Netserver LC 2000 PCI IDE Card & Drive Size Recommendations

Hi There,

I just picked up the above server, and would like to add some IDE
storage. Can someone make recommendations for a PCI IDE card that I
can use to create a hardware RAID 0 array? This will be running SME
Server (a Red Hat derivative). I'm also interested in any limitations
in disk size for this system; I've heard the BIOS can sometimes give
you fits in these situations.

This box only supports several users who store lots of stuff.

300GB drives are cheap now, and I figure a couple of them in a RAID 0
would take care of me for awhile. Even though this has a six-slot
hot-swap module, it is SCSI and they are very expensive.

Any success stories with this hardware would be very welcome.

Thanks,
Kevin

* :

> I just picked up the above server, and would like to add some IDE
> storage. Can someone make recommendations for a PCI IDE card that I
> can use to create a hardware RAID 0 array?

Basically, you can use every generic IDE or SATA controller card that
fits your need. You just have to be aware that hardware RAID controllers
usually have a very limited absolute performance (but they keep the
performance up even under heavy load) while the cheaper software-based
RAIDs or hardware-supported RAID adapters perform much better (at the
cost of a performance break-in under extreme load). But then, the LC2000
is an old P3 server with a very limited PCI performance, so you won't
get the full performance out of a RAID0 anyways...

Since cabling is a lot easier with SATA than with parallel ATA I'd
strongly suggest to use SATA...

> This will be running SME Server (a Red Hat derivative).

In this case I'd go with a non-RAID controller and a software RAID made
with Linux LVM...

> I'm also interested in any limitations
> in disk size for this system; I've heard the BIOS can sometimes give
> you fits in these situations.

Yes, if you use the on-Board ports. However, when using an IDE- or
SATA-Controller card the servers BIOS isn't a limitation since the
controller BIOS controls the disk access (at least until the OS and the
controller driver get loaded)...

> This box only supports several users who store lots of stuff.

And you are sure you want RAID0 for a storage server? Mind you that
RAID0 has n-times the risk of a drive failure than a single hard drive
(n is the number of drives in the RAID0 array). And if one drive dies
all the data are lost. So as long as you don't make regular backups of
the data RAID0 is like russian roulette. You're better with a RAID1 or
RAID5 (but even then a RAID doesn't replace a proper backup!).

> 300GB drives are cheap now, and I figure a couple of them in a RAID 0
> would take care of me for awhile. Even though this has a six-slot
> hot-swap module, it is SCSI and they are very expensive.

Right, but if you can't use the disk bays then the room for ATA disks is
very limited.

If I were you I'd check around on ebay for some SCA drives and some
sleds (if you don't already have one). SCSI disks with SCA connector are
quite cheap in capacities up to 72GB, and 6x 72GB should give you plenty
of room even in RAID5 config.

Benjamin