SATA MB and cards?

[NJAVGOD]

What MB are you using for testing? I know it's on AVS but topic to long over there.

 

Thanks

[melechmet]

What MB are you using for testing? I know it's on AVS but topic to long over there.

 

Thanks

 

I'll 2nd that... eagerly awaiting a SATA build; just bought case + 12 WD 400's raid drives. Is there a possibility of supporting PCI-X/e 12 port SATA I/II rather than using a combination of cards/MB ports?

 

-Alex

[limetech]

I'll 2nd that... eagerly awaiting a SATA build; just bought case + 12 WD 400's raid drives. Is there a possibility of supporting PCI-X/e 12 port SATA I/II rather than using a combination of cards/MB ports?

 

-Alex

 

What 12 port controller did you have in mind?  We are using Intel D915GAGLK motherboard along with Promise SATAII150-TX4 and SATA300-TX4 controllers.  Keep in mind that we are extremely cost-conscious.  This combination of h/w does the job at the lowest possible price.  You can certainly build an UnRaid system using a server-class motherboard, fast CPU and memory, and 12-port controller, but would be way overkill.

[melechmet]

 

What 12 port controller did you have in mind?  We are using Intel D915GAGLK motherboard along with Promise SATAII150-TX4 and SATA300-TX4 controllers.  Keep in mind that we are extremely cost-conscious.  This combination of h/w does the job at the lowest possible price.

 

I actually had a 3ware raid card in mind (not running raid  of course), because I have one at hand. Many people do have RAID cards now; I would imagine some like me, would actually prefer not running Windows (or even a full blown Linux) though on these cards but something light weight w/ other benefits like the SW package you offer.

 

Now back to reality.... the configuration you suppport would allow for 12 drives in total then, correct? 4+4 (on PCI cards) + 4 on motherboard ? Is the install seemless or some intricate bios setup necessary to support the combination?

 

Actually my biggest worry is heat and available expansion (the price being third on the list)... optimally I'd like to drive at least 8 ports of off the MB and potentially use a single PCI-e card to drive the remaining drives with an option to slave a MB-less 8 or 12 bay SATA chassis with eSATA/SATAII cables/connectors. This would still be relatively low cost (leveraging logic on one chassis); relatively low power (=low heat) and redundant in a clean 6U ((3+3) 20-24 drive) solution. I realise the SW support is not there yet, but I did notice you once mentioned that you are entertaining support for more than 12 drives on the SATA platform (cant remember if it was 16 or 24, hopefully the latter ).

[NJAVGOD]

Well I ordered the MB set from Lime tech. I figured the frist one will be mixed. Can't wait for it to show up! Now for a case that works for me.

[gnollo]

Hi Limetech, I live in the UK so it is going to be cheaper for me to just order the software and buy the hardware over here, rather then get is shipped across the atlantic.

I already purchased the two promise SATA cards but the reference Intel Motherboard you list is not available in the UK.

Is there any more recent Intel Board you would suggest, or any Intel 865 will do? ?

[limetech]

Hi Limetech, I live in the UK so it is going to be cheaper for me to just order the software and buy the hardware over here, rather then get is shipped across the atlantic.

I already purchased the two promise SATA cards but the reference Intel Motherboard you list is not available in the UK.

Is there any more recent Intel Board you would suggest, or any Intel 865 will do? ?

For SATA, see if you can find the Intel D915GAGLK.

[Archivist]

Hey Tom:

 

Just stumbled on this from NewEgg - Foxconn 925XE7AA-8EKRS2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 925XE ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 139 - MIB $50 = $89 total.  I have LGA 775 3.6 gHz (bit hot but "free").  Will UnRaid possibly support the BroadCom GigE (dual channel) in this board, plus firewire, plus 3 PATA ports (6 ATA 100/133), plus 8 SATA 150, plus Sound ICH6.

 

Bit overkill but jeez its the first Board with Intel 915/925/945 that I've found w/3 PATA ports and so many SATA's that I'll run out of space before even thinking of adding a Promise Card  . 

 

Just a ? if you have a second to look at it... at Foxconn its http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=925XE7AA-8EKRS2.  Thanks

 

Dave

[80sMike]

Tom-

 

I second that request from Archivist above.  I was about to post about this great looking Foxconn board and noticed Archivist beat me to it.  So how about it?  Any chance for Broadcomm GigE support? 

 

The Newegg rebate is good until the end of April FYI...

 

Thanks!

Mike

[limetech]

I'll have a chance to look at this later today...

[gnollo]

Hi Limetech, I live in the UK so it is going to be cheaper for me to just order the software and buy the hardware over here, rather then get is shipped across the atlantic.

I already purchased the two promise SATA cards but the reference Intel Motherboard you list is not available in the UK.

Is there any more recent Intel Board you would suggest, or any Intel 865 will do? ?

For SATA, see if you can find the Intel D915GAGLK.

 

I found one for 120 USD. Thanks Limetech!

[Archivist]

I'll have a chance to look at this later today... > April 14, 2006 <

 

 

Hey Tom:

 

I've checked back re: my message & follow-up from 80sMike, but haven't seen any response from you yet on the Foxconn Board - 925XE7AA-8EKRS2.  The $ 50 rebate is only good at this point through April 30, so if we want to acquire this board at a discount, I would love some feedback! 

 

Realize from another post that you were out of town until 20th, so didn't get excited, but seriously considering this as option provided UnRaid will work.  It would probably suffice for the number of IDE Drives I currently have and any future Sata drives I might acquire, hopefully w/o the necessity of utilizing promise cards.  An additional plus is that it has "dual" gigabit channels and is a more current (ie not discontinued (YET LOL) Intel chipset implementation) question being appropriate/usable Linux drivers that UnRaid can support.  Anyway, if you get a chance this weekend, would appreciate your thoughts.

 

Dave 

[limetech]

Hey Tom:

 

Just stumbled on this from NewEgg - Foxconn 925XE7AA-8EKRS2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 925XE ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 139 - MIB $50 = $89 total.  I have LGA 775 3.6 gHz (bit hot but "free").  Will UnRaid possibly support the BroadCom GigE (dual channel) in this board, plus firewire, plus 3 PATA ports (6 ATA 100/133), plus 8 SATA 150, plus Sound ICH6.

 

Bit overkill but jeez its the first Board with Intel 915/925/945 that I've found w/3 PATA ports and so many SATA's that I'll run out of space before even thinking of adding a Promise Card  . 

 

Just a ? if you have a second to look at it... at Foxconn its http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=925XE7AA-8EKRS2.  Thanks

 

Dave

 

From the manual for this m/b we find:

x4 SATA using Intel ICH6R - this will work with UnRaid

x2 UDMA100 PATA using Intel ICH6R - this will also work

 

x4 SATA using Silicon Image 3114 - might work.  We would need to build a kernel with that driver built in (but see note below).

x4 UDMA133 PATA using ITE 8212 - don't know about this, there appears to be a patch available for 2.6.x kernel, but haven't found one for 2.4.x, though I didn't look too hard 

 

Note: The SI 3114 and ITE 8212 are "raid" controller chips - that is, they are designed to be used in an array configuration.  Even though they offer "JBOD", it is  unclear whether the drivers support this.  What I have found is that generally, on-board raid chips can't easily be used as just normal non-array disk controllers.  I say "easily" because most of the time the documenation seems to imply that you can do this - but what I have found is that the drivers won't support it.  And to be honest, we just haven't spent the time trying to get some of these to work.

 

The GigE on this board is a Broadcom BCM 5789, for one port, and a BCM 4401/5788 for the other port.  The current UnRaid system does not have Broadcom support, however, Broadcom does offer linux drivers on their website for these chips.  So possibly we could support this.

 

So I guess the answer is that this motherboard is not a very good candidate for UnRaid at this time.  Having all that connectivity is tempting, however, getting it all to work looks like a lot of work.  Also, there's no on-board video, so you would also have to buy a video card.

 

[Archivist]

Hi Tom:

 

Thanks for the review, sorry I was hoping that this might give us some additional options (eg multiple PATA/SATA & dual GigE).  Oh well back to drawing "(mother)board"! 

 

Dave

 

[melechmet]

Tom,

 

Any update on a new recommended motherboard? The Intel D865GLCLK are becoming very rare and, at this point, expensive given they're obsolete (in terms of SATA connectors, etc.).

 

Thanks,

Alex

[dschur]

I just picked up a D865GLCLK no problem. Try ZipZoomFly, Newegg, and Mwave.

 

Got mine for $70 shipped off eBay, in sealed Intel Retail packaging. 

[dschur]

Better yet, just get a starter set from Lime and be on your way (kind of wish I'd done that, would have saved a lot of time).

[melechmet]

Better yet, just get a starter set from Lime and be on your way (kind of wish I'd done that, would have saved a lot of time).

 

With all due respect- You're only addressing the availability aspect of my post, and I still say this MB is rare and when available, expensive (I just had a near bidding war with an AVS member on ebay over one); which leads me to the other point, which  is: they are obsolete, minimally for their lack of serious support for SATA.

 

Rather than spend 90 dollars on this. I'd rather buy a modern, 6-9 SATA ports on board, MB.

[DeathtoToasters]

But the D915GAGL board is not a gigabit network card. So are stuck with a 10/100 then or is there a pci card that is gigabit that un-raid now supports?