What is IOPS?

Introduction

IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) is a standard metric that shows how many input/output operations a storage device can perform in one second.

This metric is used to evaluate the performance of storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). In the context of web hosting, virtual servers (VDS), and dedicated servers, IOPS directly affects data access speed and the overall performance of the system.

A single input/output operation usually represents reading or writing a block of data. The higher the IOPS, the faster the drive processes requests from applications and users.

Importance

On servers, IOPS determines how quickly the system can read and write data. This is especially important for high-load applications: large databases, corporate websites, analytics systems, and other services where constant disk access is the norm.

Impact on IOPS

Several key factors influence the IOPS value:

• Disk speed. As a rule, SSD drives deliver much higher IOPS compared to HDDs, which is why systems running on SSD and NVMe respond to requests noticeably faster.

• Data block size. The larger the block size, the more time is required to process a single operation. This can reduce IOPS, although the volume of data transferred per operation increases.
• Command queue. The command queue depth (the number of operations waiting to be processed) also affects IOPS. When configured correctly, the queue helps the drive distribute the load more efficiently.

In summary, IOPS is one of the key performance indicators for storage systems. It directly impacts application response time, service stability, and user experience across all types of servers—from virtual to dedicated.