HP Embedded SATA RAID controller (FreeBSD 6.2)

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

I forgot to mention, ONLY install to ar0.  do NOT install to any of
the other disks that show up.

Ted

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm at toybox.placo.com>
To: "George Vanev" <vanev at unisoft-ltd.com>; "FreeBSD Questions"
<freebsd-questions at freebsd.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 12:57 AM
Subject: Re: HP Embedded SATA RAID controller (FreeBSD 6.2)


>
> Hi George!
>
> Common problem.  The issue isn't that the FreeBSD driver cannot talk
> to the SATA controller.  It can do that just fine.
>
> The problem is that HP is using a modified metadata format on the
> disk drives.
>
> What you need to do is go into the Proliant BIOS and DISABLE
> the SATA raid.  This of course means any raid arrays, mirrored or
> otherwise, that you have created, cannot be used from BIOS.  Just
> leave the BIOS settings so that the SATA controller is enabled, but
> the RAID on the SATA controller isn't.
>
> Then boot FreeBSD 6.2.  It will see 2 disk drives.  (or more or however
> many you got)
>
> Now, if you want a raid mirror here is what you do.  Load a scratch
> install of FreeBSD 6.2 on the first disk.  Run atacontrol to create a
> mirror on both disks.  This writes out a metadata format that FreeBSD's
> disk driver understands.  This will trash your freebsd install of course.
> No problem.  Reboot from the installation CD and now you will see
> the 2 disks, plus ar0 (the mirror)   Install to that and your all set.
>
> Basically the only difference between doing it HP's way by creating
> the RAID from HP BIOS and doing it the FreeBSD way is that
> the HP BIOS is unaware of the FreeBSD metadata format so you
> cannot see or rebuild an array from BIOS that was created in
> FreeBSD, and FreeBSD is unaware
> of HP's metadata format so you cannot see or rebuild an array
> from FreeBSD that was created in BIOS
>
> As far as how the actual raid mirror works, it's exactly the same.
> In fact, better, since you can rebuild a FreeBSD array from
> FreeBSD and it's about 10 times faster than rebuilding it from
> HP's BIOS.
>
> Ted
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "George Vanev" <vanev at unisoft-ltd.com>
> To: "FreeBSD Questions" <freebsd-questions at freebsd.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 4:35 AM
> Subject: HP Embedded SATA RAID controller (FreeBSD 6.2)
>
>
> > I have HP ProLiantML 110 G3 server.
> > I am trying to install FreeBSD 6.2.
> > But it doesn't seem to recognise the RAID controller.
> > I don't know what exactly is the controller.
> > In the hp site I didn't find anything usefull,
> > except that this is "HP embedded SATA RAID controller"
> > Not much, uh?!
> >
> > Any one could help?!
> > Regards
> > --
> > George Vanev
> >
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