[svlug] Multi drive PCI SATA card or 6 port SATA motherboard

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Ivan Sergio Borgonovo (mail at webthatworks.it):

> Cables may make the difference... but the mobo I just bought (asus
> a8n-sli premium) has 8 sata II ports on board and it wasn't terribly
> expensive (less than 200$). 

Hmm, interesting.  I see that four of those are Nvidia NForce 4, and
four of them are SiI 3114R.  Jeff Garzik is quoted as saying that
"Unfortunately, Nvidia is the only SATA hardware vendor that chooses not
to give me any hardware information" -- which is sadly typical of that
vendor, generally.  How well is Garzik's sata_nv driver working for you?

> Performances doesn't seem particulary different between on board ctl
> and more expensive external "true" raid ctl, expecially if he is going
> for soft raid anyway.

Marc expressed a quite rational preference for the Linux-native "md"
software-RAID driver, which has generally proven faster and more
reliable than manfacturer-specific fakeraid schemes (such as Nvidia's
NVRAID and Silicon Image's Medley), and usually competitive in most
respects with genuine hardware RAID, too.

-- 
Cheers,             
Rick Moen                 Support your local medical examiner:  Die strangely.
rick at linuxmafia.com