Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
--Tim
2010/2/24 Tim Nelson tnelson@rockbochs.com:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
how about areca or 3ware controller?
-- Eero
Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
LSI Logic 1032E or whatevr the P/N is, available for both PCI-X and PCI-E x4 slots, I believe.
ignore the raid 0/1/10 feature if you don't want to use it.
Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
I've had good luck with a ATTO SAS PCIe HBA using with a tape library. The driver for this particular card wasn't included with CentOS at the time but might be with the latest version.
The drivers are open source, I have no past experience with ATTO it was recommended to me by a tape backup software vendor for their performance and stability under linux.
I am using the "ExpressSAS H644 Low-Profile 4-Internal/4-External Port 6Gb/s SAS/SATA PCIe 2.0 Host Adapter"
nate
Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
is this for internal or external or both? how many SAS ports you need? do you need SFF x4 sas ports or discrete x1 sata ports (of course, the former can be converted to the latter with an 'octopus' cable).
the LSI stuff I previously recommended covers a wide range of this, for instance, the 3081E-R has 2 internal SFF-8087 x4 connectors, the 9212-4i4e has a SFF8088 x4 external connector and 4 x1 SATA internal connectors, etc etc. you need to know what sort of chassis or backplane you're connecting to... most 2U servers have a drive backplane... these backplanes can connect to the HBA via a range of options, SAS supports a full multiplexor (eg 4 channels to 12 drives), while plain SATA only supports a simple expander (eg, 1 channel to 4 drives)
Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Look at the Promise non-raid cards. I just bought a normal PCI Promise SATA300 TX4 card that just works and boots fine. I'm sure they have an equivalent for PCIe.
Regards, Max
Max Hetrick wrote:
Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Look at the Promise non-raid cards. I just bought a normal PCI Promise SATA300 TX4 card that just works and boots fine. I'm sure they have an equivalent for PCIe.
do those have SFF x4 SAS connectors? when I just looked at Supermicro's 2U chassis, thats what most of them used for their drive backplanes. the typical 2U today takes 12 3.5" drives or 24 2.5". dealing with that many discrete SATA cables would be a mess.
John R Pierce wrote:
do those have SFF x4 SAS connectors? when I just looked at Supermicro's 2U chassis, thats what most of them used for their drive backplanes. the typical 2U today takes 12 3.5" drives or 24 2.5". dealing with that many discrete SATA cables would be a mess.
I don't know. You'll have to look at the cards on their site to see what connections are supported.
Max
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 12:56 AM, Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Anything that uses a Silicon Image 3124 chip would do. The challenge is to find one that does not try to fleece you just for a fake-raid bios.
Christopher Chan wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 12:56 AM, Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Anything that uses a Silicon Image 3124 chip would do. The challenge is to find one that does not try to fleece you just for a fake-raid bios.
we still don't know what SAS/SATA backplane his 2U chassis has, so its premature to specify the controller.
IMHO, the SIL stuff is weak sauce for a server, and totally unsuitable for a server using a SAS backplane.
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 08:57 AM, John R Pierce wrote:
Christopher Chan wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 12:56 AM, Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Anything that uses a Silicon Image 3124 chip would do. The challenge is to find one that does not try to fleece you just for a fake-raid bios.
we still don't know what SAS/SATA backplane his 2U chassis has, so its premature to specify the controller.
Ah, I assumed the OP knows what he wants.
IMHO, the SIL stuff is weak sauce for a server, and totally unsuitable for a server using a SAS backplane.
?
So what chipset would you recommend for non-raid, SATA solution?
Marvell?
Any Silicon Image card will do, don't worry about the fake-raid bios, don't define anything under the fake-raid bios, and the kernel will see the Silicon Image chip and connected disks readily. The kernel module for Silicon Image 3124 was there for long time. I have installations which use such SATA chips running for a few years.
My 2 cents.
Regards, Stephen WONG
On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Christopher Chan christopher.chan@bradbury.edu.hk wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 08:57 AM, John R Pierce wrote:
Christopher Chan wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 12:56 AM, Tim Nelson wrote:
Greetings all-
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Anything that uses a Silicon Image 3124 chip would do. The challenge is to find one that does not try to fleece you just for a fake-raid bios.
we still don't know what SAS/SATA backplane his 2U chassis has, so its premature to specify the controller.
Ah, I assumed the OP knows what he wants.
IMHO, the SIL stuff is weak sauce for a server, and totally unsuitable for a server using a SAS backplane.
?
So what chipset would you recommend for non-raid, SATA solution?
Marvell? _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 09:47 AM, Stephen Wong wrote:
Any Silicon Image card will do, don't worry about the fake-raid bios, don't define anything under the fake-raid bios, and the kernel will see the Silicon Image chip and connected disks readily. The kernel module for Silicon Image 3124 was there for long time. I have installations which use such SATA chips running for a few years.
But why pay an extra 60USD or so for a dumb fake-raid bios?
I'll not pay 60USD for a fake-raid BIOS. Here, a Silicon Image 3124 (PCI not PCIe, but I believe PCIe version is also available) 4-port SATA card worths 30USD or below. The fake-raid BIOS comes with the card, I can't remove it, but I pay nothing for it.
Someone mentioned that Silicon Image 3124 is not server grade. I agree. But compare with those LSI / Adaptec / 3ware server grade cards, can you pay 30USD to get one? And, then, do you consider Promise / Hi-Point server grade? Those 4 Silicon Image 3124 I had in various installations are working fine 7x24x365 for a few years, but of course, your mileage might be different.
Regards, Stephen WONG
On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 9:58 AM, Christopher Chan christopher.chan@bradbury.edu.hk wrote:
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 09:47 AM, Stephen Wong wrote:
Any Silicon Image card will do, don't worry about the fake-raid bios, don't define anything under the fake-raid bios, and the kernel will see the Silicon Image chip and connected disks readily. The kernel module for Silicon Image 3124 was there for long time. I have installations which use such SATA chips running for a few years.
But why pay an extra 60USD or so for a dumb fake-raid bios? _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 10:36 AM, Stephen Wong wrote:
I'll not pay 60USD for a fake-raid BIOS. Here, a Silicon Image 3124 (PCI not PCIe, but I believe PCIe version is also available) 4-port SATA card worths 30USD or below. The fake-raid BIOS comes with the card, I can't remove it, but I pay nothing for it.
A non-raid card would go for 15USD if I could find one here in Hong Kong but a fake-raid version for 75USD or something...
Christopher Chan wrote:
So what chipset would you recommend for non-raid, SATA solution?
the OP said SAS/SATA without specifying how many ports, or what sort of connectors, or internal vs external... I've already suggested the range of LSI Logic boards to fit various IO scenarios.
Now, if what he really wants is just a bunch of SATA ports then I am at a loss, my 2U servers tend to use SAS or FC (or ni older boxes, SCSI) storage. The Marvell SATA chips have a problem-prone history. I've used SIL stuff on desktops, but i don't think they are server grade.
On Thursday, February 25, 2010 09:53 AM, John R Pierce wrote:
Christopher Chan wrote:
So what chipset would you recommend for non-raid, SATA solution?
the OP said SAS/SATA without specifying how many ports, or what sort of connectors, or internal vs external... I've already suggested the range of LSI Logic boards to fit various IO scenarios.
SAS can handle SATA. If he had SAS disks then he could not possibly ask for a SATA controller now could he?
Now, if what he really wants is just a bunch of SATA ports then I am at a loss, my 2U servers tend to use SAS or FC (or ni older boxes, SCSI) storage. The Marvell SATA chips have a problem-prone history. I've used SIL stuff on desktops, but i don't think they are server grade.
Well they certainly won't give you the full 3gbps (or was that when you paired it with the sil pmp chip...can't remember) but hey, the onboard achi ports would work just fine too won't they? Why the card...hmm...
On 02/25/2010 12:31 AM, Christopher Chan wrote:
I need to purchase a PCIe SATA or SAS controller(non-raid) for a Supermicro 2U system. It should be directly bootable. Any recommendations? The system will be running CentOS 5.4 as an LTSP system. Thanks!
Anything that uses a Silicon Image 3124 chip would do.
Just want to point out that most Jmicron kit makes for an excellent sata/sas port -> system bus; if all you need are ports to plug into. They have been ahci compatible for a long long time ( which means, just works in CentOS3, 4 or 5 ).
- KB
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Christopher Chan -
Eero Volotinen -
John R Pierce -
Karanbir Singh -
Max Hetrick -
nate -
Stephen Wong -
Tim Nelson