This opens up a whole new dialog now... I believe FreeBSD has a lot better eSATA port multiplier support. Would anyone here think it''s a bad idea to get something like a Highpoint card (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Highpoint%20Technologies/RR2314/) and chain 4x eSATA 4 or 5 drive enclosures off of it (for a total of 16 or 20 drives per PCI-e/PCI-X card)? Obviously there''s a couple things to investigate: #1 ZFS stability in FreeBSD - it sounds like this is decent though for basic tasks (I''d be using it for basic file storage - all of my home data files and server backups, export it using samba for Windows and NFS for *nix clients) #2 ZFS + FreeBSD + the controller - would there be any weirdness based on the hardware used? #3 FreeBSD + the controller compatibility - assuming the controller supports the port multipliers I don''t know if anyone subscribing is using port multipler eSATA with FreeBSD (perhaps I will hunt down people on a FreeBSD list, to clarify #3) I''d like it to be PCI express based. PCI-x is only on normal-sized motherboards, and I''d love to be using a smaller form factor machine as the "head" unit for ZFS. Thanks, mike
On Mon, Apr 23, 2007 at 03:44:05PM -0700, mike wrote:> > #3 FreeBSD + the controller compatibility - assuming the controller > supports the port multipliersThe way I understand it, ZFS was written into GEOM on FreeBSD, so as long as FreeBSD can use a certain controler it can offer it up to the GEOM consumers (such as ZFS).> I don''t know if anyone subscribing is using port multipler eSATA with > FreeBSD (perhaps I will hunt down people on a FreeBSD list, to clarify > #3)I don''t think any of your hardware concerns will be affected by your choice of ZFS on FreeBSD but rather by FreeBSD itself, so they would definitely be the best source of info on the topic. That isn''t to say you should let us all know what you find. ;) -brian -- "Perl can be fast and elegant as much as J2EE can be fast and elegant. In the hands of a skilled artisan, it can and does happen; it''s just that most of the shit out there is built by people who''d be better suited to making sure that my burger is cooked thoroughly." -- Jonathan Patschke
On Tue, Apr 24, 2007 at 07:43:17AM -0500, Brian Hechinger wrote:> > That isn''t to say you should let us all know what you find. ;)Ugh. s/should/shouldn''t/ Must.... Get..... More..... Coffee...... -brian -- "Perl can be fast and elegant as much as J2EE can be fast and elegant. In the hands of a skilled artisan, it can and does happen; it''s just that most of the shit out there is built by people who''d be better suited to making sure that my burger is cooked thoroughly." -- Jonathan Patschke