Is it possible to install two identical RAID cards on my server and to get them running relatively easy?

i have a lot of disks and need them in one server =)
im upgrading from win2k to Mandrake 10.0

pleas input information on how to do it.

Lots of disks usually means SCSI RAID.

If you use SCSI Raid there should be no problem at all to use 2 or more identical controllers.

IDE has more limitations and probably won't fit your needs in big setups.

actualy they are IDE disks =)

then you don't really have "lots" of disks :-)

well everything is relativ =)

i have 12 disks at the moment
4 more soon and need to get it to work somhow
the problem is actualy that ther is only one RAID card that can support 8 disks avilable where i live so it two of them or on and two more and then it only gets to complicated =)

do you think it works? =)

usually multiple same controllers do work, but to be sure i would email support

e.g. 3ware claims:

Yes our controllers are EDBA (Extended Data BIOS Area) compliant and can co exists together in the same system. The 7000 Series and 8000 Series controller can utilize up to 48K of conventional BIOS space during the BIOS post. Once the BIOS is done executing it may hold onto 6K-8K of conventional BIOS memory space. Each additional controller will do the same and also utilize 6K-8K starting in the memory range where the previous controller left of.

This is may be affected by the way your motherboards plug and play BIOS allocates resources and in some rare instances it may be another device sharing the bus that may be using illegal conventional BIOS space. In the event you’re 3ware controller does not post its BIOS or hangs during the BIOS posting there are something’s you can do.

1. For trouble shooting purposes remove or disable all intergraded peripherals such as USB, LAN, Boot from LAN, or any other Option ROMs that take up conventional BIOS space
2. Try rearranging PCI devices
3. Reset ESCD on your mother board (Extended System Configuration Data)
4. Look for a BIOS update for your mother board
5. Cross reference the symptom on a different system

You are able to have up to 4 IDE controllers of the same model but the module (driver) have to be written this way. 3ware saids you can add four of the same model in your system. The amount of IDE hard drives does not matter. The controller will be handling them.