Re: hardware raid suggestions

Brian,

> We're looking into getting an Adaptec 2200S or the Megaraid 320 2x
> which have better processors, and hopefully better performance.  We
> feel that the use of the AIC7930 as the CPU on the ZCR  just doesn't
> cut it and a faster raid controller would work better. Does anyone out
> there have any experience with these cards with postgresql and linux?
> If so, would you be willing to share your experiences and possibly give
> a recommendation?

Yes, my experience with adaptecs has been universally bad.   I just really
don't think that "the SCSI-2 card company" is up to making high-end raid
cards.

MegaRaid is generally positively reviewed in a lot of places.  Be careful to
order the battery back-up at the same time as the Raid card; the batteries
have the annoying habit of going off the market for months at a time.

You should also consider looking into driver issues.   In general, the RAID
card drivers distributed for Linux simply aren't as good as those the same
companies write for Windows or Unix.  That may be your issue with the ZCR, as
well as CPU.

Oh, and don't bother with the upgrade if you're not getting battery backup.
You need it.

--
Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco