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Multiple RAID cards on single motherboard

A

aye29

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Messages
76
Can multiple RAID 5 cards of different make and model work on a single motherboard or will they cause conflict with each other?
 
I've used Promise, Silicon Image, and HighPoint controllers together successfully, but not without trouble. The problem comes from the BIOS not loading in the correct order, which resulted in some being skipped and the card not working. IIRC, the Promise had to be loaded last, so it was a matter of moving cards in and out until I got the correct order. I think the problem lies on the finicky Promise, as it wouldn't allow two Promise cards to function (tried to have both a PATA and SATA card) as well. I've had no problem with multiple SI cards.

I can't comment on the higher-end stuff (3ware, Areca, LSI, Adaptec) as I don't own any.
 
Well-written drivers shouldn't require that the card's BIOS execute. I haven't had opportunity to test this, but Supermicro assures me that it works for my card. YMMV.

 
unhappy_mage said:
Well-written drivers shouldn't require that the card's BIOS execute. I haven't had opportunity to test this, but Supermicro assures me that it works for my card. YMMV.
Click to expand...

... which has absolutely nothing to do with the problem that Cript described.
It has to do with the boot and load order at POST. Not drivers. Nothing to do with drivers at all. Many cards are braindamaged and presume that they'll be the only card on there period, which results in problems. LSI has the exact opposite; only a single BIOS will load for multiple cards of the same family (e.g. 320-1 pairs,) but both cards can be controlled through it. Adaptec won't play with anyone, 3Ware won't play with anyone, and Areca's untested.
 
Cript said:
which resulted in some being skipped and the card not working.
Click to expand...
As he described it, it does. However, it may be something else; I'm not familiar with the subtleties associated with writing firmware or drivers. Do most OS drivers re-initialize the card from scratch, or use values left for them by the card's BIOS?

 
unhappy_mage said:
As he described it, it does. However, it may be something else; I'm not familiar with the subtleties associated with writing firmware or drivers. Do most OS drivers re-initialize the card from scratch, or use values left for them by the card's BIOS?
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't. Initialization and overlap of card BIOS/ROM is the primary issue he described.

Nutshell version; how the fuck are you going to boot off a controller that hasn't got it's firmware loaded? Answer; CAN'T.
 
Some motherboards allow expansion cards BIOS scanning to be turned off for individual expansion slots. Saved my bacon on my Tyan S1867 build, as my Dell PERC 2 and Pair of Promise Ultra 100TX2s don't get along.

I disabled the Option ROM scan on the PERC2's slot and simply use the storage management software to manage the arrays on it.
 
AreEss said:
... which has absolutely nothing to do with the problem that Cript described.
It has to do with the boot and load order at POST. Not drivers. Nothing to do with drivers at all. Many cards are braindamaged and presume that they'll be the only card on there period, which results in problems. LSI has the exact opposite; only a single BIOS will load for multiple cards of the same family (e.g. 320-1 pairs,) but both cards can be controlled through it. Adaptec won't play with anyone, 3Ware won't play with anyone, and Areca's untested.
Click to expand...

Would multiple Adaptec or 3Ware cards not work at all or do they just not work with card from another manufacturer and what about Highpoint? Would it make a difference whether or not I want to boot Windows or any other OS off the array? I plan on installing the OS (probably Windows) on another hard drive that is not part of any array and creating and managing any arrays I might have using Windows based software.
 
my supermicro motherboard hasn't had any problems with multiple raid cards. I've got a 3ware, a highpoint, and the motherboards onboard adapatec card working together without complaint.
 
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