Support for Seagate Mach.2 dual actuator hdd.

[frodr]

Seagate Mach.2 tech doubles the hdd read/write speed. There are some scripts out there, but I guess an adaptation to Unraid is probably needed. A plugin would be nice.

 

https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/products/enterprise-drives/exos-x/2x18/

[ich777]

9 hours ago, frodr said:

There are some scripts out there, but I guess an adaptation to Unraid is probably needed. A plugin would be nice.

Do you plan on using SATA or SAS devices?

 

This script is only for ZFS and SAS drivers, as far as I can tell SATA can not represent two drives over one connection so you would need to create two separate partitions where you don't have the same speed bump over SAS.

 

This script should even work fine for Unraid as far as I can tell.

[frodr]

1 hour ago, ich777 said:

Do you plan on using SATA or SAS devices?

 

This script is only for ZFS and SAS drivers, as far as I can tell SATA can not represent two drives over one connection so you would need to create two separate partitions where you don't have the same speed bump over SAS.

 

This script should even work fine for Unraid as far as I can tell.

 

I have 6 x Exos 2X18 Sata version ready for a ZFS Pool. Refurbished from ServerPartDeals at 220USD. In the link, it is also a script for the Sata drives. I would need a step by step how-to. 

 

 

[ich777]

43 minutes ago, frodr said:

I would need a step by step how-to. 

The following should work:

1. Install Dialog since it does not ship with Unraid

   wget -O /tmp/dialog-1.3_20211214-x86_64-1.txz ftp.linux.cz/pub/linux/slackware/slackware64-15.0/slackware64/a/dialog-1.3_20211214-x86_64-1.txz
   installpkg /tmp/dialog-1.3_20211214-x86_64-1.txz
   rm /tmp/dialog-1.3_20211214-x86_64-1.txz

2. Download and make the script executable:

   cd ~
   wget https://github.com/suykerbuyk/disk-helpers-scripts/raw/d1c58af8fe445a7adb2dd351468aecbe4acab6da/exosx2_zfs_ops.sh
   chmod +x exosx2_zfs_ops.sh

3. Finally run the script:

   ./exosx2_zfs_ops.sh

4. This should bring up a menu that you can navigate through.

 

DISCLAIMER: Please note that these scripts are marked as experimental so to speak, if you break something it's up to you...

[JorgeB]

42 minutes ago, frodr said:

In the link, it is also a script for the Sata drives.

SATA drives require two partitions, Unraid at the moment does not support multiple partitions on the same zfs pool member.

[frodr]

13 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

SATA drives require two partitions, Unraid at the moment does not support multiple partitions on the same zfs pool member.

 

Is it likely that Unraid will support multiple partitions on the same zfs pool member? 

 

MACH.2 FAQ

Leveraging Seagate’s Mach.2® to Accelerate Enterprise Storage

 

 

[JorgeB]

5 minutes ago, frodr said:

Is it likely that Unraid will support multiple partitions on the same zfs pool member? 

I don't know, but probably not soon, I would assume it's not a negligible amount of coding to make that work.

[frodr]

From the FAQ:

 

Q: How can I configure an Exos ® 2X SATA drive in my Linux system?
A: You can partition both actuators, stripe the actuators into a software RAID, or use as-is.
Using the drive as-is would be a sufficient solution if you are migrating data to fill (or almost
fill) the whole drive so that both actuators will be kept sufficiently busy. If you would like to
treat each actuator as an individual device, then simple partitioning is an easy way to utilize
Exos 2X SATA.
 

So, Seagate says it can be used as-is in Linux. If you are migrating data to fill (or almost fill) the whole drive so that both actuators will be kept sufficiently busy. My understanding to this is that both actuators don't kick in until its fill up??? I had the drives in a Z2 Pool, but speed was as standard hdd. 

 

 

 

[JorgeB]

3 minutes ago, frodr said:

My understanding to this is that both actuators don't kick in until its fill up???

From what I've read the 1st half of the disk uses one actuator, 2nd half uses the other, so when filling a disk will use use just one at a time, though zfs can write anywhere on the disk, isn't always sequential like most other filesystems, so it can alternate between the two during a fill up.

[frodr]

My hope lies in Unraid supporting multiple partitions in ZFS, or that mach.2 will be supported in the Linux kernel. Which one should I put my money on? Well, kernel support is not enough I guess, Unraid must also support multiple partitions in ZFS. I do expect Unraid to do that one mans requisition. What if I ship 2 drives to 10 persons, then demand increases........

 

I guess I just set them up as is, and maybe one day.........

[JorgeB]

10 hours ago, frodr said:

What if I ship 2 drives to 10 persons, then demand increases........

lol, feel free to send me a couple

 

[Nov845]

I'm guessing if there's not really a way to get it working for ZFS in Unraid, there's not really a way to get it working in the regular Unraid Array?

[JorgeB]

27 minutes ago, Nov845 said:

there's not really a way to get it working in the regular Unraid Array?

It works fine in the array, but it won't be faster than a non dual actuator disk.

[Nov845]

9 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

It works fine in the array, but it won't be faster than a non dual actuator disk.

Why not?

[JorgeB]

12 hours ago, Nov845 said:

Why not?

 

On 10/2/2023 at 1:41 PM, JorgeB said:

the 1st half of the disk uses one actuator, 2nd half uses the other, so when filling a disk will use use just one at a time