zfs discuss - Sep 2006 - Building large home file server with SATA

I currently have a linux system at home with a pair of 3ware RAID (pci)
controllers (4 port each) with a total of 8x250GB drives attached. I would like
to move this existing setup to zfs but the problem I keep running into is
finding suitable SATA controllers to replace the 3ware cards with.

Bill mentioned the supermicro 8-port SATA controllers for ~$100, but these are
PCI-X; not something I can make use of in the system... afaik (or can I?).

I found that SIIG has the SC-SA4011 card which has 4 ports. This would be a
suitable replacement for my 3ware, but wanted to see if anyone had tested this
particular card with Solaris.

I am open to other suggestions as well :)

This system currently acts as the email/mp3/video archive, so the more space the
better!

Thanks!


Alexei
 
 
This message posted from opensolaris.org

Alexei Rodriguez wrote:
> I currently have a linux system at home with a pair of 3ware RAID (pci) 
> controllers (4 port each) with a total of 8x250GB drives attached. I would 
> like to move this existing setup to zfs but the problem I keep running into
> is finding suitable SATA controllers to replace the 3ware cards with.
> 
> Bill mentioned the supermicro 8-port SATA controllers for ~$100, but these 
> are PCI-X; not something I can make use of in the system... afaik (or can
I?).
Unless they break the spec, yes, it should work.  PCI cards autonegotiate, so
when they state a speed, what they mean is that it handle negotiations up to
that
speed, not necessarily that it will actually transfer data at that speed.
  -- richard

Check out this blog:

http://blogs.sun.com/PlasticPixel/entry/build_your_own_multi_terabyte

Mark Koch used this with OpenSolaris and ZFS:

$19.99 SYBA SD-SATA-4P PCI SATA Controller Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815124020
 
 
This message posted from opensolaris.org

> Alexei Rodriguez wrote:
> Unless they break the spec, yes, it should work.  PCI
Excellent to know! I will verify that the motherboard and the PCI-X cards play
well together.

Thanks!


Alexei
 
 
This message posted from opensolaris.org

> Check out this blog:
> 
> http://blogs.sun.com/PlasticPixel/entry/build_your_own
> _multi_terabyte
This is pretty much exactly what I want to do. These SYBA PCI cards look like
they do the job, so now I need to see if I can find them locally (Bay Area) for
instant gratification. If not, NewEgg will do :)

In fact, I am going to setup 2 systems given the price point on the cards. 

Thank you very much for the help and pointers on this topic. I''ll
follow up once I complete my migration.


Alexei
 
 
This message posted from opensolaris.org

On September 22, 2006 10:26:01 AM -0700 Alexei Rodriguez 
<alexei.rodriguez at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Alexei Rodriguez wrote:
>> Unless they break the spec, yes, it should work.  PCI
>
> Excellent to know! I will verify that the motherboard and the PCI-X cards
> play well together.
You might run into a problem with 3.3V cards vs 5V slots.

-frank