[Linux] linux supported RAID cards

[Kendrick Vargas]

Chris 'Chipper' Chiapusio wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 02, 2007 at 11:37:15PM -0400, Kendrick Vargas wrote:
>> I know there are a bunch of RAID cards out there that are "supported" by
>> linux but have no real management utilities. I'd like to get a card
>> that has:
>>
>> - Non proprietery drivers
>> - RAID 5
>> - Quality enough to live 4-5 years (preferably more)
>> - Good/Native management and notification utilities
>> - Good performance on the cheap
>> - Ideally PCIe (as it's the tech going forward)
>> - < $300 (a bit more ain't bad, but that's my room-to-grow limit)
>>
>> Performance doesn't have to be stellar as this isn't exactly a
>> production box. It's just sitting in my closet. What I want is good
>> compatibility, management tools and I'd like to avoid having to rebuild
>> drivers and all sorts of craziness just to install an OS or do a kernel
>> upgrade.
>>
>> I've been looking at the LSI Logic MegaRAID SAS stuff (likely the 8208
>> ELP) because I've used their management stuff in linux before and I know
>> the brand name. I can't seem to find performance numbers online and I'm
>> troubled by the lack of cache, however the only time I do interesting
>> transfers is when I move ISO's onto or off of a share, which I imagine
>> blasts through any cache on the card anyway.
>>
>> Right now I've got an Adaptec 2610SA that was apparently a Dell server
>> pull blowout that I picked up off eBay for $100. While it's working fine
>> (I guess), I can't really get anything in terms of management utilities
>> to recognize it. I'm assuming this is because it's not sitting in a
>> Dell. I can get info from it through the BIOS between boots, but that's
>> a crappy way to judge the status of the card.
>>
>> So, any thoughts or suggestions here?
> 
> The IBM ServeRAID cards are 'real' raid cards with full linux support. That
> is, if you want SCSI RAID. 
> Be wary of SATA RAID cards and check the linux sata raid faq before buying.
> 
> http://linux-ata.org/faq-sata-raid.html

Thanks. I'm still looking for an SATA RAID card. The 2610SA that I have
now is a real RAID card (albeit low end). I want something newer with a
faster processer onboard. I was just hoping people here might have
experience with a decent one under linux before I jumped in...
			-peace