Bryan J. Smith wrote:
3ware 9000S card, with Raid5 array. I think that's about all relevant info ...
You have the latest 9.2.1.1 3Ware firmware release, correct? And the latest driver for that release, correct?
Using latest firmware, yes. I'm using the driver included in kernel, not 3ware's - I'm unsure if this is 'right' or not - be fairly curious on your experience in this matter (since you seem to have a fair bit of 3ware experience/knowledge).
Again, everytime I run into this, I hit 3Ware's knowlegebase and find some settings that I play with and they not only solve the problem, but increase performance. And if it persists, you'll be ready to talk to their tech support.
A good whitepaper to read on 3Ware 9000 series cards on kernel 2.6 (applicable to your CentOS 4.2 system) is here: http://www.3ware.com/kb/attachments/Linux2.6WP_0701.pdf
Thanks will look into that. Unsure if if related to this problem - bugzilla link given by Joshua looks like a fairly likely culprit.