Is this a good SCSI card?

[dark_15]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-118-008&depa=0

How does this SCSI card fare when it is put into a 32-bit PCI slot?

I just need a good card that'll do RAID-1 that is rather reasonable in price. I already have a cable with a built-in terminator. Thanks!

[kodiak81]

heh, on the newegg site it lists the card as single drive raid 0 capable.

The PDF (http://www.lsilogic.com/files/docs/marketing_docs/storage_stand_prod/habs/lsi20320pb.pdf)
The second page has a little chart, 32bit PCI is limited to 132MB/s. I don't see that as a horrible problem unless you are running a huge array with hundreds of users. True, it would be burst limiting your drives, but it just depends on your implementation.

[dark_15]

I need it for storing and deploying Symantec ghost images. I wanted RAID-1 so that if a drive dies, I don't need to make new images.

[mortimer]

The only thing, other than cost, that would concern me is that it indicates "one drive". SCSI was always multiple drives/devices...

[jchsatx09]

holy crap...i didnt know scsi cards were so expensive.

[Xaotic]

holy crap...i didnt know scsi cards were so expensive.

This is a very inexpensive controller. The hardware RAID cards I use range into the thousands.

For your usage, this should work fine, assuming the PCI bus does not have other bandwidth issues(and most times even if it has some,). Normally, the network is the limiting factor for imaging servers. Reads may be able push the limits of the bus, but have no impact due to network bottlenecks.

[juliendogg]

To me that looks like a SCSI controller and not a SCSI Raid controller. You will be needing the latter. As Xaotic said, good hardware raid cards get on the very pricey side. You should be able to find a nice 32 bit PCI Raid Controller on ebay for around $100 though. I picked up my 128MB Cache U320 Raid SA5302 card on ebay for about $100 vs. the $500+ it would have cost me new. That's a 64bit PCI card though.

Listen to Xaotic, he knows his scsi and raid. He's helped me a great deal in troubleshooting some of my problems.


J.

[dark_15]

To me that looks like a SCSI controller and not a SCSI Raid controller. You will be needing the latter. As Xaotic said, good hardware raid cards get on the very pricey side. You should be able to find a nice 32 bit PCI Raid Controller on ebay for around $100 though. I picked up my 128MB Cache U320 Raid SA5302 card on ebay for about $100 vs. the $500+ it would have cost me new. That's a 64bit PCI card though.

Listen to Xaotic, he knows his scsi and raid. He's helped me a great deal in troubleshooting some of my problems.


J.
He has helped me a great deal with mine as well.

Here's some info from LSI's Site:

The LSI Logic LSI20320-R Ultra320 SCSI single-channel host adapter is the right choice for increasing storage performance within servers and high-performance workstations. With 320MB/s throughput and capability of up to 50,000 I/Os per second, this adapter is ideal for quickly moving large amounts of data. Designed to provide a dedicated connection to Ultra320 disk drives or storage enclosures, the LSI20320-R delivers sensational performance.

This card also provides for increased reliability and performance with on-board Integrated RAID [0 (striping), 1(mirroring), and 1E (enhanced mirroring)]. LSI Logic Integrated RAID is hardware-based and operating system independent resulting in exceptional performance without requiring special drivers.

Features

* Supports a single RAID volume RAID 0, 1 or 1E
* Ultra320 SCSI, PCI-X 133MHz
* 320 MBps data transfer rates
* MD2 form factor, low profile bracket available upon request
* Fusion-MPT architecture featuring 50,000 IO/s
* Connects up to 15 internal/external connects such as JBOD, RAID, hard disk drives
* Supports all major operating systems
* Supports Sun and Intel based systems

Benefits

* The LSI Logic LSI20320-R Ultra320 SCSI Single Channel host adapter is the right choice for increasing internal storage performance within ISP, rackmount and high performance workstations
* With 320MBps and capability of up to 50,000 I/Os per second, this adapter is ideal for transferring high speed and high capacity data
* Designed for applications that don't require as many external connections, this cost effective solution gives you the performance you need, at a price that is right
* Popular applications include print, email, web and Intranet, extranet hosting

This should be just perfect for what I need then.

[dicecca112]

you sure that is gonna work with your mobo. I tried putting a PCI-x card in a PCI mobo and it didn;t work for me.

[Xaotic]

In this case(and many others), the controller lists compatibility with PCI 2.0, 32/33. I'm not sure which controller you were using. It's possible that there were chipset issues, but usually it would be a specific PCI slot that may have resource issues due to other devices connected via the southbridge.

This is a hardware controller and does have a processor, though not as robust and fast as higher level cards that also implement BBU and cache assemblies. It will not have the speed of a high level controller for extreme IO and parity calculations, but that's beyond what it's designed to accomplish. For simple RAID levels, it's a good choice for a lower budget commercial system.

I looked at getting one when they first came out, but never got around to picking one up. Unfortunately, they're a bit more expensive now. They were 133.00 last year for the RAID kit. It's still a good deal though.

[XeonStrikeForce]

what ever you do doen't get a Adaptec 2100-S ! given it is a very sleek and functional hard ware raid controler for 32-bit PCI Its cache is a wh**e to upgrade !<

If you'll be doing hard core Disk I/O then PCI-X Hardware RAID is the only way to go. Then again my file/movie server uses old Ultra 2 (40MBits a second max sustained) in raid 0 and hands me + Room mate + Next door naighbour all watching diferant vids at the same time & it Only has 4Megs Cache lol (PCI, Adaptec AAA-133) So you only have to go deep if you have tons of I/O as scsi is a very formitable system but only if you need that much power (But you can never have to much now can ya ? hehe)