[Beowulf] hardware RAID versus mdadm versus LVM-striping

[Alan Louis Scheinine]

I had a nightmare problem with a newly compiled kernel not booting.
The problem may have been with the command mkblkdevs of nash but in
any case I did extensive web search on the AHCI controller that I had
in both a notebook and a desktop computer, both of which had the
booting problem.

One example of the controller is
    Intel ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller

In web postings there were many problems attributed to this controller.
It does RAID 1 using software.  The Linux driver was (is?) a "work in progress"
from what I gather reading web postings.

Dr. A.J. Travis wrote:
> The problem with using an on-board RAID controller is that many of
 > these are 'host' RAID (i.e. need a Windows driver to do the RAID)
 > in which case you are using the CPU anyway, and they also use
 > proprietary formats.

My point is to underline this fact.  Hardware RAID 1 should be simple and
reliable.  But when the RAID controller relies on software running on the
O/S, then it might be better to use Linux software RAID.

Alan

-- 

  Alan Scheinine
  200 Georgann Dr., Apt. E6
  Vicksburg, MS  39180

  Email: alscheinine at tuffmail.us
  Mobile phone: 225 288 4176