4D is a disk-intensive application. Of course data lives on the disk (in the data file) but also consider these important disk related features: indexes; the data log file; sequential operations; and finally, as explained in Technical Note 09-43, The 4D v11 SQL Data File Cache, the cache can make heavy use of the disk as well. This is not an exhaustive list.

It is also generally well understood that magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs) are not terribly fast when compared to flash or RAM. The push of solid state disks (SSDs) into mainstream computing has really brought this to light. However the affordability of mainstream SSDs brings the unique advantage of not only pointing out the HDD as a bottleneck but also providing a solution. Simply replace the HDD with an SSD and all is well, right?

This Technical Note examines the answer to this question from the 4D perspective.

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