Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
On Thu, 18-Mar-2010 at 09:37:32 +0100, Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. I can only speak for a 9690SA-8I, but this thing is amazing. It handles FSs over 2TB pretty well: twa0: 3ware 9000 series Storage Controller port 0xc800-0xc8ff mem 0xfa00-0xfbff,0xfeaff000-0xfeaf irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci4 twa0: [ITHREAD] twa0: INFO: (0x15: 0x1300): Controller details:: Model 9690SA-8I, 128 ports, Firmware FH9X 4.10.00.007, BIOS BE9X 4.08.00.002 And with 8 1TB in a RAID5 drives it gives me: da0 at twa0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0 box:~diskinfo /dev/da0 /dev/da0512 624277248 13671727104 851025 255 63 -Andre We are going to use FreeBSD 8.0 and Bacula, but first we obviously need to create a working RAID. My questions are: - Are HighPoint RocketRaid controllers a good alternative to 3ware controllers? Are RocketRaid controllers true hardware RAID? - What should we look for in a RAID controller spec to see that it has support for larger than 2TB RAIDs? I've been looking at these: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr2300.htm http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr3500.htm Any FreeBSD recommendations? Or perhaps for another 3ware controller? We're using SATAII drives. Thanks for your help! Best regards, Andreas ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org -- I am forced by company policy to use Micro$oft products. I am not responsible for this choice and decline any responsibility for any harm which may be caused by it. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
Thanks for all your feedback. The problem occurs in the RAID controller BIOS (before we even boot or get to the OS install). Thanks to John for confirming these cards do work above 2TB. I will look into upgrading the firmware (on these brand new cards). Perhaps it's just the current firmware that can't handle 2TB harddrives x 3 in RAID. Cheers, Andreas ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. We are going to use FreeBSD 8.0 and Bacula, but first we obviously need to create a working RAID. My questions are: - Are HighPoint RocketRaid controllers a good alternative to 3ware controllers? Are RocketRaid controllers true hardware RAID? - What should we look for in a RAID controller spec to see that it has support for larger than 2TB RAIDs? I've been looking at these: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr2300.htm http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr3500.htm Any FreeBSD recommendations? Or perhaps for another 3ware controller? We're using SATAII drives. Thanks for your help! Best regards, Andreas ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
On Thu, March 18, 2010 8:37 am, Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. We are going to use FreeBSD 8.0 and Bacula, but first we obviously need to create a working RAID. My questions are: - Are HighPoint RocketRaid controllers a good alternative to 3ware controllers? Are RocketRaid controllers true hardware RAID? - What should we look for in a RAID controller spec to see that it has support for larger than 2TB RAIDs? I've been looking at these: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr2300.htm http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr3500.htm Any FreeBSD recommendations? Or perhaps for another 3ware controller? We're using SATAII drives. Thanks for your help! Is ZFS not an option? - you could save yourself a lot of money and hassle with hardware RAID by moving to ZFS. Either using onboard SATA ports on the motherboard (and accept that you might have to shutdown the box to swap failed disks out) or get a simple 8-port HBA in JBOD mode, e.g: http://www.lsi.com/channel/products/hba/sas_sata_hbas/internal/lsisas3081er/index.html You'll need plenty of RAM too, but IMHO it is worth the trade. HTH, Matt. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Matthew Law m...@webcontracts.co.ukwrote: Is ZFS not an option? I'm afraid ZFS is not an option for this customer. I use ZFS on other system and it works great, but here the requirement is RAID5, hotswap, hotspare and so on. Cheers, Andreas ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 18.03.2010 10:35, Andy Wodfer wrote: On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Matthew Law m...@webcontracts.co.ukwrote: Is ZFS not an option? I'm afraid ZFS is not an option for this customer. I use ZFS on other system and it works great, but here the requirement is RAID5, hotswap, hotspare and so on. You should consider the LSI Megaraid SAS as well. The aging 8308elp, performs quite nicely with decent disks. Got one here (at home) handling 8 1T5 Barracudas in RAID50 (with coldspares), that routinely handles 400+mbytes/sec io, even in windows. It's been running in FreeBSD as well, but until I can figure out how to get reliable backups (the MPT issue shared with OpenSolaris) I'm stuck with windows on the box. FreeBSD's mfiutil works works splendidly with the controller allowing you to handle things like patrol-reads from an SSH session without much trouble. As a SAS-controller, it eats both SAS and SATA disks, and plain and simple just works. //Svein - -- - +---+--- /\ |Svein Skogen | sv...@d80.iso100.no \ / |Solberg Østli 9| PGP Key: 0xE5E76831 X|2020 Skedsmokorset | sv...@jernhuset.no / \ |Norway | PGP Key: 0xCE96CE13 | | sv...@stillbilde.net ascii | | PGP Key: 0x58CD33B6 ribbon |System Admin | svein-listm...@stillbilde.net Campaign|stillbilde.net | PGP Key: 0x22D494A4 +---+--- |msn messenger: | Mobile Phone: +47 907 03 575 |sv...@jernhuset.no | RIPE handle:SS16503-RIPE - +---+--- If you really are in a hurry, mail me at svein-mob...@stillbilde.net This mailbox goes directly to my cellphone and is checked even when I'm not in front of my computer. - Picture Gallery: https://gallery.stillbilde.net/v/svein/ - -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v2.0.12 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkuh9YAACgkQODUnwSLUlKTZiwCeODrGVYneWFn9nKZDUJ5jhOdt 3boAoIM/HrcfpzKXNOsPic+QQ4ooaL5d =Yya0 -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 09:37:32AM +0100, Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. That is strange, since all the 3ware 9000-series controllers (including the 9650) are supposed to be able to handle arrays larger than 2TB. -- Insert your favourite quote here. Erik Trulsson ertr1...@student.uu.se ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 18/03/2010 10:09:55, Erik Trulsson wrote: On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 09:37:32AM +0100, Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. That is strange, since all the 3ware 9000-series controllers (including the 9650) are supposed to be able to handle arrays larger than 2TB. Is it perhaps not a limitation in the 3ware controller, but rather the 2TB limit for a single slice imposed by the traditional DOS mbr? In which case, simply switching to using gpart(8) should solve the problem and let you have much larger filesystems. Cheers, Matthew - -- Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard Flat 3 PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate Kent, CT11 9PW -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.14 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkuh/1EACgkQ8Mjk52CukIxwFQCfUsDOes4mAPBFLQUX6QvB/F97 4swAnRnKagfg86IG5gxBlMIBJOmmD7y+ =BGlc -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
Hi and what about Areca? Natively supported via arcmsr driver. For SATA II http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie.htm (ARC-1230, ARC-1260) or http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie341.htm On one installation I have successfully set up RAID5 with 8x 1TB SATA II drives on ARC-1220, approx 6.5TB filesystem regards Jiri - What should we look for in a RAID controller spec to see that it has support for larger than 2TB RAIDs? I've been looking at these: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr2300.htm http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr3500.htm Any FreeBSD recommendations? Or perhaps for another 3ware controller? We're using SATAII drives. Thanks for your help! Best regards, Andreas ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
At 04:37 AM 3/18/2010, Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. Are you sure its the controller that was giving that error ? I ran into something similar with my Areca controller on a backup server. I ended up creating 2 raid sets, one for the boot OS and the other for the backup spool and used gpart for the larger than 2TB RS. Perhaps the same needs to be done on the 3ware eg # df -h Filesystem SizeUsed Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/da0s1a1.9G496M1.3G28%/ devfs 1.0K1.0K 0B 100%/dev /dev/da1s1d 29G 10G 16G39%/usr /dev/da1s1e 33G5.0G 26G16%/var /dev/da0s1d 61G 50G6.4G89%/var/db /dev/da2p1 2.6T797G1.6T33%/backup zbackup1 2.7T1.2T1.4T46%/zbackup1 I would go for the 3ware over the RocketRaid. We have used the 3ware cards for some time and they have been very reliable for us. The disk replacement process is well designed and has been reliable for us over the years. We also use some of the Areca cards and they have been good too. Not much experience with the RocketRaid. ---Mike Mike Tancsa, tel +1 519 651 3400 Sentex Communications,m...@sentex.net Providing Internet since 1994www.sentex.net Cambridge, Ontario Canada www.sentex.net/mike ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: Hardware RAID controller questions - 3Ware vs RocketRaid
On Thursday 18 March 2010 03:37:32 Andy Wodfer wrote: Hi, We're setting up two backup servers where each server will have about 4TB of harddrives (for now) connected (4x1TB and 8x500GB drives). Last night we ran into trouble with the 3ware controllers we have (9650SE-8LPML) because we couldn't create a larger RAID5 than 1.99TB. We are going to use FreeBSD 8.0 and Bacula, but first we obviously need to create a working RAID. My questions are: - Are HighPoint RocketRaid controllers a good alternative to 3ware controllers? Are RocketRaid controllers true hardware RAID? - What should we look for in a RAID controller spec to see that it has support for larger than 2TB RAIDs? I've been looking at these: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr2300.htm http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rr3500.htm Any FreeBSD recommendations? Or perhaps for another 3ware controller? We're using SATAII drives. Thanks for your help! Best regards, Andreas You are hitting an issue with DOS MBR limitations, not the RAID controller itself. Either use GPT or put a filesystem on the raw device with no fdisk at all. The latter strategy is the better one if you intend to ever grow the filesystem. 3ware controllers are the best game in town for FreeBSD. We use them extensively both internally and for our customers at iXsystems. You can flash the controller firmware from in the OS on FreeBSD using tw_cli. You might also consider running ZFS on the hardware RAID instead of UFS. You get the advantages of running a hardware RAID controller, plus the advantages of ZFS (namely no fsck) r...@servant /usr/src -tw_cli /c0 show Unit UnitType Status %RCmpl %V/I/M Stripe Size(GB) Cache AVrfy -- u0RAID-6OK - - 256K5587.88 RiWON r...@servant /usr/src -grep 'da0' /var/run/dmesg.boot da0 at twa0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0 da0: AMCC 9690SA-4I4 DISK 4.08 Fixed Direct Access SCSI-5 device da0: 100.000MB/s transfers da0: 122879MB (251658239 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 15665C) ** small boot LUN r...@servant /usr/src -grep 'da1' /var/run/dmesg.boot da1 at twa0 bus 0 target 0 lun 1 da1: AMCC 9690SA-4I4 DISK 4.08 Fixed Direct Access SCSI-5 device da1: 100.000MB/s transfers da1: 5599104MB (11466964993 512 byte sectors: 255H 63S/T 713785C) ** The rest of it r...@servant /usr/src -zpool status -v pool: a state: ONLINE scrub: none requested config: NAMESTATE READ WRITE CKSUM a ONLINE 0 0 0 da1 ONLINE 0 0 0 errors: No known data errors r...@servant /usr/src -df -h a FilesystemSizeUsed Avail Capacity Mounted on a 5.2T2.2T3.0T42%/a -- Thanks, Josh Paetzel FreeBSD -- The power to serve signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part.
