Re: More on vinum woes

[Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

:Since you are personally using this solution, I'm thinking I could do
:a lot worse. I need reliability more than anything (which is why I've
:gone DragonFly). The way vinum is behaving, maybe I should try this
:strategy and see how it works? 
:
:Might I ask the exact model number of the 3ware card(s) you use for
:RAID 5? If I do things this way I've got to buy two at the same time,
:and I'd like to be accurate. ;)
:------

    pkgbox.dragonflybsd.org has a 3ware 9500S-4LP in it (4 SATA ports), 
    with four 250G drives in a RAID-5 configuration (750G of usable storage).
    I have a second box with the same configuration to support my LAN/family.
    My backup box has my extra IDE (PATA) drives in it so I bought a
    7506-4LP (4 PATA ports) 3ware controller for it.  Currently I have
    3 drives in that one in a striped config, and as soon as I get the
    fourth drive I'll reformat it to be RAID-5.

    The 9xxx series cards have optional battery-backup.  I have not yet
    bought the battery-backup option/daughter-board but I intend to.

    You can get 3ware cards in 2, 4, 8, and 12-port versions.  You can't
    gang cards together (i.e. the RAID has to be within a single card),
    but you can of course stuff multiple cards and use them independantly.
    The most commonly used cards are the 4 and 8-port cards.  They get
    progressively more expensive.  

    If purchasing new equipment/drives I recommend sticking to SATA drives.

    I bought most of the junk for the new machines, including the 3ware cards,
    at www.newegg.com on David Rhodus's recommendation.  They did a great 
    job collecting all the pieces together and getting them shipped. 

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>