Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 21:24:07 -0800 (PST) From: wellsian <wellsian@caffeine.com> To: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> Cc: "Kim J. Brand" <kim@simple-mail.com>, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: RAID 1 Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0002042102140.94611-100000@boris.netgate.net> In-Reply-To: <20000205123943.B9737@freebie.lemis.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
We spent lots of time researching RAID solutions. It isn't too difficult to come up with _something_, but the bottom line is that most of the things out there are made for Windows, including new motherboard raid options. Unless some kind soul developer has taken a product line under their wing and decided to create support then you're working on the edge and this violates most goals I'm aware of that call for RAID in the first place. You can figure out vinum and make a beautiful system but when there's a failure it's going to be you back at the console fixing things. If you want something you can install and get away from then investigate SCSI<->SCSI solutions. To the computer and OS they present whatever picture you want of the disks under their control, and they looks like disks. No special support necessary. They'll cost more initially and may not match the best performance you can get from a local vinum raid, but service is almost trivial and support is available. The best ones? Can't say, but there are quite a few. Just to be sure we're talking about the same things, here's one from Mylex: ftp://ftp.mylex.com/pub/prodinfo/dacsx/dacsx.pdf There are also FC<->SCSI versions, and some even allow you to connect multiple hosts to the array. Shop around. Oh, be careful of the versions that are SCSI cards. These can be tricky to restore or control as the controlling/monitoring software is (once again) Windows based. Sad state of affairs... Stick with a nice supported SCSI card and an external (to your SCSI card) RAID controller. Dave On Sat, 5 Feb 2000, Greg Lehey wrote: > On Friday, 4 February 2000 at 7:55:22 -0500, Kim J. Brand wrote: > > i'm trying to build a small server for a client moving up from a WIN95 server. > > > > all the offerings i've found on FreeBSD vendor sites are for way too much > > system. this system only has to run samba and act like a dumb file server. > > > > the only thing that makes this the least bit unusual is that its for a > > cemetery and the reliability must be VERY HIGH. therefore i'm interested > > in using RAID 1. > > > > i've found a motherboard/RAID controller combination at the right price > > point: SuperMicro P6SBU which includes an Adaptec RaidPort III interface > > that i would use with their ARO-1130CA RAID controller. This combination > > should allow me to package a system for under $3500...at this price i think > > i can sell a few dozen systems. > > Is this a SCSI-SCSI RAID or a native RAID controller? In the latter > case, I don't think we support it. > > > in addition, (if you're still reading ;)) i'd like to put some kind > > of CD-RW on this package for making backups. the cost of a CD is > > small relative to the security of knowing that if the system melts > > down they can take the CD to any WIN95 desktop and keep working > > until i get them a new machine. > > > > i'd appreciate any help you can provide, > > You don't seem to have mentioned a problem. > > > (willing to pay for advice too.) > > Well, here's some free advice: check out vinum (man -a vinum, > http://www.lemis.com/vinum.html). You could save yourself a lot of > money. > > Greg To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.BSF.4.21.0002042102140.94611-100000>