CentOS - Jun 2005 - U320 PCI-X SCSI HBA experiences on x86_64

Does anyone have any good or bad driver/performance/stability experiences with
either:

  LSI Logic LSIU320
  Adaptec 29320ALP-R or  (or other current boards using the same driver)

in Opteron servers running RHEL 4 or CentOS 4, x86_64?

Thanks in advance.

-- 
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened

From: Alan Hodgson <ahodgson at simkin.ca>
> Does anyone have any good or bad driver/performance/stability
> experiences with either:
>  LSI Logic LSIU320
>  Adaptec 29320ALP-R or  (or other current boards using the same driver)
> in Opteron servers running RHEL 4 or CentOS 4, x86_64?
> Thanks in advance.
I can't remember if I brought it up on this list, but my permanent home
is less than 5 miles from Adaptec's major support center in Orlando.
I know several gentlemen who have worked their throughout the years,
and many of them have told me the same thing.

If you use Adaptec, use the _retail_ products.  The OEM editions have
custom firmware and changes, and the Linux drivers are often not
guaranteed to work.  Indeed I have regularly run into numerous issues
with many Adaptec products that have come with servers, even a few
of the tier-1 OEMs who ship and support Linux for servers (this is less
commonplace in more recent years).

As such, I have always preferred Symbios Logic / LSI Logic products
because the overwhelming majority of their products are the same --
either retail or whitebox OEM.  I've yet to have an issue with the former
Symbios Logic 53c8xx/1xxx products or LSI solutions under Linux.

If you have an OEM or integrator providing you solutions, especially if
you have a SLA with them, then by all means, use what they will support.
Otherwise I tend to prefer Symbios/LSI products.


--
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org