Les Mikesell lesmikesell@gmail.com wrote:
What Linux kernel versions have you used with firewire?
Late 2.4.2x, as well as 2.6.x -- basically RHL9/FC1/RHEL3 and FC3/RHEL4. I do have to rebuild for FireWire support in RHEL4, yes.
The last 2 fedora FC4 updates broke disk access completely.
I ain't touching FC4. ;->
FC3 sort-of works, but when I leave a RAID1 mirror running with an IDE partition and a firewire partition mirrored, within a few hours of activity either the machine will
crash
or the firewire partition will be kicked out of the RAID.
Repeat after me ... ;-> "USB and FireWire should _not_ be used as 24x7 on-line storage"
Despite Apple's prior claims, it has become more apparent than ever that FireWire is _not_ a 24x7 on-line storage solution. Do not use it as such, use it as a temporary, near-line storage solution that you plug-in and use just when you need it. I've learned that hard lesson even on Apple's own XServe platforms.
I haven't tried Centos because you need the unsupported kernel and I didn't have much hope for that being better than any of the fedoras.
I've had no problem with my disks, Digital8 and DV cams, etc... They all work great! But I don't leave the disks or camera connected for a day at a time, I plug-in, use and then I unplug when finished.
Regardless of OS -- Linux, MacOS X or Windows -- FireWire and USB are nothing but trouble when it comes to leaving them connected. They are a "temporary plug and unplug" solution AFAIAC.
If you want reliable, external storage, consider SCSI or ... better yet ... Serial Attached SCSI (SAS).