Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-11 Thread Tonmaus
That was a while back when I was shopping for my own HBAs. There were 
compatibility warnings all over the place with some Adpatec controllers and LSI 
SAS expanders.

AFAIK, even the 106x need to be operated in IT mode to properly work with SAS 
expanders. IT mode disables all RAID functions of the 106x.

Regards,

Tonmaus
-- 
This message posted from opensolaris.org
___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-10 Thread Erik Trimble

Tonmaus wrote:

Hi David,

why not just use a couple of SAS expanders? 


Regards,

Tonmaus
  

I would go this route (SAS expanders for a 8-port HBA).

E.g.:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/mobilerack/CSE-M28E2.cfm

is a great internal bay set up if you want a non-Supermicro case. $250 
or thereabouts.



You can get two of these, plus a pair of nice LSI HBAs.   As an added 
bonus, it's easy to put a SSD into one or more of the bays with no 
additional rewiring needed.


--
Erik Trimble
Java System Support
Mailstop:  usca22-123
Phone:  x17195
Santa Clara, CA
Timezone: US/Pacific (GMT-0800)

___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-10 Thread Richard Jahnel
Just as an FYI, not all drives like sas expanders.

As an example, we had a lot of trouble with Indilinx MLC based SSDs. The 
systems had  Adaptec 52445 controllers and Chenbro SAS expanders. In the end we 
had to remove the SAS expanders and put a 2nd 52445 in each system to get them 
to work properly.
-- 
This message posted from opensolaris.org
___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-10 Thread Tonmaus
As far as I have read, that problem has been reported to be a compatibility 
problem of the Adaptec controller and the expander chipset, e.g. LSI SASx which 
is also on the mentioned Chenbro expander. There is no problem with 106x 
chipset and sas expanders that I know of.

People sceptical about expanders: quite a couple of th Areca cards actually 
have expander chips on board. Don't know about the 1680 specifically, though.

Cheers,

Tonmaus
-- 
This message posted from opensolaris.org
___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-10 Thread Richard Jahnel
Any hints as to where you read that? I'm working on another system design with 
LSI controllers and being able to use SAS expanders would be a big help.
-- 
This message posted from opensolaris.org
___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


[zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-09 Thread Dave Pooser
Now that Erik has made me all nervous about my 3xRAIDz2 of 8x2TB 7200RPM
disks approach, I'm considering moving forward using more and smaller 2.5
disks instead. The problem is that at eight drives per LSI 3018, I run out
of PCIe slots quickly. The ARC-1680 cards would appear to offer greater
drive densities, but a quick Google search shows that they've overpromised
and underdelivered on Solaris support in the past. Is anybody currently
using those cards on OpenSolaris?
-- 
Dave Pooser, ACSA
Manager of Information Services
Alford Media  http://www.alfordmedia.com


___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss


Re: [zfs-discuss] Areca ARC-1680 on OpenSolaris 2009.06?

2010-04-09 Thread Tonmaus
Hi David,

why not just use a couple of SAS expanders? 

Regards,

Tonmaus
-- 
This message posted from opensolaris.org
___
zfs-discuss mailing list
zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org
http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss