How do I determine whether a backup performance issue is caused by the client or the Media Agent?

Check the job details in Command Center and examine the throughput breakdown. If the read category shows a high percentage, the bottleneck is likely on the client's disk infrastructure. If the write category percentage is high, the issue is probably with the Media Agent or library disk infrastructure.

What are the default settings for CVDiskPerf and when should I customize them?

Default settings include 64KB block size, 16384 block count, 6 file count, 6 thread count, and random I/O operations. These defaults are optimized for Commvault workloads and work for most scenarios. Customize only when you need to match specific storage configurations or test sequential versus random I/O patterns.

Identifying Disk Bottlenecks with CVDiskPerf

Name: Identifying Disk Bottlenecks with CVDiskPerf
Uploaded: 2026-03-20T17:03:16-04:00
Duration: 3 min 18 s
Description: TL;DR Use Commvault Command Center job details to analyze throughput performance across read, write, DDB, and network categories to identify where bottlenecks originate in your backup environment. High read percentages in job metrics indicate client-si...

Commvault

03/20/2026

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Transcript

Occasionally, you may encounter a scenario where environmental factors are creating a bottleneck, causing data protection operations to perform sub-optimally. Commvault has made it easy to identify these bottlenecks, test performance and identify steps that can be taken to optimise your environment. From the command centre, you can view the job details of any running job or any previously run job from the job history. The job details pane will give the details of the average throughput performance of the job. It will break down the throughput into read, write, DDB and network categories. This breakdown is useful for locating where the potential bottleneck may be, allowing you to investigate further. If the job details view is showing a slow throughput, with a high percentage for the read category, it is likely that the bottleneck is on the client's disk infrastructure. If the percentage is high for the write category, it is likely that the bottleneck is within the media agent or library disk infrastructure. Commvault provides a tool on any device where Commvault software is installed that allows you to check disk performance. If you are investigating poor read performance, you should run this tool on your client. If you are investigating poor write performance, you should run the tool on your media agent. cvdiskperf.exe should be launched from the command line. It is located in the base folder of the Commvault installation directory. A number of flags can be used with the cvdiskperf application to customise the test to your requirements. The required flag, path, specifies the location you wish to check. This can be a local path or a network share. With this flag specified alone, you can run the test with all the default options. The default values are optimised for Commvault processes and will provide the most relevant tests. There are a number of additional options, however, that can be used to customise the tests if required. You can use the minus sequential flag to perform sequential read and write operations. The default is to use random. You can use the minus out file flag to specify a text file to output the test results. You can adjust the block size with the minus block size flag. The default is 64KB. You can adjust the block count with the minus block count flag. The default is 16384. You can adjust the file count with the minus file count flag and thread count with the minus thread count flag. The default for these is 6. You can use minus username, minus password and minus domain flags to perform user impersonation when accessing the file path for tests. If these are not specified, the application user credentials are used. With the values entered, allow the test to run. Once complete, you are presented with detailed test results showing the amount of data processed, the time taken for each test and a calculated performance in GB per hour for each test. With CV Disk Perf in your toolbox, you can help ensure your environment is running optimally.

TL;DR

Use Commvault Command Center job details to analyze throughput performance across read, write, DDB, and network categories to identify where bottlenecks originate in your backup environment.
High read percentages in job metrics indicate client-side disk issues, while high write percentages point to Media Agent or storage infrastructure problems requiring investigation.
Run CVDiskPerf on the client system for read performance issues or on the Media Agent for write performance issues to validate disk infrastructure with Commvault-optimized workloads.

This tutorial provides a practical guide to diagnosing and resolving disk performance bottlenecks that impact Commvault backup and recovery operations. Environmental factors such as slow storage infrastructure can cause data protection jobs to run sub-optimally, and Commvault includes built-in tools to help administrators identify and address these issues efficiently. The video begins by explaining how to use the Command Center to view job details for both running and historical jobs, where administrators can analyze average throughput performance broken down into four categories: read, write, DDB, and network. This categorization is essential for pinpointing where bottlenecks originate—high read percentages typically indicate client-side disk infrastructure problems, while high write percentages suggest issues with the Media Agent or library storage systems. The core of the tutorial focuses on CVDiskPerf, a command-line utility included with every Commvault installation that validates disk performance using workloads optimized for Commvault processes. Administrators learn that the tool should be run on the client system when investigating read performance issues and on the Media Agent when troubleshooting write performance problems. The video covers the tool's location in the Commvault base installation directory and demonstrates both default and customized test configurations. Key customization options include specifying local or network paths, adjusting block size from the default 64KB, modifying block and file counts, changing thread counts, switching between random and sequential I/O operations, and using credential impersonation for network share access. Test results provide detailed metrics including data processed, time elapsed, and calculated throughput in GB per hour, giving administrators actionable data for storage optimization decisions.

Chapters

0:00 - Understanding Performance Bottlenecks
0:19 - Analyzing Job Throughput Metrics
1:02 - Introduction to CVDiskPerf
1:27 - Customizing Test Parameters
2:51 - Running Tests and Interpreting Results

Key Quotes

0:11 "Commvault has made it easy to identify these bottlenecks, test performance and identify steps that can be taken to optimise your environment."
1:46 "The default values are optimised for Commvault processes and will provide the most relevant tests."
3:06 "With CV Disk Perf in your toolbox, you can help ensure your environment is running optimally."

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