Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 20:16:39 -0400 (EDT) From: John Wilson <jmw-ny@panix.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: In regard to SATA controllers. Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.0705161950430.12252@panix1.panix.com>
next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Hello, folks. I am currently running 6.2-stable on an Intel D965OT mainboard. I've 4 320gb drives, the first being the boot and system drive, the other 3 are running in a raid 3 setup via geom_raid3. All is running well enough. However, I would like to expand my capacity, but this will then saturate the available SATA ports on the mainboard, which means I now have to look for a new controller. On the "high end" of things (at least for me and my intended application), I've been looking at the HighPoint 2320 PCI Express card. True hardware RAID and native support via. the rr232x driver seems like a nice match. However, in the event of a controller failure, I'm pretty much screwed unless I have a spare controller on hand. Not to mention that if this controller is not made any longer at the time of failure, well, I don't really know what my options would be at that point. Perhaps this is the bane of RAID controllers in general. Then again, my experience level in this sort of application is about nil. On the flip side, since I've had good luck using the geom architecture for RAID 3, my other option would be a regular controller and keeping with the software RAID setup. At least in this instance, if the controller goes south, I can just swap it out with another, and continue on without much hassle. However, in this instance, I would need a few suggestions as to which controller would be best. I've been looking at a few of the lower end HighPoint "software" RAID controllers as well, such as the HighPoint 2310. I'm uncertain if there is native support for this controller. I do understand that HighPoint does indeed have drivers available for FreeBSD, but if they are binary modules, I'd almost want to stay away from it. I'd much prefer either native drivers or manufacturer drivers in source form. However, failing the above cases, would it be possible to just run this card as a simple SATA controller and continue using geom_raid3? This particular card uses a Marvell controller, so I would guess that it would be detected by FreeBSD without issue. If someone could confirm this, it would be much appreciated. The function of the machine is simple. It's a home NAS for 3 other machines, but also does other light duties as well, so ultimate performance isn't really that much of an issue. As things are now, utilizing geom_raid3, the performance is rather good. Thanks for your time, John Wilson.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.NEB.4.64.0705161950430.12252>