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ServeRaid 5i support and possible IBM agreements

807559Feb 22 2005 — edited Apr 6 2006
I was going to install Solaris 10 x86 on an IBM xSeries 345 server for running Java-based application server + database (JBoss+MySQL) when I've found that ServeRaid 5i controller is not recognized by the OS and, infact, it does not find the disks during the install process.

Is it possible that a SCSI controller like this (very common on IBM servers) is not supported? Yes, it is.

And it's very strange that I can run on these servers FreeBSD 5.3 which supports perfectly all the peripherals...

So much advertising on Solaris 10 x86 and it doesn't support IBM ServeRaid... why won't you tell this to customers in your advertisement campaign?

Why won't you tell you took some marketing agreement with IBM to avoid so many people will use Solaris x86 on IBM eServers but stuck on Linux?

Please, tell us...


Fabio

Comments

807559
Hello there.

Thought i'd add a bit to this.
We just received a IBM x346 server, with a IBM ServRAID-7k card in it. Solaris 9 was unable to detect the raid controller, which i had a thought could happen. However, FreeBSD 5.3 worked fine.

Now, im trying to find a card that will work in this server so I can install Solaris 9 on it. That has been far more cumbersome than I expected and im not sure if I can even find a card.

Anyway, thought i'd share similar frustrations.

Jason
803031
YES! This is a huge problem for me too. My manager(s) recently purchased the Sun Java Enterprise Sytem, huge suite of software. Well guess what... we're an IBM shop! I got racks of xSeries, like 342 and 345, servers with a myriad of different IBM raid cards. I would love to use Solaris 10 x86. Makes sense right since I am going to run only Sun software. I was looking forward to one vendor. But now I have to run RHEL 3. Sun usually supports an OS version from its competitors which is a generation behind. Cmon Sun get Solaris 10 x86 running on all the popular server brands.
807559
Seems to exist a driver for ServeRAID (chs):

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/816-5177/6mbbc4g44?a=view

Now I'm wondering if somebody from SUN could explain us why Solaris 10 doesn't detect the controller during the install process.


Thanks
Fabio
807559
Nice, no response from a sun rep in here. It looks like I'm about to be stuck in the same situation- I wanted to consolidate some services on an x345 with Serveraid-5i under Solaris 10 with a few local zones.....but without SR support this is sort of a bad joke.

Anyone manage to find a workaround for S10 install? I don't recall the next step up in RAID cards for the x345, but not all that into spending more $ on this one either.
807559
Well, without googling any luck, I disabled the 5i card (via BIOS/PCI devices), re-enabled the onboard LSI (which is obnoxious, installing and enabling the 5i disables the onboard, but I missed re-eenabling it the first time through..), and am using solaris vol mgmt for a RAID-5 volume instead. Not the solution I wanted offhand, but I'll see how it performs...
807559
Ugh, unable to edit previous posts...wanted to add I still think this is pretty lame. As much as S10 overall impresses me (SPARC, x86-64 and overall) and I've been thinking Sun finally has a small chance to gain back some marketshare if they play it right, the x345 is a seriously heavily sold system by IBM, as is the 5i card. I'm fairly sure the equivalent HP/Dell/whomever are also Adaptec cards, and I believe at least the HP DL380 5i is supported.

This would be a really good thing to see supported. Yeah, I know, there's OpenSolaris, write one...but that doesn't fly in companies with datacenters they'd think about consolidating existing equipment via S10 and zones...then find out they can't use a good chunk of their systems as they'd like to (with the 5i support).
807559
CHS driver only support obselete IBM serverRAID HBA 2X serials.
IBM serverRAID 3x,4x,5x,6x still have not driver for Solaris now offically.
But I am working on the IPS driver on my spare time due to the priority of the project is low. Sun have no plan to support them for a while.
As for latest version IBM serveRAID 7x,8x driver, Sun do will support them later.
807559
Hi

Im having exactly the same problem trying to install Solaris x86_64 on an IBM xSeries 260 with a Serveraid 8i. The install bombs out at the first hurdle becasue no disks are detected (after it doesnt detect any usb controllers but thats another story).

Javen said that Sun will support the 7x and 8x cards 'later', he posted that in Janurary and i was wondering if Sun have done anything about this as it is now april.
If they havn't then it looks like I will be running Redhat which i would really rather not have to do.

thanks
edd
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Locked on May 4 2006
Added on Feb 22 2005
#oracle-solaris, #solaris-on-x86
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