On Feb 6, 2005, at 8:45 AM, Bill Roberts wrote:
3Ware is a brand of hardware I have seen recommended for Linux, but I have not used it myself. I am running software RAID0 on an Intel D865 board with two 74G Raptor SATA drives. The speed (and quietness) is absolutely phenomenonal. I backup my drives to get the redundancy I need, I don't really need the 24/7, always on, uptime of a serious website.
I have several systems running Gentoo with 3ware controllers with all levels of RAID (1, 5, 10) and they work like a dream. when you boot the Gentoo LiveCD, simply type:
modprobe 3w-xxxx
will load the 3ware driver kernel module and detect the controller(s) you have installed in your system.
further, there is a daemon called "3dmd" that you can run to manage the RAID controller. it'll do background media checks, send you e-mail when a drive fails or has an ECC error, and let you manage your array(s) through a nice web interface.
expect to pay out the $$ though - a vanilla 4-port SATA controller from 3ware is currently running about $280. and it just goes up from there, to 12-port multilane cards with battery backup units.
I have never used software RAID myself, but I hear good things similar to what Bill wrote above. the nice thing about software RAID is that if your motherboard blows, you can take the drives and stick them in a different machine.
Important note along those lines: drives in an array created on a 3ware controller MUST be connected to a 3ware controller in order to be read properly. you can't take a drive out of a 3ware RAID-1 and connect it to the on-board motherboard controller and expect it to work.
there was a very extensive discussion on hardware vs. software RAID on Slashdot.org a while ago. you can probably find it by searching - if you have the time to read the entire board :)
and, hello Gentoo server list! I'm looking forward to participating!
cheers,
- Jared
