[This is based on a write-up I did for [omitted], to help him in his talks with Dell. He asked about open-source drivers for (1) Adaptec and (2) other RAID cards.] Background information on Linux RAID generally: http://linas.org/linux/raid.html I'm covering only host-based hardware RAID controllers, here. SCSI-to-SCSI controllers aka inboard or outboard DASD (Direct Access Storage Device) boards are omitted. We want host-based, anyway: They're faster. ADAPTEC ------- The one and _only_ way currently to do hardware RAID with Adaptec: Kernel 2.2.x's built-in AIC-7xxx driver can do RAID with an AHA-398x board, which is a PCI RAID controller with three SCSI chains on-board. One account of such usage: http://www-ols.fnal.gov/ols/doc/linux/linux_mail/0008.html The kernel AIC-7xxx driver doesn't in any more-general sense support Adaptec hardware-level RAID. I.e., that driver does not support: AAA-13x RAID Adapters AAA-113x RAID Port Card AIC-7810 RAID motherboard chipset This information comes from: /usr/src/linux/drivers/scsi/README.aic7xxx, which contains a short, testy note from the driver's maintainer: The hardware RAID devices sold by Adaptec are *NOT* supported by this driver (and will people please stop emailing me about them, they are a totally separate beast from the bare SCSI controllers and this driver can not be retrofitted in any sane manner to support the hardware RAID features on those cards - Doug Ledford). The 2.2 kernel's AIC-7xxx driver is developed jointly for Linux and FreeBSD by the following team, credited in the docs: Justin T Gibbs gibbs@plutotech.com (BSD Driver Author) Dan Eischen deischen@iworks.InterWorks.org (Original Linux Driver Co-maintainer) Dean Gehnert deang@teleport.com (Original Linux FTP/patch maintainer) Jess Johnson jester@frenzy.com (AIC7xxx FAQ author) Doug Ledford dledford@redhat.com (Current Linux aic7xxx-5.x.x Driver/Patch/FTP/FAQ maintainer) Special thanks go to John Aycock (aycock@cpsc.ucalgary.ca), the original author of the driver. John has since retired from the project. Thanks again for all his work! Mailing list ------------------------------ There is a mailing list available for users who want to track development and converse with other users and developers. This list is for both FreeBSD and Linux support of the AIC7xxx chipsets. To subscribe to the AIC7xxx mailing list send mail to the list server, with "subscribe AIC7xxx" in the body (no Subject: required): To: majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG --- subscribe AIC7xxx To unsubscribe from the list, send mail to the list server with: To: majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG --- unsubscribe AIC7xxx Send regular messages and replies to: AIC7xxx@FreeBSD.ORG [...] FTP sites ------------------------------ ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/aic/ - Primary site for Doug Ledford developed driver releases ftp://ftp.dialnet.net/pub/linux/aic7xxx - Temporary mirror of the redhat.com ftp site while people get used to the new address ftp://ftp.pcnet.com/users/eischen/Linux/ - Dan Eischen's driver distribution area ftp://ekf2.vsb.cz/pub/linux/kernel/aic7xxx/ftp.teleport.com/ - European Linux mirror of Teleport site Web sites ------------------------------ http://developer.redhat.com/aic7xxx/ - Primary web site maintained by Doug Ledford. I haven't actually put anything up yet....but I'm planning on it. This information is put here as an add for the vapor page :) Dean W. Gehnert deang@teleport.com I can find no alternative hardware-RAID Adaptec drivers, and my best guess is that none such exist. AMI --- AMI MegaRAID series -- tested with models 420 and 438; probably works with models 466. Supported in recent 2.2 kernels. By the way, [firm name] owns an AMI MegaRAID, pulled from one of the servers Dell sent us before March '99 LinuxWorld. It's probably in one of the "S&M Moving" cardboard boxes from the old 2nd floor suite. DPT --- DPT SmartRAID controllers, models PM3224 (PCI), PM3222 (EISA), PM3021 (ISA), supporting DPT's "Hardware Array" hardware-level RAID feature. One uses the 2.x kernel EATA-DMA driver. ICP-VORTEX ---------- Drivers exist in 2.0 and 2.2 kernels. They even have an array-management utility for Linux. LSILOGIC / SYMBIOS / NCR ------------------------ Notably absent from the support list. Mentioned here just so that nobody suggests them. MYLEX / BUSLOGIC ---------------- Leonard Zubkoff of VA Linux Systems has now completed a driver for the Mylex/BusLogic DAC960 PCI RAID adapter series. it's not in the kernel source, but is available at http://www.dandelion.com/Linux/. Note: Four Mylex models sport a variety of software RAID called RAIDPlus, which is not supported on Linux. The kernel's MD driver can provide concatenated operation, striping (RAID0), mirroring (RAID1), fixed parity (RAID4), and distributed parity (RAID5) anyway, so there are no plans for RAIDPlus support. This drivers is not yet in the 2.2.x kernels. PERCEPTIVE SOLUTIONS -------------------- Perceptive Solutions, Inc. PCI-2000 (supported in 2.2 kernels). This is awfully obscure, and seems to involving striping and mirroring, only. SYRED ----- Said (http://linas.org/linux/raid.html) to have support in the Linux kernel, but I cannot find evidence of this. Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:35:51 +1000 From: Russell Coker To: Luv Subject: Re: Linux (debian) and IDE raid controllers On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:19, Daniel Washusen wrote: > I'm charged with specing out a few servers and we would really like a > mirrored set-up. I spent a day smacking my head against the desk > getting a CERC IDE raid controller going under Debian only to find the > thing wouldn't reboot! So i'm a little dubious about it all at the > moment... > > Can anyone recommend a IDE raid controller that has decent Linux > (Debian) support? The 3ware controllers get good recommendations from everyone. Generally I've never heard any seriously bad reports about them. They are the cheapest hardware RAID products to work reliably. The only minorly bad reports about 3ware are that performance is sub-optimal in some situations (not really bad, just about half what it could be). But if you know what you are doing you can avoid the problems. http://www.3ware.com/ However I prefer software RAID. Software RAID has two significant issues, one is that it needs to be totally re-read after a crash or power outage which gives a period of bad performance that can last several hours (depending on array size and load). The other issue is that disk errors can prevent booting. However software RAID when running in full operation mode (IE not doing a reconstruction) beats the hardware RAID for performance. Also it's much cheaper. -- http://www.coker.com.au/selinux/ My NSA Security Enhanced Linux packages http://www.coker.com.au/bonnie++/ Bonnie++ hard drive benchmark http://www.coker.com.au/postal/ Postal SMTP/POP benchmark http://www.coker.com.au/~russell/ My home page From rick Thu Oct 16 05:11:44 2003 Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 05:11:44 -0700 To: Luv Subject: Re: Linux (debian) and IDE raid controllers Quoting Russell Coker (russell@coker.com.au): > Another down-side to software RAID is that there is no support for > installing Debian directly to it. http://tnt.aufbix.org/linux/raid/ -- Cheers, "Don't use Outlook. Outlook is really just a security Rick Moen hole with a small e-mail client attached to it." rick@linuxmafia.com -- Brian Trosko in r.a.sf.w.r-j