On Wed, 17 Mar 1999, Bill Carlson wrote:
> On Fri, 12 Mar 1999, Josh Fishman wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > We're considering buying a RAID controller from DPT. The techie we
> > spoke with there says they will be releasing a Linux driver on Monday
> > for the V series (their new controllers). Does anyone here have
> > experience with this driver? (beta test or what have you.)
> >
> > Are their drivers typically Open Source(R)? All I've heard about them
> > in the past has been pretty good.
> >
> > Does anyone have a reason why we might hesitate in purchasing one
> > of these controllers?
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Josh Fishman
> > NYU / RLab
> >
> I purchased one of the PM3334UW for a Netware server and was very unhappy
> with it and DPT.
>
> 1) You have to use DPT Hot Swap bays or cabinets in order to be able to
> autosync an array (i.e. put in a new drive and the rebuild starts by
> itself)
Of course. There has to be a clear indication of insertation and
removal, either via a smart chassis or a manual process.
> 2) The management piece for Netware was pathetic, it required a
> DOS/Windows station to run (meaning no array functions from the server).
Considering that most Netware servers are headless and remotely
administered, I don't see this being a problem.
> 3) As far as I know, the linux driver is "unsupported" and does not
> include a management piece, requiring one to boot DOS to rebuild the
> array. One nice "feature" was that the once the array starts rebuilding,
> it keeps going indepentant of the OS. I seem to remember there was work
> being done on the management functions under linux, but it was still a
> third party effort that was tolerated by DPT.
First of all, how many drivers are "supported"? Any by whose
definition? According to the Redhat hardware guide, they claim lots of
hardware as being "unsuported", which just means that they don't support
it.
The new DPT firmware, which can be flashed onto your card, includes a
Storage Manager in ROM. No need to run DOS anymore.
The SCO version of the Storage Manager is supposed to work under Linux.
> 4) email conversations with DPT were not very responsive and generally
> unimpressive.
Never had that problem. We had a DOA card, which was quickly replaced.
DPT provided lots of helpful cabling advice.
> I'd look at ICP/Vortex if I were you. Sounds like a lot of people are
> happy with those cards.
>
>
> Bill Carlson | Opinions expressed are my own
> KINZE Manufacturing, Inc. | not my employer's.
>
>
>
Tom
