I already asked some of these questions some time ago, but got zero replies. So I'll try to widen the audience. However, I'm not subscribed to port-i386.
I must enlarge the storage capacity of our file server. This means updating from SCA to SAS and fron PCI-X to PCIe, so, new hardware. The current file server runs under NetBSD 4.0.1/amd64, and I'd like to run the new one under NetBSD, too (probably 5.1) although already having been asked why the hell we're not using Windo^WLinux like everybody else does. I'm not personally after buying only the most recent hardware, but it seems virtually impossible to buy non-recent one. So, are there any recommendations for current Opteron motherboards with good NetBSD support? My main concern is SAS. It looks like there's no support for any SAS-2 controller yet, only for the (SAS-1) LSI 1068. This sounds strange. What does wasabi use in their storage products? We don't need any RAID functionality because RAIDframe works well for us. Some SAS backplanes we may end up using include port expander chips. Does mpt(4) support those? What about current LAN controllers like the Intel 82576? Any other points to keep in mind? Thanks for any answers. I would loathe to have to run this box under Linux.
