If you're doing RAID for redundancy/safety then there are some things to consider:
* hardware RAID w/ good controller can be very fast and reliable * if your RAID controller goes out then your data is unreadable unless you have a backup controller! * with RAID, you should still do backups Like almost everything else there is no single best answer. Your best option is to understand the different pieces well enough to know what they will do and what they won't, how much it costs in hardware and time, how much is the data worth and how often does it change, etc. If your data is important enough to bother worrying about, then you should also practice breaking your system and recovering, and take notes while you're doing it! If that seems like too much work then your data isn't worth much. Even though I said there's no single best answer, there really is: backups. Other options should be considered IN ADDITION to backups. On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 03:02:20PM +0100, Mauro Rezzonico wrote: > When your machine does support hardware raid (and you intend to run Open > BSD on it, of course), what is the general consensus about the "Right > Thing To Do"? > > The machine is an IBM xSeries 335 (dmesg follows) and the embedded raid > controller gets identified as a"Symbios Logic 53c1030" (supported by > mpi(4)) > > Maybe I am wrong, but that controller does not look like one of those > "low-cost IDE or SATA RAID controllers (such as those using Highpoint, > Promise or Adaptec HostRAID chips)", like you say in FAQ#14.13... > > It is my understanding that and hardware solution is more transparent to > the OS (I am going to use RAID1 on the bootstrap disk), and the burden > of the reconstruction is on the controller and not the CPU. > > Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I am very new to OpenBSD, I am > lightly slanted toward a software solution (basically it's a matter of > trust), but I would like to hear the opinion of the list. > > If it is possible, I would like to hear your 'general' opinion on > Hardware raid controllers not just the Symbios Logic... > > *Most of all please understand I am not trying to start a religious war!* > > --=-- > > OpenBSD 4.6-current (GENERIC.MP) #1: Thu Nov 19 14:16:08 CET 2009 > r...@dwa.ch23.lan:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC.MP > cpu0: Intel(R) XEON(TM) CPU 2.40GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.40 GHz > cpu0: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT, > PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM > real mem = 4160290816 (3967MB) > avail mem = 4053897216 (3866MB) > mainbus0 at root > bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 09/11/02, BIOS32 rev. 0 @ 0xfd7e1, > SMBIOS rev. 2.3 @ 0xf7141 (43 entries) > bios0: vendor IBM version "-[T2E110AUS-1.01]-" date 09/11/2002 > bios0: IBM eserver xSeries 335 -[867665X]- > acpi0 at bios0: rev 0 > acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC ASF! > acpi0: wakeup devices PCI0(S5) > acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits > acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat > cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor) > cpu0: apic clock running at 99MHz > cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 6 (application processor) > cpu1: Intel(R) XEON(TM) CPU 2.40GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.40 GHz > cpu1: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT, > PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM > cpu2 at mainbus0: apid 1 (application processor) > cpu2: Intel(R) XEON(TM) CPU 2.40GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.40 GHz > cpu2: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT, > PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM > cpu3 at mainbus0: apid 7 (application processor) > cpu3: Intel(R) XEON(TM) CPU 2.40GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.40 GHz > cpu3: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT, > PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM > ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 14 pa 0xfec00000, version 11, 16 pins > ioapic1 at mainbus0: apid 13 pa 0xfec01000, version 11, 16 pins > ioapic2 at mainbus0: apid 12 pa 0xfec02000, version 11, 16 pins > acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0) > acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 1 (PCI1) > acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 2 (PCI2) > acpicpu0 at acpi0 > acpicpu1 at acpi0 > acpicpu2 at acpi0 > acpicpu3 at acpi0 > bios0: ROM list: 0xc0000/0x8000 0xc8000/0x4000 0xcc000/0x1800 > pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1 (bios) > pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "ServerWorks CMIC-WS Host (GC-LE)" rev 0x13 > pchb1 at pci0 dev 0 function 1 "ServerWorks CMIC-WS Host (GC-LE)" rev 0x00 > pchb2 at pci0 dev 0 function 2 "ServerWorks CMIC-LE" rev 0x00 > pci1 at pchb2 bus 1 > mpi0 at pci1 dev 1 function 0 "Symbios Logic 53c1030" rev 0x07: apic 13 > int 6 (irq 9) > scsibus0 at mpi0: 16 targets, initiator 7 > sd0 at scsibus0 targ 0 lun 0: <COMPAQ, BD03685A24, HPB3> SCSI3 0/direct > fixed > sd0: 34732MB, 512 bytes/sec, 71132000 sec total > sd1 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: <COMPAQ, BD036863AC, HPB8> SCSI3 0/direct > fixed > sd1: 34732MB, 512 bytes/sec, 71132000 sec total > safte0 at scsibus0 targ 8 lun 0: <IBM, 25P3495a S320 1, 1> SCSI2 > 3/processor fixed > mpi0: target 0 Sync at 160MHz width 16bit offset 63 QAS 1 DT 1 IU 1 > mpi0: target 1 Sync at 160MHz width 16bit offset 127 QAS 1 DT 1 IU 1 > vga1 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "ATI Rage XL" rev 0x27 > wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation) > wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (80x25, vt100 emulation) > fxp0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel 8255x" rev 0x0d, i82550: apic 13 > int 0 (irq 10), address 00:02:b3:da:76:86 > inphy0 at fxp0 phy 1: i82555 10/100 PHY, rev. 4 > piixpm0 at pci0 dev 15 function 0 "ServerWorks CSB5" rev 0x93: polling > iic0 at piixpm0 > spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x50: 1GB DDR SDRAM registered ECC PC2100CL2.5 > spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x51: 1GB DDR SDRAM registered ECC PC2300CL2.5 > spdmem2 at iic0 addr 0x52: 1GB DDR SDRAM registered ECC PC2100CL2.5 > spdmem3 at iic0 addr 0x53: 1GB DDR SDRAM registered ECC PC2300CL2.5 > pciide0 at pci0 dev 15 function 1 "ServerWorks CSB5 IDE" rev 0x93: DMA > atapiscsi0 at pciide0 channel 1 drive 0 > scsibus1 at atapiscsi0: 2 targets > cd0 at scsibus1 targ 0 lun 0: <TEAC, CD-224E, 2.9B> ATAPI 5/cdrom removable > cd0(pciide0:1:0): using PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 2 > ohci0 at pci0 dev 15 function 2 "ServerWorks OSB4/CSB5 USB" rev 0x05: > apic 14 int 11 (irq 11), version 1.0, legacy support > pcib0 at pci0 dev 15 function 3 "ServerWorks CSB5 LPC" rev 0x00 > pchb3 at pci0 dev 17 function 0 "ServerWorks CIOB-X2 PCIX" rev 0x03 > pchb4 at pci0 dev 17 function 2 "ServerWorks CIOB-X2 PCIX" rev 0x03 > pci2 at pchb4 bus 2 > bge0 at pci2 dev 1 function 0 "Broadcom BCM5703X" rev 0x02, BCM5702/5703 > A2 (0x1002): apic 13 int 8 (irq 11), address 00:02:55:67:15:5e > brgphy0 at bge0 phy 1: BCM5703 10/100/1000baseT PHY, rev. 2 > bge1 at pci2 dev 2 function 0 "Broadcom BCM5703X" rev 0x02, BCM5702/5703 > A2 (0x1002): apic 13 int 9 (irq 3), address 00:02:55:67:15:5f > brgphy1 at bge1 phy 1: BCM5703 10/100/1000baseT PHY, rev. 2 > usb0 at ohci0: USB revision 1.0 > uhub0 at usb0 "ServerWorks OHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1 > isa0 at pcib0 > isadma0 at isa0 > com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo > pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5 > pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot) > pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot > wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0 > pmsi0 at pckbc0 (aux slot) > pckbc0: using irq 12 for aux slot > wsmouse0 at pmsi0 mux 0 > pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61 > midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker> > spkr0 at pcppi0 > npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: reported by CPUID; using exception 16 > fdc0 at isa0 port 0x3f0/6 irq 6 drq 2 > fd0 at fdc0 drive 0: 1.44MB 80 cyl, 2 head, 18 sec > mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support > vscsi0 at root > scsibus2 at vscsi0: 256 targets > softraid0 at root > root on sd0a swap on sd0b dump on sd0b > > -- > Mauro Rezzonico <ma...@ch23.org>, Como, Italia > "Maybe this world is another planet's hell" - H.Huxley > -- Darrin Chandler | Phoenix BSD 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