Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World
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When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
- Install OS
You now have an OS installed on RAID5.
Motherboard that does NOT come with RAID:
- Install additional hardware RAID card
- Configure RAID
- Install OS
or
1.) Install OS
2.) Configure software RAID
(yes, software RAID here is superior in this case)
You now have an OS installed on RAID5.
Yes you CAN do other things, but is not typically... I'm talking 99% of the cases would be like above.
99% of typical motherboards you buy do come with RAID, so the first scenario is the one that will be in the case you want a RAID. This is easy.
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@pete-s that board appears to have fakeRAID
Intel® C622 controller for 10 SATA3 (6 Gbps) ports; RAID 0,1,5,10 Broadcom® 3008 SW controller for 8 SAS3 (12Gbs) ports; RAID 0,1,10 -
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
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@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s that board appears to have fakeRAID
Intel
C622 controller for 10 SATA3 (6 Gbps) ports; RAID 0,1,5,10
Broadcom 3008 SW controller for 8 SAS3 (12Gbs) ports; RAID 0,1,10With this we can assume that raid 0,1,5,10 are all FakeRAID? this that correct?
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@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
For simplicity, I'm referring to the hitting of CTRL+R after POST as the RAID BIOS.
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@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
wouldn't CTLR+R (or in my case it was F for Fast track) allow you to configure RAID? and make sure Bios are set to boot with the RAID ?
@Obsolesce is that what you are talking about? I'm just trying to learn, I knew nothing about RAID at the beginning of the day...
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@dustinb3403 No, Broadcom 3008 has it's own integrated cpu, on board memory etc. It's just not enough performance for it to do all kinds of raid. It's the same controller as Dell H330 and a bunch of others make cards with it as well.
From the specs:
The SAS 3008 offered with the Avago Integrated RAID (IR) feature is a
low cost, high performance RAID solution designed for blade, entry and
mid-range servers that require redundancy and high availability but where
a full featured RAID implementation is cost prohibitive or not desired. The
Avago advanced Integrated RAID options include Integrated Mirroring
(IM), which is RAID 1, Integrated Mirroring Enhanced (IME), known as RAID
1E, Integrated Striping (IS), which is RAID 0, and Integrated Mirroring and
Striping (IMS) which is RAID 10. By simplifying the RAID configuration
options, Integrated RAID is easy to install and configure and meets the
needs of most internal RAID requirements. -
@wrcombs said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
wouldn't CTLR+R (or in my case it was F for Fast track) allow you to configure RAID? and make sure Bios are set to boot with the RAID ?
@Obsolesce is that what you are talking about? I'm just trying to learn, I knew nothing about RAID at the beginning of the day...
Yeah, even if you have a dedicated hardware RAID card... such as the Dell PERC H730p, you have the ability to enter the RAID card's BIOS by hitting CTRL+R.
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@wrcombs said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
wouldn't CTLR+R (or in my case it was F for Fast track) allow you to configure RAID? and make sure Bios are set to boot with the RAID ?
@Obsolesce is that what you are talking about? I'm just trying to learn, I knew nothing about RAID at the beginning of the day...
That "option" is what is fakeRAID.
Take that motherboard and throw it out, and grab those drives. Nothing else in the world would know that the drives are of an array. (especially in a disaster recovery scenario)
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@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@wrcombs said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
wouldn't CTLR+R (or in my case it was F for Fast track) allow you to configure RAID? and make sure Bios are set to boot with the RAID ?
@Obsolesce is that what you are talking about? I'm just trying to learn, I knew nothing about RAID at the beginning of the day...
Yeah, even if you have a dedicated hardware RAID card... such as the Dell PERC H730p, you have the ability to enter the RAID card's BIOS by hitting CTRL+R.
That is because you'd have dedicated hardware intercepting the boot process so you can configure the array. It's not hardware raid because something is stopping the boot process to throw up a menu that you can jump into.
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@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@wrcombs said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
You can't configure raid in BIOS, period.
You can setup a configuration file, but the OS installation is setting up the array way after the installation has started.
wouldn't CTLR+R (or in my case it was F for Fast track) allow you to configure RAID? and make sure Bios are set to boot with the RAID ?
@Obsolesce is that what you are talking about? I'm just trying to learn, I knew nothing about RAID at the beginning of the day...
Yeah, even if you have a dedicated hardware RAID card... such as the Dell PERC H730p, you have the ability to enter the RAID card's BIOS by hitting CTRL+R.
That is because you'd have dedicated hardware intercepting the boot process so you can configure the array. It's not hardware raid because something is stopping the boot process to throw up a menu that you can jump into.
Holy shit, you're just as bad as Scott putting words in my mouth. Nowhere did I suggest something is hardware raid just because something stops the boot process and gives you a menu.
If you comprehended anything i said whatsoever, I said it's hardware RAID because it's a PERC H730p...
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@pete-s said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
Too many post in this thread for me to read but I just wanted to chime in and say that Supermicro for instance have a couple of motherboards in each generation that has a LSI/Broadcom RAID controller on them. It's real hardware raid but low end. I haven't actually used it for hardware raid but it makes a decent HBA for chassis with SAS/SATA drives and port expanders.
For instance this: https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C620/X11SPH-nCTPF.cfm
Absolutely, SuperMicro makes some with real hardware controllers. I know that they have some of these in their server lines. Do they have some in Desktop models, too?
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@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s are you certain it isn't the same FakeRAID we're discussing here?
I'd be interested in seeing what models specifically include this.
LSI only makes hardware RAID, AFAIK. But I know for certain that SuperMicro makes real server boards with entry level hardware RAID on them. Some others do, too. But in the desktop space, which was the basis for the originally discussion from the other thread, I'm not sure if they offer that as well, or not.
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@scottalanmiller said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s are you certain it isn't the same FakeRAID we're discussing here?
I'd be interested in seeing what models specifically include this.
LSI only makes hardware RAID, AFAIK. But I know for certain that SuperMicro makes real server boards with entry level hardware RAID on them. Some others do, too. But in the desktop space, which was the basis for the originally discussion from the other thread, I'm not sure if they offer that as well, or not.
I think they use the same motherboards in the workstation line as some of the servers. General desktops, I don't know off the top of my head.
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@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
When I buy a motherboard that comes with RAID, vs one that does not come with RAID, the difference is significant if your end goal is to have a RAID5 for example. So, lets assume that you want to build a home computer that has a RAID5:
Motherboard that comes with RAID:
- Configure RAID in bios
- Install OS
You now have an OS installed on RAID5.
Motherboard that does NOT come with RAID:
- Install additional hardware RAID card
- Configure RAID
- Install OS
or
1.) Install OS
2.) Configure software RAID
(yes, software RAID here is superior in this case)
You now have an OS installed on RAID5.
Yes you CAN do other things, but is not typically... I'm talking 99% of the cases would be like above.
99% of typical motherboards you buy do come with RAID, so the first scenario is the one that will be in the case you want a RAID. This is easy.
You are contriving the second scenario. I don't have to do anything like that for my RAID 5 installs, it's way easier than that. No more steps than your example. It's impossible for FakeRAID to offer something that normal Software RAID cannot. Because FakeRAID is just a crippled version of Software RAID.
In both of your examples you leave out the most common case - which is that you configure the RAID during the OS install. There is only one step, no multiple steps.
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@scottalanmiller said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s are you certain it isn't the same FakeRAID we're discussing here?
I'd be interested in seeing what models specifically include this.
LSI only makes hardware RAID, AFAIK. But I know for certain that SuperMicro makes real server boards with entry level hardware RAID on them. Some others do, too. But in the desktop space, which was the basis for the originally discussion from the other thread, I'm not sure if they offer that as well, or not.
All fakeraid I've seen (on motherboards) was never LSI. It's usually part of the chipset like AMD or Intel.
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Another common way to expose most FakeRAID, try installing VMware ESXi on it. Hardware RAID has to work, FakeRAID would require that VMware have the drivers built in.
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@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@scottalanmiller said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s are you certain it isn't the same FakeRAID we're discussing here?
I'd be interested in seeing what models specifically include this.
LSI only makes hardware RAID, AFAIK. But I know for certain that SuperMicro makes real server boards with entry level hardware RAID on them. Some others do, too. But in the desktop space, which was the basis for the originally discussion from the other thread, I'm not sure if they offer that as well, or not.
All fakeraid I've seen (on motherboards) was never LSI. It's usually part of the chipset like AMD or Intel.
AMD used to do hardware RAID, believe it or not. That's the HP dx5150. It was an AMD chipset doing it. It existed before the OS installed, true hardware beginning to end.
Intel is the largest and most outspoken FakeRAID vendor. They are the big maker of add-on FakeRAID cards.
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@scottalanmiller said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
In both of your examples you leave out the most common case - which is that you configure the RAID during the OS install. There is only one step, no multiple steps.
You're right, that's basically the second part here:
@obsolesce said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
or
1.) Install OS
2.) Configure software RAID
(yes, software RAID here is superior in this case)And yes, this is (well, what you said) is the best way to do it on desktops IMO.
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@wrcombs said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@dustinb3403 said in Discovering FakeRAID in the Real World:
@pete-s that board appears to have fakeRAID
Intel® C622 controller for 10 SATA3 (6 Gbps) ports; RAID 0,1,5,10 Broadcom® 3008 SW controller for 8 SAS3 (12Gbs) ports; RAID 0,1,10With this we can assume that raid 0,1,5,10 are all FakeRAID? this that correct?
RAID levels are not related to software, or hardware RAID.
