Re: [zfs-discuss] LSAI SAS SATA card and MB comptability questions?

2008-06-17 Thread Aaron Moore
Thanks for your reply. I did go ahead and get the LSI based sata system. I will 
be putting the machine together along with my first ever open solaris system 
this coming week so I'm sure I'll be poking my head in here a lot!

I really apprecaite your quick response!
 
 
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Re: [zfs-discuss] LSAI SAS SATA card and MB comptability questions?

2008-06-16 Thread Brandon High
On Mon, Jun 16, 2008 at 6:09 PM, Aaron Moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> For the drives I am looking at using a LSI SAS3081E-R

The only snag that you might run into is the cable that comes with the
card. The cables included with the 3081 go from mini-SAS (sff-8087) to
SAS with power. If you're using a hot swap back plane, they may not
work. You can get the right cables for about $50, but that adds to the
cost. Adaptec's part # is "ACK-I-mSASx4-4SATAx1-SB-0.5m R" for the
0.5m cable.

We're in the middle of moving, so no big purchases for a bit but
Here's the system that I'm planning on building once I get a chance:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=7739092
I'd appreciate any constructive comments. The hot swap bays are all
for a zfs storage pool, and the CF -> IDE adapter will hold mirrored
CF cards for the boot volume. Yes, I'm planning to build a 10TB raidz2
server for home.

> I've been reading around and it sounds like LSI solutions work well in terms 
> of compatability with solaris. Could someone help me verify this?

I asked the same question last week, James McPherson replied:
> That card is very similar to ones sold by Sun. It should
> work fine out of the box with the mpt(7D) driver.

> Or are there any alternate cards I should be looking at?

The 3041E-R which is a little cheaper but only 4 ports. It won't give
you the density you want on but it uses standard SAS/SATA ports on the
card which is kinda nice.

Areca cards are also supported under Solaris, but cost a bit more.
Something like the ARC-1220 or ARC-1222 would work, both are ~ $450.
The ARC-1230 is a 12 port card, but weighs in around $700.

> I'm looking at having a max of 12 HDs so I'd use this card in conjunction 
> with another 2 or 4 port card.

Get a motherboard with AHCI support and 6 SATA ports combined with an
8 port card. Boom, done.

> My other option is to get 3 PCI or PCIE based 4 port cards which I am open 
> to. I'm just trying to keep the cost low.

I don't know of an inexpensive 4 port PCIe card, and PCI will easily
be saturated by one drive, let alone 4. If you don't care, then the
Supermicro 8-port card is a steal.

-B

-- 
Brandon High [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The good is the enemy of the best." - Nietzsche
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Re: [zfs-discuss] LSAI SAS SATA card and MB comptability questions?

2008-06-16 Thread James C. McPherson
Aaron Moore wrote:
> I am new to open solaris and am trying to setup a ZFS based storage
> solution.
> 
> I am looking at setting up a system with the following specs:
> 
> Intel BOXDG33FBC Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz 2 or 4 GB ram
> 
> For the drives I am looking at using a LSI SAS3081E-R
> 
> I've been reading around and it sounds like LSI solutions work well in
> terms of compatability with solaris. Could someone help me verify this?
> 
> Or are there any alternate cards I should be looking at?
> 
> I'm looking at having a max of 12 HDs so I'd use this card in conjunction
> with another 2 or 4 port card.
> 
> My other option is to get 3 PCI or PCIE based 4 port cards which I am
> open to. I'm just trying to keep the cost low.

In general, LSI cards based on the 1064 or 1068 chips should
work out of the box with the Sun-supplied mpt(7d) driver.

I think your motherboard and cpu choice are fine, and I encourage
you to stuff as much ram as possible onto the board ;)


James C. McPherson
--
Senior Kernel Software Engineer, Solaris
Sun Microsystems
http://blogs.sun.com/jmcp   http://www.jmcp.homeunix.com/blog
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[zfs-discuss] LSAI SAS SATA card and MB comptability questions?

2008-06-16 Thread Aaron Moore
Hello,

I am new to open solaris and am trying to setup a ZFS based storage solution.

I am looking at setting up a system with the following specs:

Intel BOXDG33FBC 
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz
2 or 4 GB ram

For the drives I am looking at using a 
LSI SAS3081E-R 

I've been reading around and it sounds like LSI solutions work well in terms of 
compatability with solaris. Could someone help me verify this?

Or are there any alternate cards I should be looking at?

I'm looking at having a max of 12 HDs so I'd use this card in conjunction with 
another 2 or 4 port card.

My other option is to get 3 PCI or PCIE based 4 port cards which I am open to. 
I'm just trying to keep the cost low.

Thank you
 
 
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