Re: RAID Controllers

On 8/22/2011 10:55 PM, Scott Marlowe wrote:
> If you're running linux and thus stuck with the command line on the
> LSI, I'd recommend anything else.  MegaRAID is the hardest RAID
> control software to use I've ever seen.  If you can spring for the
> money, get the Areca 1680:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151023  Be
> sure and get the battery unit for it.  You can configure it from an
> external ethernet connector very easily, and the performance is
> outstandingly good.
Thanks. I took a look at Areca. The fan on the controller board is a big
warning signal for me (those fans are in my experience the single most
unreliable component ever used in computers).

Can you say a bit more about the likely problems with the CLI ?
I'm thinking that I configure the card once, and copy the config
to all the other boxes, so even if it's as obscure as Cisco IOS,
how bad can it be ? Is the concern more with things like a rebuild;
monitoring for drive failures -- that kind of constant management
task ?

How about Adaptec on Linux ? The supercapacitor and NAND
flash idea looks like a good one, provided the firmware doesn't
have bugs (true with any write back controller though).