000)”.

Geekworm X1000 Pcie M.2 Key-M NVMe SSD PIP PCIe Peripheral Board for R

Geekworm X1000 PCIe to M.2 Key-M NVMe SSD PIP TOP for Raspberry Pi 5

The X1000 package looks like this.

Inside the box are the main body of the X1000, connection cable, SSD mounting screws, etc.

This is what it looks like when you install the X100 on a Raspberry Pi.

I installed “Solidigm P41 Plus 512GB”. The X100 comes with screws to secure the SSD, but only Type 2230 or Type 2242 SSDs with screw holes can be used. So this time I fixed it with a rubber band.

◆3: Steps to set M.2 SSD as startup disk

After connecting the SSD, make it possible to boot from the SSD by following the steps “Make the Raspberry Pi recognize the SSD”, “Install the Raspberry Pi operating system on the SSD” and “Swap the startup disk”. ''

・Make Raspberry Pi recognize SSD

First, connect the SSD and microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS installed to the Raspberry Pi and start it up.

After booting the system, add the following two lines to “/boot/config.txt”.

dtparam=pciex1
dtparam=nvme

After adding the two lines and saving, restart the system.

・Install the Raspberry Pi OS on the SSD

Next, install Raspberry Pi OS on the SSD. There are multiple ways to install the operating system, but this time we will use the “Copy entire contents of microSD card to SSD” method.

First, click “SD Card Copier” in “Accessories” in the Raspberry Pi menu to start it.

When SD Card Copier starts, select the copy source microSD card with “Copy From Device” and select the copy destination SSD with “Copy To Device”. Next, select “New Section UUIDs” and click “Start.”

When a warning is displayed that “All contents of the SSD will be erased,” click Yes.

Wait for some time until the copying process is completed.

When copying is complete, click OK to exit SD Card Copier.

・Replace startup disk

Once the SSD is ready, rewrite the EEPROM to enable the system to boot from the SSD. Execute the following command to rewrite the EEPROM.

sudo rpi-eeprom-config –edit

When the configuration file opens in an editor, change the part marked “BOOT_ORDER=0xf41” to “BOOT_ORDER=0xf416” and save it.

After rewriting the EEPROM, turn off the system, remove the microSD card, and turn it back on.

I should now be able to boot the system from the SSD, but this time I got an error and couldn't boot.

When I checked the Geekworm forum, I found information that adding the line “PCIE_PROBE=1” to the EEPROM would work. I ran the command below again, added the line “PCIE_PROBE=1” at the end, and saved it.

sudo rpi-eeprom-config –edit

When I restarted it, the operating system started successfully.

◆4: Check compatibility with 5 types of SSD drives

When combining a Raspberry Pi and X1000, some SSDs may not be recognized by type. Therefore, we have prepared 5 types of SSDs: “Solidigm P41 Plus 512GB'', “Samsung 950 PRO 256GB'', “WD Black SN750'', and “Monster Storage MS950 2TB''. , and “Intel Optane 16GB''', and I checked the SSD that can boot without problems.

As a result of the verification process, three variants, “Solidigm P41 Plus 512GB”, “Samsung 950 PRO 256GB”, and “WD Black SN750”, were able to boot the system without any problems.

On the other hand, “Monster Storage MS950 2TB” and “Intel Optane 16GB” were not recognized. Please note that the X1000 shipped at the time of writing has a different design than the one used this time, so there may be differences in the SSDs that are recognizable.

◆5: I measured the transfer speed

In order to check how much speedup is possible by starting the system from an SSD, we will compare the transfer speeds of the “SUNEAST ULTIMATE PRO 64GB” microSD card and three types of SSD.

Transfer speeds are measured using a benchmark tool published by James A. Chambers. To run a benchmark test, simply run the following command.

sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TheRemote/PiBenchmarks/master/Storage.sh | Sudo bash

Firstly, the measurement results of “SUNEAST ULTIMATE PRO 64GB” microSD card are as follows.

SUNEAST ULTIMATE PRO 64GBHDParm Disk Read 90.06MB/sHDParm Disk Spool Read 84.92MB/sDD Disk Write 73.9MB/sFIO 4k Random Read 6301 IOPS (25206 KB/s) FIO 4k Random Write 2760 IOPS (11040 KB/s) IOZone 4k Read 28098 KB/s IOZone 4k Write 14015 KB/s IOZone 4k Random Read 20072 KB/s IOZone 4k Random Write 13969 KB/s ス コ ア 3905

Below are the benchmark results for “Solidigm P41 Plus 512GB”. All items record values ​​significantly faster than microSD cards.

TestSolidigm P41 Plus 512GBHDParm Disk Read 436.50MB/s HDParm Disk Spool Read 433.61MB/sDD Disk Write 254MB/sFIO 4k Random Read 105567 IOPS (422268 KB/s) FIO 4k Random Write 55501 IOPS (222005 KB/s) IOZone 4k read12 4515 KB/sIOZone 4k write 145062 KB/sIOZone 4k random read 68056 KB/sIOZone 4k random write 153531 KB/s Result 33144

The Raspberry Pi 5 officially supports PCIe 2.0, but by adding the line “dtparam=pciex1_gen=3” to “/boot/config.txt”, you can force the connection using PCIe 3.0. I can. Below are the transfer speed benchmark results for the Solidigm P41 Plus 512GB with PCIe 3.0 connection. All items are faster than PCIe 2.0.

Solidigm P41 Plus 512GBHDParm Disk Read 750.34MB/sHDParm Disk Spool Read 737.25MB/sDD Disk Write 355MB/sFIO 4k Random Read 113149 IOPS (452596 KB/s) FIO 4k Random Write 59708 IOPS (238833 KB/s) IOZone 4K Read 153439 KB/sIOZone 4k Write 184383 KB/sIOZone 4k Random Read 74630 KB/sIOZone 4k Random Write 232813 KB/sスコア43776

Since we found that PCIe 3.0 connections allow for faster transfers, we also measured the transfer speeds of the Samsung 950 PRO 256GB and WD Black SN750 with PCIe 3.0 connections, and showed the transfer speeds for four storage types. I tried to sum it up.

SUNEAST ULTIMATE PRO 64GBSolidigm P41 Plus 512GBSamsung 950 PRO 256GBWD Black SN750HDParm Disk Read 90.06MB/s750.34MB/s681.17MB/s847.31MB/sHDParm Disk Read Temporary84.92MB/s737.2 5MB/s 629.75 MB s827.47MB/sDD Disk Write 73.9MB/s355MB/s371MB/s371MB/sFIO Random Read 4k6301 IOPS (25206 KB/s) 113149 IOPS (452596 KB/s) 172100 IOPS (688403 KB/s ) 96603 IOPS (386415 KB/s) FIO 4k Random Write 2760 IOPS (11040 KB/s) 59708 IOPS (238833 KB/s) 59362 IOPS (237449 KB/s) 59708 IOPS (238833 KB/s) IOZone 4k read 28098 KB/s15 3439 KB/s185135 KB/s177499 KB/sIOZone 4k write14015 KB/s184383 KB/s134749 KB/s169424 KB/sIOZone 4k random read 20072 KB/s74630 KB/s50434 KB/s53822 KB/sIOZone 4k write Random 1396 9 KB/s232813 KB/s149835 KB/s219808 KB/sスコア3905437763681841236

Below is a chart with the units set to “MB/s”. Click on the chart to see a larger image. Speeds vary depending on the type of SSD, but all SSDs were able to transfer data significantly faster than microSD cards.

◆Please tell us what you would like us to review about “Raspberry Pi 5”!

Please use the link below to let us know which ones you'd like us to try because you're already using them, such as “Try what happens when you do this!”, “Can you do this?”, “What happens in this?” Attitude?” It's okay if your content overlaps with someone else's content, but the more you have, the more useful it will be because you'll be able to see that this is what you're concerned about. This will be reflected in the creation of your next review article!

• Discord | “The Raspberry Pi 5 has made it to GIGAZINE's editorial section, so I'll be reviewing it, but what do you want to know?” | gigazin