Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (3397 mails)

["Anders Norrbring" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> At 08:24 AM 4/6/2005 +0200, Anders Norrbring wrote:
> > > At 11:31 PM 4/5/2005 +0200, you wrote:
> > > > > > > I'm using SuSE 9.2 pro with a Compaq SmartArray 2P / 3200 SCSI
> > > RAID
> > > > > > > controller and a stack of 8 SCSI drives, 18 GB 10,000 RPM. I
> boot
> > > from
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Nah.. :)  SA meaning Smart Array controller.. Either Smart Array 3200
> or
> > > >SMART-2 array controllers are included in my short form "SA".
> > > >
> > > >They have a BIOS feature that's tied to the Compaq system BIOS to
> make
> > > them
> > > >work flawless.  If you put those cards in non-Compaq computer they
> read
> > > fast
> > > >as h*ll, but the writing is terrifying slow.
> > > >
> > > >Anders.
> > >
> > > Yikes! This is alarming. Is there no cure for this, other than
> obtaining a
> > > Compaq server, which I hadn't planned on doing? A Compaq P4 (a step up
> > > from
> > > what I have now, a PIII-500) would be prohibitively expensive for a
> hobby
> > > machine.
> > >
> > > Is there no driver to provide some of the functionality of the BIOS?
> What
> > > are they doing in the BIOS that's so special?
> >
> >
> >I have no idea on WHAT they do.  But they do it.
> >You would have two other options;
> >
> >1. inspect the controller microcode to find out who manufactured the card
> >and then re-flash it with their firmware and not HP/Compaq's.
> >
> >2. Get yourself another controller.
> >
> >I did #2 myself.. :)
> 
> What card did you get Anders? I need to run my 8 drive array of SCSI
> drives
> (Raid 5). Right now I'm using one channel of the RAID controller for one
> 3-drive cage and another channel for a 5-drive cage, all as one logical
> array.


I run a couple of different actually.  Adaptec 2100S, 2120S, 3410S, 2230SLP
and a couple of Mylex AcceleRAID 400.

Anders.