On Wed, 4 Jul 2007, Jure Pe�~Mar wrote:
... reformatted ...
On Tue, 3 Jul 2007 10:26:20 -0500
Albert Chin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Or maybe someone knows of cheap SSD storage that
could be used for the ZIL?
If 4G is enough for you, take a look at Gigabyte iRam:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Storage/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2180
Linux folks say it's a bit quirky (it sets 'device failure' bit or
something like that, so you have to comment out some checking code
in the kernel to have it working), but works extremly well in my
home box and in few production mail servers.
The Gigabyte iRam is a very "strange" product - in that, it looks to
me like Gigabyte can't make up its mind, whether or not it wants to
get serious about this product (IMHO). Let me explain:
a) it's built on a custom gate array - if they were serious, they
would "convert" the gate array into a ASIC (application specific IC)
and gain lower unit cost in return for the upfront NRE (non recurring
engineering) costs.
b) it's not particularly fast. On a scale of 1 (slow) to 10 (fast),
I'd rate it a 5. They run the RAM parts at 100MHz. The SATA
interface is 1.5Mb/Sec - not 3Mb/Sec. Overall - its disappointing -
it could have been a great product.
c) it's hard to find/purchase. You have to be determined to own one.
d) the DDR memory parts are limited to 1Gb/socket. Why not 2 or 4Gb
per socket. Again - it "feels" like a Rev 1 product....
e) Having experience with two of these boards, I see the occasional
glitch. I've used one as a single ZFS device and run a test zone on
it. Occasionally I get a checksum error, which can usually be cleaned
up by running a zfs scrub. The zfs scrub runs *very* quickly! :) So
I know it's not 100% solid - and I'd have a problem recommending it.
OTOH they both work well enough to where I find them useful....
e1) Its a physically large board and will probably make the adjacent
PCI slot inaccessible (unless you have a small, low-profile board in
mind for the adajacent slot). See next point for physical form factor
changes.
f) Recently it was re-branded and re-packaged as the "GO-RAMDiSK-BOX":
http://www.dailytech.com/gigabyte+showcases+goramdiskbox/article7563.htm
But try and buy one of these and you'll find it does not exist!
Personal conclusion: This product may well solve a problem for you, as
a swap device or for building test/throw-away zones (or whatever) - or
it may not. If you buy one - test it thoroughly before you deploy it.
Expect it to be fast - but probably not as fast as you would imagine.
I hope this cautionary tale helps someone before they get excited and
rush out to buy one of these boards.
PS: the Gigabyte recommend Kingston memory parts work well and are
reasonably priced.
Regards,
Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT
OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007
http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/_______________________________________________
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