Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:50:17 -0700 From: Jeremy Chadwick <koitsu@FreeBSD.org> To: Charles Sprickman <spork@bway.net> Cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Re: PCI-X SATA Card + Server Recommendation Message-ID: <20081026125017.GA88016@icarus.home.lan> In-Reply-To: <Pine.OSX.4.64.0810260112010.4630@toasty.nat.fasttrackmonkey.com> References: <Pine.OSX.4.64.0810260112010.4630@toasty.nat.fasttrackmonkey.com>
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On Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 02:48:16AM -0400, Charles Sprickman wrote: > Hello all, > > I have two questions regarding hardware support for two servers. One is > an older Supermicro with a X5DPR-iG2+ mainboard, the other is a > suggestion for a brand new box that is well-supported... Both boxes will > be in a co-lo, so stuff needs to not be "quirky". > > First the old box. I need an SATA controller, non-RAID. I'll be using > gmirror. I have PCI-X slots, so I'd like to go with a PCI-X controller. > There seem to be very few out there, and this one keeps popping up > everywhere: > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816124014 > > The comments there mention the chip is a Silicon Image 3124, but I don't > know if I can trust a random NewEgg user. That card does in fact use a Silicon Image chip -- I've confirmed by looking at the PCB itself (you can see the Silicon Image logo printed on it), and by looking at the Windows drivers: http://www.adeltek.com/Product%20Manual/PCI%20IO%20CONTROLLER/SD-PCXSA2-2E2R.jpg http://www.adeltek.com/Product%20Driver/PCI-X%20controller/sd-pcxsa2-2e2r.zip Stay away from this card. > Can anyone confirm that controller as working and free of quirks? > Are there other cards I should be looking at? I was hoping the X5DPR-iG2+ would have a UIO slot, but it doesn't. Too old I guess. PCI-X is also slowly getting phased out too, so it's becoming harder to find native PCI-X cards. These are cards I can recommend for your situation. Yes, they do RAID, they all support JBOD; just plug the disks in and go. http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA/series_2000.htm HighPoint RocketRAID 2210 (hptrr(4) driver; be sure to read NOTES) HighPoint RocketRAID 2220 (hptrr(4) driver; be sure to read NOTES) HighPoint RocketRAID 2224 (hptrr(4) driver; be sure to read NOTES) HighPoint RocketRAID 2240 (hptrr(4) driver; be sure to read NOTES) http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcix.htm Areca ARC-1110 (arcmsr(4) driver) Areca ARC-1120 (arcmsr(4) driver) Areca ARC-1130 (arcmsr(4) driver) Areca ARC-1160 (arcmsr(4) driver) Areca ARC-1130ML (arcmsr(4) driver) Areca ARC-1160ML (arcmsr(4) driver) The FreeBSD community members who have Areca cards have been thrilled with them, and *do* use the native RAID features reliably. Other cards which might work, but there's no confirmation of it, so I have to assume they aren't supported (in the case of the SX4300, I even see a mail dated January 2007 from someone asking for support for the card): Promise FastTrak SX4300 Promise FastTrak SX8300 Promise SuperTrak EX8300 I'm glad you have good experiences with 3Ware, but as for me, I'm too wary of their stuff based on a history of firmware bugs/issues. It's purely a personal decision of mine, so I don't "slam" 3Ware at all. > Next, I'm looking for a basic 1U server for light webhosting. > Reliability and compatibility are the two main concerns. I'm very happy > with 3Ware RAID cards, so I will likely add that in myself. The server > would optimally already have a hot swap SATA backplane and 4 drive bays. > I'm open to the semi-barebones route like the Supermicro servers as well > as major vendors like Dell and HP. Having some type of IP-KVM-like > functionality as an option would also be nice, but I'll settle for a > serial console. I'd like to keep this under $2K. There's a bunch of Supermicro systems which meet your needs. The first four are very new, and use the Intel X48 chipset. I don't know of any FreeBSD people using the X7SBU board, but I'm sure there are some. http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/ Supermicro SuperServer 5015B-URB (~US$975) Supermicro SuperServer 5015B-NTRB (~US$975) Supermicro SuperServer 5015B-UB (~US$785) Supermicro SuperServer 5015B-NTB (~US$785) Supermicro SuperServer 5015B-MTB (~US$655) bsdhwmon(8) supports the 5015B-MTB (X7SBi), but doesn't support the others (X7SBU). If someone out there has an X7SBU, please get in touch with me so I can add support for it! Specifically with regards to the 5015B-MTB: note no floppy drive. Supermicro replaced it with a front-panel USB/COM port thingus, which can be removed and replaced with a floppy drive (purchased from a distributor). I believe the front is COM2, while the rear is COM1. "Why do I care about floppy drives?" I don't usually... except some Supermicro boards have compatibility problems with certain brand/model/revisions of USB flash drives. You can read about my experience (and my interaction with engineering) on my blog: http://koitsu.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/supermicro-pdsmi-bios-bugs/ http://koitsu.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/supermicro-pdsmi-bios-bugs-part-2/ http://koitsu.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/supermicro-pdsmi-bios-bugs-finale/ Regarding KVM-over-IP: the Supermicro boards support an IPMI card add-on which does this, but I **highly** recommend avoiding it. I know guys over at Yahoo who complain constantly about these cards being flaky (mostly card firmware bugs), people on the mailing lists have stated this, and folks on #bsdports as well. Go with serial if possible. But if you do have to get the IPMI card, buy one which has a dedicated NIC; DO NOT buy one which "piggybacks" on top of an on-board NIC, it will only cause you problems. If you really want a KVM-over-IP solution, consider a KVM-over-IP device like ones from Aten; they'll work with anything. -- | Jeremy Chadwick jdc at parodius.com | | Parodius Networking http://www.parodius.com/ | | UNIX Systems Administrator Mountain View, CA, USA | | Making life hard for others since 1977. PGP: 4BD6C0CB |
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