Compression Function Testing
For compression function testing:
Compression is available per volume.
Lightbits can support a compression ratio of up to 4:1. Our TCO models target a 2:1 compression ratio.
Lightbits uses LZ4 and we compress every 4KB block independently. LZ4 is a well known algorithm, which has a good balance between compression ratio and performance (compression speed/decompression speed).
Test Case
Create two new volumes: one with compression=true and one with compression=false.
Use FIO to perform random write operations on the two new volumes on the client server.
From the Lightbits cluster, check the ratio of capacity and physical use of the newly created volume, and calculate the compression ratio.
Record the performance data of the client server performing IO on two different disks, and compare the performance differences.
To do this, first run a quick cleanup process to delete previously used volumes (to start fresh):
From the client server, disconnect previously used SSD devices. Note that this is not mandatory; it’s only to see a clean and fresh process.
After the disconnection, no old SSD devices will be attached.
Delete volumes from the Lightbits cluster, until you have no volumes:
Example
lbcli delete volume --name=1vol --project-name=default
Repeat this command until you have no volumes retrieved on the Lightbits cluster.
Create two new volumes: 1 with compression=true and 1 with compression=false.
No compression:
With compression:
Check that the volumes are created:
Sample Output
From the client server, connect to the newly-created volumes and check that the new 30 Gib SSD (compressed) and 50 Gib SSD (not compressed) are attached, with lsblk:
Get and copy cluster NQN:
Sample Output
Connect to the volume to attach the SSD device to the client (this can be executed with a simple ‘for’ loop as well.)
Check that the volumes are mapped:
Sample Output
Use FIO to perform random write operations on the two new volumes on the client server.
Create a file named job-file:
Paste the contents of the following code snippet into the file:
Run FIO Jobs:
Check the size of the volumes on the Lightbits node:
You should see that the volume with compression has less physical space used than the volume without compression.
© 2026 Lightbits Labs™