Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
On Mon, 19 Nov 2007, Brian Hechinger wrote: On Sun, Nov 18, 2007 at 02:18:21PM +0100, Peter Schuller wrote: Right now I have noticed that LSI has recently began offering some lower-budget stuff; specifically I am looking at the MegaRAID SAS 8208ELP/XLP, which are very reasonably priced. I looked up the 8204XLP, which is really quite expensive compared to the Supermicro MV based card. That being said, for a small 1U box that is only going to have two SATA disks, the Supermicro card is way overkill/overpriced for my needs. Does anyone know if there are any PCI-X cards based on the MV88SX6041? I'm not having much luck finding any. A couple of options: a) the SuperMicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 is an 8-port SATA card available for around $110 IIRC. b) There is also a PCI-X version of the older LSI 4-port (internal) PCI Express SAS3041E card which is still available for around $165 and works well with ZFS (SATA or SAS drives). c) Any card based on the SiliconImage 3124/3132 chips will work. But, ensure you're running an OS with the latest version of the si3124 drivers - or - you can swap out the older drivers using the files from: http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/servlet/JiveServlet/download/80-32437-138083-3390/si3124.tar.gz Note: if these drives are your boot drives, you'll need to do this after booting from a CDROM/DVD disk, otherwise you can unload the driver and swap out the files. Regards, Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007 http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/ Graduate from sugar-coating school? Sorry - I never attended! :) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
On Tue, Nov 20, 2007 at 02:01:34PM -0600, Al Hopper wrote: a) the SuperMicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 is an 8-port SATA card available for around $110 IIRC. Yeah, I'd like to spend a lot less than that, especially as I only need 2 ports. :) b) There is also a PCI-X version of the older LSI 4-port (internal) PCI Express SAS3041E card which is still available for around $165 and works well with ZFS (SATA or SAS drives). I actually just picked up a SAS3080X for my Ultra80 on ebay for $30. I guess I can always scour ebay for something similar. c) Any card based on the SiliconImage 3124/3132 chips will work. But, ensure you're running an OS with the latest version of the si3124 drivers - or - you can swap out the older drivers using the files from: the 3124 looks perfect. The only problem is the only thing I found on ebay was for the 3132, which is PCIe, which doesn't help me. :) I'm not finding anything for 3124 other than the data on silicon image's site. Do you know of any cards I should be looking for that uses this chip? These will be OS disks, and I'm willing to run whichever version is best for this hardware and ZFS (I'm going to try the most recent SXCE once I have all the hardware together). Any recommendations as related to this card? -brian -- Perl can be fast and elegant as much as J2EE can be fast and elegant. In the hands of a skilled artisan, it can and does happen; it's just that most of the shit out there is built by people who'd be better suited to making sure that my burger is cooked thoroughly. -- Jonathan Patschke ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
the 3124 looks perfect. The only problem is the only thing I found on ebay was for the 3132, which is PCIe, which doesn't help me. :) I'm not finding anything for 3124 other than the data on silicon image's site. Do you know of any cards I should be looking for that uses this chip? http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-cards.html There are a couple on there for about $80. Not quite where you want to get I am sure but it is an option. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
On Tue, 20 Nov 2007, Jason P. Warr wrote: the 3124 looks perfect. The only problem is the only thing I found on ebay was for the 3132, which is PCIe, which doesn't help me. :) I'm not finding anything for 3124 other than the data on silicon image's site. Do you know of any cards I should be looking for that uses this chip? http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-cards.html There are a couple on there for about $80. Not quite where you want to get I am sure but it is an option. Yep - I see: http://www.cooldrives.com/saiiraco2esa.html for $60. Regards, Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007 http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/ Graduate from sugar-coating school? Sorry - I never attended! :) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
the 3124 looks perfect. The only problem is the only thing I found on ebay was for the 3132, which is PCIe, which doesn't help me. :) I'm not finding anything for 3124 other than the data on silicon image's site. Do you know of any cards I should be looking for that uses this chip? http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-cards.html There are a couple on there for about $80. Not quite where you want to get I am sure but it is an option. Yep - I see: http://www.cooldrives.com/saiiraco2esa.html for $60. I got a Sil3114 (4 internal ports) off ebay for $AU30 including postage. Didnt look at any PCIe stuff since I'm building up from old parts. Regards, Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007 http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/ Graduate from sugar-coating school? Sorry - I never attended! :) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
On Sun, Nov 18, 2007 at 02:18:21PM +0100, Peter Schuller wrote: Right now I have noticed that LSI has recently began offering some lower-budget stuff; specifically I am looking at the MegaRAID SAS 8208ELP/XLP, which are very reasonably priced. I looked up the 8204XLP, which is really quite expensive compared to the Supermicro MV based card. That being said, for a small 1U box that is only going to have two SATA disks, the Supermicro card is way overkill/overpriced for my needs. Does anyone know if there are any PCI-X cards based on the MV88SX6041? I'm not having much luck finding any. Thanks, -brian -- Perl can be fast and elegant as much as J2EE can be fast and elegant. In the hands of a skilled artisan, it can and does happen; it's just that most of the shit out there is built by people who'd be better suited to making sure that my burger is cooked thoroughly. -- Jonathan Patschke ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
Your best bet is to call Tech Support and not Sales. I've found LSI tech support to be very responsive to individual customers. Thanks. I'll try them. I eventually noticed you could actually get the number to them under the LSI offices category of their find-your-contact web form system which otherwise looked like a re-seller inventory. I recommend the SuperMicro card - but that is PCI-X and I think you're looking for PCI-Express? PCI is okay and nice, PCI-Express is nicer. PCI-X I don't want since it is only semi-compatible with PCI. E.g. the Marvell I have now works in one machine, not in another. works well with ZFS (SATA or SAS drives). The newer cards are less expensive - but its not clear from the LSI website if they support JBOD operation or if you can form a mirror or stripe using only one drive and present it to ZFS as a single drive. I am okay with a one-disk mirror/stripe in the worse case, as long as cache flushes and such get passed through. Would definitely prefer JBOD though since single-disk virtual volumes tend to cause some additional headachages (like having two levels of volumen management). Please let us know what you find out... If I get anything confirmed from LSI I'll post an update. -- / Peter Schuller PGP userID: 0xE9758B7D or 'Peter Schuller [EMAIL PROTECTED]' Key retrieval: Send an E-Mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.scode.org signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] Recommended many-port SATA controllers for budget ZFS
On Fri, 2 Nov 2007, Peter Schuller wrote: snip Does anyone have suggestions on what to choose, that will actually work the way you want it for JBOD use with ZFS? Or avenus of investigation? Is there any chance of a lowly consumer getting any information out of LSI? Is there ^^ Your best bet is to call Tech Support and not Sales. I've found LSI tech support to be very responsive to individual customers. some other manufacturer that provide low-budget stuff that you can get some technical information about? Does anyone have some specific knowledge of a suitable product? I recommend the SuperMicro card - but that is PCI-X and I think you're looking for PCI-Express? I've used the older LSI 4-port (internal) PCI Express SAS3041E card which is still available for around $165 and works well with ZFS (SATA or SAS drives). The newer cards are less expensive - but its not clear from the LSI website if they support JBOD operation or if you can form a mirror or stripe using only one drive and present it to ZFS as a single drive. Please let us know what you find out... Regards, Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007 http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/ Graduate from sugar-coating school? Sorry - I never attended! :) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
