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Date:      Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:27:38 -0500
From:      Pete <pete-freebsd-questions@toscano.org>
To:        Chuck Swiger <cswiger@mac.com>
Cc:        freebsd Questions <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject:   Re: Difference between Vinum and atacontrol RAID?
Message-ID:  <20030311032738.GB1912@bubba.toscano.org>
In-Reply-To: <3E6BE734.4040804@mac.com>
References:  <20030309233502.GC1899@bubba.toscano.org> <3E6BE734.4040804@mac.com>

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On Sun, 09 Mar 2003, Chuck Swiger wrote:

> The ATA RAID support via atacontrol apparently requires hardware RAID
> controllers like the Promise or Highpoint devices.  

I don't think this is right.  The RAID-1 volume I'm using right now is
with two drives attached to a non-RAID card with a Promise chipset.  I
also get the impression -- though can't test it right now -- that the
atacrontrol-based RAID will work across cards.  Anyone know for sure
about this?

> Hardware based RAID is likely to be faster, particularly in the case
> of parity calculations for RAID-5.  (Not that many IDE controllers can
> do RAID-5, but...)

It would be, but the RAID on the Promise and Highpoint devices is not
true hardware RAID.  It's just software RAID with the drivers moved over
to an EPROM on the card.  I know from my own experience and that of
other people that the Linux software RAID outperforms the "hardware"
RAID of these devices.  I'm willing to bet that the FreeBSD RAID at
least comes close, if not betters the Linux performance.

Thanks,
pete

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