Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 20:20:17 +0930 From: Matt Thyer <matt.thyer@gmail.com> To: Jeremy Chadwick <freebsd@jdc.parodius.com> Cc: stable@freebsd.org, TJ Varghese <tj@tjvarghese.com> Subject: Re: PCIe SATA HBA for ZFS on -STABLE Message-ID: <BANLkTinOUBi32zaCKGZ_s0AvB6JwAxpv2Q@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <20110601080706.GA18521@icarus.home.lan> References: <BANLkTimmjrhnO9fAnFW_HmW%2BVQTrvMYYiA@mail.gmail.com> <BANLkTim-0X%2Ba9THZvuTXoRqCKn6didfErQ@mail.gmail.com> <BANLkTik5Ukoy0-nMv_T0AEFTKk1azFqqxQ@mail.gmail.com> <20110601080706.GA18521@icarus.home.lan>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On 1 June 2011 17:37, Jeremy Chadwick <freebsd@jdc.parodius.com> wrote: > On Wed, Jun 01, 2011 at 02:34:55PM +0800, TJ Varghese wrote: > > On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 10:31 PM, Freddie Cash <fjwcash@gmail.com> > wrote: > [snip] > > > SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i works exceptionally well. These are 8-port > HBAs > > > using the LSI1068 chipset, supported by the mpt(4) driver. Support 3 > Gpbs > > > SATA/SAS, using multi-lane cables (2 connectors on the card, each > connector > > > supports 4 SATA ports), hot-plug, hot-swap. > > > > > > > > The USAS2 (6Gbps) is supported by the mps driver (on -CURRENT, not sure > if > > it's in 8-STABLE yet). Perhaps you're referring to the earlier USAS which > > does 3Gbps and is supported by the mpt driver. > > Folks considering use of mps(4), which was committed to RELENG_8 roughly > around 2011/02/18 (thus is not in 8.2-RELEASE), should read the below > threads just in case. Always good to be educated. Of course, the > mailing lists are usually filled with complaints rather than success > stories, so the tone of my mail here will therefore sound negative; I > don't mean it that way, I just ask that people "be aware". > > * 2011/04/29 -- mps driver instability under stable/8 > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2011-April/thread.html#62507 > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2011-May/thread.html#62518 > > * 2011/04/27 -- MPS driver: force bus rescan after remove SAS cable > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2011-April/thread.html#62438 > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2011-April/thread.html#62443 > > * 2011/03/10 -- LSI SAS2008 performance with mps(4) driver > > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2011-March/thread.html#61862 > Those threads assure me that the SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i with version 9 firmware and the mps(4) driver work very well as long as I'm running FreeBSD 9-CURRENT or 8-STABLE (not 8.2-RELEASE). As I'm running -STABLE I'm quite happy to give it a go. To the OP (Matt Thyer): > > Sadly I don't have a recommendation for you, since you effectively want > a 6-port SATA300 controller that's reliable, you're almost certainly > going to be paying Big Bucks(tm) given the number of ports and your > requirement that it be PCIe-based. You state quite boldly "not wanting > to break the bank", but what you're asking for almost certainly WILL > break the bank. > Jeremy, I think you need to have another look at current prices. I have now bought a SuperMicro AOC-USAS2-L8i on EBay from bakamuzko with the cables I need for only $US 210.99 (I do know about the UIO bracket). For example, an "affordable" controller might be one driven by Silicon > Image's SiI3124 chip -- four (4) SATA300 ports, but it's only hooked to > PCI or PCI-X, not PCIe, which means you're susceptible to a much more > severe bus bottleneck than with PCIe: > I defintely would not consider PCI for part of a ZFS array with 4 drives on that one controller. <http://www.siliconimage.com/products/family.aspx?id=3> > I tend to avoid consumer-grade Marvell and JMicron SATA chipsets like > the plague, however. That's based on my experiences with them under > Windows, where I would expect (truly) the drivers to be rock solid given > the marketing demographic of the chips in question. > I've had the same bad experiences. Good luck, and please let us know what controller you *do* end up going > with and your experience with it! Positives are as important as > negatives. > I'll let you know how it works out.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?BANLkTinOUBi32zaCKGZ_s0AvB6JwAxpv2Q>