> From: Frank Joerdens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > cost?
> >
> > I got a pile of 4-port 3ware escalade cards for $150 each at
> > www.thelinuxstore.com. That's a pretty steep discount since
> > they promised me a bunch of 2 port cards and then flubbed the
> > order. So you may pay the going rate for them which is about
> > $279...still pretty darned cheap. I've been too lazy to shop
> > around for a better price. Here are some benchmarks I posted
> > a while back. I'll hunt around for the same benchmarks with
> > 4 drives. These cards have made it rather painless for me
> > to have a RAID 1 config with machines that aren't I/O-hungry
> > and RAID 0 configs for those that are. Unlike the software
> > RAID stuff, you don't have to hunt around the planet for
> > patches and tools when you need to upgrade kernels. Current
> > 2.2 and 2.4 kernels come with the 3ware drivers.
>
> Doesn't the same argument apply here as well that was made a while ago
> on this list about the Promise IDE RAID controller cards, namely that
> these devices are not doing any hardware RAID at all, but rather using
> the host CPU to do their parity calculations? I have no idea at this
> point whether this is the case or not, what makes me pause though is
> that 3WARE nowhere makes any claims to do HW RAID. If true, this would
> make these controllers look much less of a great deal, as you're
> basically paying for what you can also get for free with Linux SW RAID.
The cards only support raid 0/1/0+1. I'm not sure I understand
what you mean about "parity calculations."
I have been using software RAID for several years. My problem
with it is that is STILL is not part of the kernel distributions.
As a result, it is a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes.
Finding the proper patches can sometimes be a chore and there
are issues with stability in the newer kernels. That said, I am
certainly glad the software raid tools exist. In some cases,
it is a nice choice. However, with these 3ware cards, I simply
install the card, plug in the drives and configure my array
in their bios screen. The hard work is finished in 5 minutes
and you can then install whatever flavour of linux (or even
windows) that you like. No fuss, no muss. When I consider
what my time is worth, "free" becomes a very relative term.
Best regards,
Chris
--
Chris Mauritz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-raid" in
the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
