I'm setting up a server that involves lots of database writing during regular updates, and I have wildly varying results between different machines. I'm trying to find out what I can expect from different machines (and hosting providers) without having to install the entire software stack to measure performance.
I've used hdparm -tT on the disks, but that measures sequential disk access.
Is there an equivalent test that's better for testing database-style random-access reads and writes? Or should I just rely on the manufacturer numbers?