LinuxQuestions.org
Welcome to the most active Linux Forum on the web.
Home Forums Tutorials Articles Register
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware
User Name
Password
Linux - Hardware This forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 06-12-2008, 10:13 PM   #1
emrecio
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Seattle, WA, US
Distribution: Fedora
Posts: 14

Rep: Reputation: 0
nVidia Nforce4 RAID-1 Boot Issues


I enabled the RAID feature in my nVidia NF4 BIOS.

When I booted Fedora 9, it located my RAID array and saw it as /dev/mapper/nvidia_ehedchbe

I created the partitions which were labeled as above but with ...p1 /boot, p2 swap, p3 /

The install went OK until I rebooted. Grub went to boot the kernel and there was a kernel panic. libnash crashed... reading around the net, I saw that people said go with linux software raid, because the nVidia nForce4 raid controller is half hardware, and half software so it's not 'real' raid. I also read that Linux's software raid was faster than the nVidia raid.

In any case, has anyone gotten linux to boot off of /dev/mapper/nvidia_***** with the sata_nv driver? Should I go with linux anyways in case of a mobo failure, I can easily swap the drives out into another mobo with linux immediately being able to resolve the issue (i.e.: I won't be stuck having to have to get another nVidia raid mobo)? And... Is it really "Software" RAID even though I configure the RAID array in the RAID bios?

The link below was what I was going to do three years ago and just now got around to it. This is what I have just done (for testing) and I'll find out if linux can boot off of /dev/md0 (with nodmraid kernel option):

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=178400
 
Old 06-13-2008, 06:53 PM   #2
stefan_nicolau
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2005
Location: Canada
Distribution: Debian Etch/Sid, Ubuntu
Posts: 529

Rep: Reputation: 32
Quote:
In any case, has anyone gotten linux to boot off of /dev/mapper/nvidia_***** with the sata_nv driver?
I can't answer that, but, since you were able to write to the device, I guess it would be possible to boot with a proper initrd.

Quote:
Should I go with linux anyways in case of a mobo failure, I can easily swap the drives out into another mobo with linux immediately being able to resolve the issue (i.e.: I won't be stuck having to have to get another nVidia raid mobo)?
That's what I did.

Quote:
I also read that Linux's software raid was faster than the nVidia raid.
That's very likely for these fake raid controllers. The controller is slower than your cpu at most things it does.

Quote:
Is it really "Software" RAID even though I configure the RAID array in the RAID bios?
raid is configured in the device bios, but it is provided by the linux driver. Therefore, there is little point to not using mdadm. It will probably also be faster and more reliable.

The only real reason I can think of to use these cheap raid controllers is that you will be able to use the raid partitions under both linux and windows if you dual-boot.
 
  


Reply

Tags
mdadm, nforce4, nvidia, raid



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
NForce4 Raid 0 Slackware 12.0 install.... marky9074 Slackware 4 10-01-2007 09:36 AM
debian "lenny" nvidia nforce4 software raid 10 gariac Linux - Hardware 0 08-09-2007 01:49 AM
SuSe 10.2 & Nvidia Nforce4 RAID Loser69 Linux - Hardware 2 06-27-2006 05:06 AM
Kernel panic (Dual boot on nvidia nforce4 raid0 set) mariusvdm Mandriva 3 05-09-2006 02:00 AM
booting linux from a nforce4 raid ede1103 Linux - Hardware 5 11-17-2005 02:13 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:49 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration