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Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?
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Software RAID is kinda OK but I'm sure you'd like the performance and security that the hardare setup gives so before we both bail on this because you're on a bandaid solution I'd still like to resolve the issue. I used to work for Dell NOS/Server Support for 3 years. So please, indulge my curiousity a little further. Maybe I can resolve this for you.
What was the driver that you were trying to load?
What were the steps Dell advised?
EDIT: I found this SATA howto but it's not for the Dell driver http://www.keffective.com/mvsata/ but if you use the driver they gave maybe the steps will work for you.
As I've read through the installation kits/How-To....
am sure that, it's done after the OS Installation, then do it
in Linux, compile it, and get it done so that the Raid can be
supported by Linux, am I right??
Dell adviced that, "The only Redhat version supported by
Dell Poweredge SC420 is RedHat Enterprise Version only"
The driver I'm trying to load is "ata_piix" as I've tried run
through the driver, but it's still failed......
Kindly advice...
I read an article from Dell Engineering stating that this system doesn't have a true hardware RAID controller for SATA and the spec's at dell.com ( http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1053336 ) state "Support for software RAID level 1".
When Dell says it only supports a certain operating system its because thats what they sell with it usually unless a SAR sets up a special deal with Dell custom services and sets your machine up with a non-Dell operating system.
The answer to your question is a maybe about RAID as now I see that it's not really a hardware RAID controller afterall. The SATA page ( http://linux.yyz.us/sata/sata-status.html ) has a link back to Dell and since I don't work there anymore its more difficult for me to find out what manufacturer the controller is for SATA on the SC420.
I also saw articles all over the Internet stating that those users had no problem installing Fedora Core 2 & 3 with the native drivers that came with FC2/3. So that confuses the issue as to why you had to get the ata_piix driver from Dell for your install.
You stated that you did a "linux dd" and you had the driver disk loaded and then the disk could not be accessed. What was the exact error message?
Also, did you try the Dell majordomo mailing list for answers?
EDIT: I saw this article but the person doing the testing doesn't look like he was doing the install the way the person was asking him to. > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla....cgi?id=136995 , because the error messages he was getting seemed to be pointing to something else and before you rely on the info at that link it could be a problem with his particular SATA controller or the chipset of the motherboard.
CERC SATA 2S
The CERC SATA 2S RAID controller is a combination BIOS and driver-based software RAID solution, which uses the system motherboard's SATA controllers. It is not a hardware RAID solution such as the aacraid and megaraid controllers listed above.
Systems with this controller include the PowerEdge 800, SC1425, and 420SC.
Under Windows and Netware, there are special device drivers which operate in conjunction with the system BIOS to present the system SATA disks as a RAID volume.
Under Linux, the disks should be treated as two independent disks, which use the standard Linux "MD" software RAID layer for RAID 0 or 1 operation (if you so desire). System Documentation on support.dell.com describe how to configure the system BIOS to either disable the RAID mode, or to set up the disks as two independent RAID volumes (effectively disabling the BIOS software RAID feature).
Download
1. Click the "Download Now" link to download the file.
2. If the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, click the "I agree" link to accept the agreement.
3. When the File Download window appears, click "Save" to save the file to your hard drive.
Installation
1. Log in as the root user
2. At a command prompt, type "tar xzvf ata_piix-0.93c-1c.tar.gz to extract the files from the compressed archive
3. At a command prompt, type "cd ata_piix-0.93c-1c"
4. Download the latest dkms RPM from support.dell.com, or install the one from the archive by typing "rpm -Uvh dkms-1.10-1.noarch.rpm". If you receive a message that a newer dkms is installed on your system already, proceed to the next step
5. At a command prompt, type "rpm -Uvh ata_piix-0.93c-1dkms.noarch.rpm" to install the device driver.
Using a Driver Disk to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux
The driver disk images are signified by the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update release and the OS architecture. For example, GU1U2 means the image supports installations for Gold, Update 1, and Update2, while i386 or x86_64 means it supports a specific OS architecuture
1. Put a floppy disk into the floppy drive on your system
2. At a command prompt, type "dd if= of=/dev/fd0". The driver disk is now ready to use
3. Boot to your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 installation media in the system you wish to install. At the "boot:" prompt, type "linux dd" to start the installation process.
4. When prompted, put the floppy into the floppy drive and follow the onscreen instructions.
I am awaiting the arrival of two SC420 servers that I wil be installing Debian Sarge on. I am documenting an install strategy when I came accross this thread.
What is the best way to approach an install of Debian with a RAID 1 for this server type?
from what I hae read so far I want to boot into the debian installer with the linux26 parameter to boot. From there I haven't the slightest clue. I've never setup a Raid with Linux before.
There is a great article here to setup a Raid post install. Is there a way to do it during the install process?
I am actually receiving two SC420 servers, but they are not going to be running RH. I have found the ethernet drivers (Broadcom5700 Series) but what do I need to do about the chipset? I am not interested in using RAID. Just SATA.
Slackware 10.1 or 10.1-current unsure of 2.4 or 2.6. The servers should be arriving here any time. I also downloaded Knoppix 4.9 (just released a few days ago) to see if there are any wierdo modules to be loaded or get a general idea of the system.
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