[CentOS] Installing on Abit BE7-RAID -- more FRAID (100% software)

[Todd Cary]

Here is the link to HighPoint: 
http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA/bios_rr133.htm

My board is a Abit BE7-RAID.

Todd

Bryan J. Smith wrote:

>On Thu, 2005-09-08 at 19:26 -0700, Todd Cary wrote:
>  
>
>>I have RH 8 running on a Abit BE7-RAID motherboard.  My task is 
>>installing Centos 4.1 with limited knowledge on installing with hardware 
>>RAID.
>>    
>>
>
>It is _not_ hardware RAID, but FRAID (i.e., 100% software).
>
>  
>
>>The arrays are still in place for the two pairs of drives.
>>    
>>
>
>Understand by "array" you are talking about "regular looking ATA drives"
>that have a specific disk organization the FRAID (100% software) driver
>can understand.
>
>You either need to load an equivalent software driver under Linux (which
>may or may not be possible), or use the newer kernel 2.6 LVM2-DM (Device
>Mapper) which now has some FRAID meta-data support.  I've found both to
>be largely _broken_ and untrustworthy in general, but I'm hopeful for
>the latter in the future.
>
>  
>
>>HighPoint only shows drivers up through RH 9.
>>    
>>
>
>Correct, because the vendor has produced 100% proprietary, binary-only
>modules for _specific_ kernel versions.  There is no GPL driver, there
>is _no_ general, linkable driver (AFAICT).  FRAID has always suffered,
>and will always suffer, from the fact that 100% of the RAID logic is in
>the software, and that software is almost always licensed from a 3rd
>party and proprietary.
>
>The Device Mapper approach is interesting though.  Instead of relying on
>the vendor's proprietary driver/logic, it can read the meta-data and use
>the generic software RAID built in the Linux kernel -- by-passing any
>need for the proprietary FRAID software/logic.
>
>  
>
>>Is there anyone who can take me through the steps?  Remove the existing 
>>arrays?  Will the drivers work with Centos 4.1? 
>>    
>>
>
>The drivers won't even work on Fedora Core and even some newer Red Hat
>Linux kernel updates.
>
>  
>
>>Since I used Windows to download the HighPoint tar file for RH 9,
>>I am not what I should do with it.
>>    
>>
>
>Can you send me a link?  I'd be interested in knowing what they offer.
>
>
>  
>

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