[CentOS] Install Centos 6 x86_64 on Dell PowerEdge 2970 and aSSD (hardware probing issues)

[Keith Keller]

On 2014-09-07, Valeri Galtsev <galtsev at kicp.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
> It doesn't sound like you are flashing all 3ware cards you have in
> production every time new firmware release it out. It doesn't sound either
> like you had fatal failure of production box because of bug in 3ware
> firmware. Correct me if I'm wrong, otherwise I see you on the same page
> with me: i.e. not flashing new firmware as a part of "routine update" of
> production machine (together with system/software updates).

Well, I think we are on the same page now.  I think I (and some other
folks) interpreted your posts as "if you have to flash the firmware, it
was a crappy firmware, and you should switch vendors" which (as someone
else noted) would soon leave you with no vendors.

To summarize, I think our page says "update the firmware only when
necessary on production-level hardware".

FWIW, I did have a different 3ware card eat its array, though I do
suspect some user (i.e., me) error.  I had a 9650 card which was having
problems with kernel panics.  I suspected a hardware failure, so I moved
the array to another 9650 in the same box, which may not have had a BBU.
Unfortunately that card showed worse problems a few weeks later: not
only did it kernel panic, but it also trashed the array pretty much
completely.  (Of course I had backups, and this was a dev box, not
public-facing, but it was still frustrating.)  At the time the 9650 was
old enough that the 9750 series was out, and that card has been fairly
solid.  (Also FWIW, my last 9650 card had the same issue a few weeks
ago; fortunately it did not eat its array.)

So to add a page to our book, "always have backups even if you trust
your hardware!"  :)

--keith

-- 
kkeller at wombat.san-francisco.ca.us