Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 15:21:42 -0400 From: Charles Swiger <cswiger@mac.com> To: Danny Howard <dannyman@toldme.com> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Recomendations for FC-attached storage appliance? Message-ID: <1D8C5C86-C719-4052-A7E5-E16E0C4B2524@mac.com> In-Reply-To: <20050921181237.GI65449@ratchet.nebcorp.com> References: <20050921181237.GI65449@ratchet.nebcorp.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Sep 21, 2005, at 2:12 PM, Danny Howard wrote: > 1) Would anyone like to share a preferred storage solution? My > dream is > something where I can connect two FC controllers to two FreeBSD > servers. > If one controller fails, or if one server fails, I can still mount the > same disks via the redundant server or controller. > > It sounds like most solutions have the disks on one controller or the > other, so if a controller fails, the disks are inaccessible until you > swap out the failed controller. The Apple Xserve RAID comes to mind. > The Xserve RAID does indeed have two separate controllers, each attached to a separate 2GB SBF port, and thus is a single point of failure. On the other hand, having a dedicated channel for each drive rather than hooking them all into the FC mesh is a heck of a lot less expensive than providing completely redundant controllers, dual-loop connections for each storage device, etc, etc. You get what you pay for. If need be, have one set of 7 drives configured as a complete warm backup for the second set of 7 drives, which you can do using higher level software (like the ADIC StorEdge filesystem stuff Apple recommends). It may be the case that you'd be happier with a NAS solution from Auspex, NetApp, etc, rather than trying to roll your own SAN... > 2) Would anyone like to share a preferred HBA? I am constantly > frustrated by suggested solutions because it seems that every disk > appliance only ever supports one HBA. For example, the Apple ... only > supports LSI7202XP. My research has found zero evidence that this is > supported by FreeBSD. So, if that wont work, I should just run Linux? > Or has someone stress-tested their favorite HBA and found it to be > totally robust in some configuration ... ? > FreeBSD has driver support described in isp (Qlogic 2100, 2200, 2300) and mpt (LSI FC909, 919, 929). I believe the LSI7202XP dual-port PCIX card uses the FC929X controller chip, so FreeBSD ought to support that HBA. -- -Chuck
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?1D8C5C86-C719-4052-A7E5-E16E0C4B2524>