Aaron Spink (aaronspink@notearthlink.net) on 1/20/11 wrote:
>
>Well data indicates that the Intel drives benefit from trim and the same goes for
>the Samsung and Marvell controllers.

Actually, no such data exists.

Yes, there is data that says that it's a benefit to TRIM
a drive when you rewrite it completely, but that is
totally different from saying that there is a benefit from
using trim as you actually use the filesystem.

So here's the deal: right now the only reasonably safe
time to use TRIM is actually when you re-partition a drive,
and before creating new filesystems on it. At that point,
there is absolutely no downside to trim. In fact, even if
the trim destroys the drive due to bad firmware at that
point, it's all just upside: you learnt that your drive is
a piece of sh*t, but you learnt it before you put real
data on it.

So by all means, TRIM your drive at those kinds of points,
when all the data is completely thrown away.

But on a live filesystem, while it's being used? Not at
all obvious that you should do it.

I started the whole thread by saying that TRIM is likely
best done as an off-line thing, akin to the old-style
"defrag" programs that people used to run.

Think about that approach a bit before going all TRIM
happy. Ok?

Linus