Stuart Henderson wrote:
On 2009-08-19, Jeff Ross <jr...@openvistas.net> wrote:
Marco Peereboom wrote:
ZCR is marketing fluff. It ads nothing.
On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 04:42:10PM -0600, Jeff Ross wrote:
Hi,
I'm due to take delivery tomorrow of a new-to-me SuperMicro 2U server
with the X5DPA-8GG motherboard. Onboard is an Adaptec AIC-7902 U320 SCSI
controller but it also has a ZCR slot. I'd intended to just use the
disks as sd0 - sd5, but now I also see on the fleabay that I can get an
LSI MegaRAID SCSI 320-0X card for $40.
Is there a huge downside to the ZCR card? Docs say that it adds RAID to
the motherboard based SCSI, and that card is listed under the ami group.
However, the LSI docs also say it adds RAID to "a system motherboard
that has the LSI Logic 53C1020 or 53C1030 SCSI chip." and I see no
mention of those chips in the SuperMicro motherboard manual.
Yeah, it doesn't work for starters. It basically is software raid so
you need driver assist. Don't fall in this marketing trap.
Anybody know if this will work? Even if it does work, is the ZCR raid
worth having? Based on my previous experience with MegaRAID cards, I
know I'll need a BBU to get any performance at all so the card isn't
really $40 but it is still within budget.
The LSI U320 card beats the pants of Adaptec but not when used in zero
channel.
Thanks as always,
Jeff
Thanks, Marco!
As always, exactly what I needed to hear. I've seen some real LSI U320 cards
on the fleabay at around $100 so I'll just hold out for the real deal.
look carefully at the orientation of the scsi connectors.
there are 320-1 and 320-1LP. both of these are low-profile form factor,
but 320-1 has scsi connectors pointing upwards, 320-1LP has them at
90 degrees. some if not all of the 2U supermicro chassis need that one.
also you probably need to replace the cable. (/me imagines marco is
now wincing at the mention of cables for internal connectors...)
Thanks for the tip, Stuart. And I learned my lesson about cheap scsi cables a
while back :-)
Jeff
