SCSI Raid DELL PowerEdge 1800

[mrstardust]

Hello!

At the moment im dealing with a DELL PowerEgge 1800. It is uses for testind an developing issues - not a productive machine. The performance issues caused by the Dell Perc 4 SCSI controllers are well known I think. Now exactly thats my problem. :|

Attached to the Perc 4 there are 4 pcs. 146GB Hdds hot plug attached. I want to change the Perc to something else with more performance - but without changing something else to minimize costs.

I am not able to find something suiteable in the HCL for ESX4 (which does not mean it isnt written there...). I need a U320 single channel raid controller with PCI-X or PCI-E interface. I don´t mind if its not listet in the HCL (server is for testing and dev only) - it just has to work. :smileywink: And, it should be a quite cheap controller card.

At first i thougt about an Adaptec 29320-R. But I read that this controller type isnt supported in ESX 4 anymore due to 64bit compatibility.

So I see two ways:

1: Find a suitable card (see above). Does anyone have any ideas?

2: Go back o ESX 3.5 because their could be more supported controllers useable in this scenario. Could the 29320-R be used here?

thx in advance for your ideas...

Martin

[J1mbo]

Hi Martin

To be brutally honest it will be cheaper to just ditch the thing because of the cost of RAM and the Ultra-320 drives for this server. The performance problems you have are probably because of either lack of battery-backed write-cache, or that the battery is dead.

You should be able to pick up a PE2950 2nd off eBay pretty cheaply, with a Perc-5i or Perc-6i controller.

Please award points to any useful answer.

[mrstardust]

Hello,

The controller doesnt even have a battery backet cache. :smileyhappy: Due to the configuration of the 1800 (dual cpu, 12GB RAM) I really want to keep this machine alive. THe mentioned Adaptec 29320-R woult be available at under € 150,- If thats the solution - its pretty cheaper than every sever from ebay...

[golddiggie]

Another option would be to pick up a Dell Precision Workstation with dual Xeon's (either dual or quad core), SAS controller onboard (the one inside the T7400 is recognized in ESXi 3.5 and 4), and install SAS drives into it. Memory for that box wouldn't be too expensive so you can crank it up to a level that makes sense/works (I'm running 16GB inside my T7400). You could probably even get away with one of the previous generation Workstations (such as the 490 and 690) but might need to get a different (PERC6i) RAID controller there. Install some server grade Intel NIC's and you're cooking with gas.

For the type of use you're talking about, a mirrored pair of small SAS drives will work just fine for ESXi to be installed onto. Then you can get another pair of SAS drives (such as 1TB 7200 rpm Seagate drives) for the VM's to reside upon. That's what I'm using and I have zero issue running several VM's at the same time. Probably looking at a couple of grand total investment to set the host up right, depending on what you start off with for a base.

[mrstardust]

Hello!

As mentioned above - I need a really really cheap solution. :smileygrin: So switching over to another server from ebay or from something elsewhere will not be able to suite the budged. I for sure know that a new or another server will have more power, but the 1800 is pretty enough for the issues needed here. Just the disks are a problem, but this should be solveable by changing the controller.

Dont get me wrong - the 1800 is just a small piece of the infrastructure we have here. Setting up a high performance solution for long term use is not the target in this specific case. :smileysilly: I only want to keep the 1800 alive and for that I need to increase the disk performance.

[golddiggie]

What RAID level is the current array using? If you need more performance, and can handle the risk associated with it, go to RAID 0 or 10. I would do that before trying to replace hardware inside that box. Especially since it would be a $0 cost item. If you can get some funds allocated, then see if you can (somehow) move to a SAS controller and drives. It would probably involve changing the drive backplane, as well as internal cables but it could give you the extension you need for that server.

I would suggest getting funds allocated for the next budget refresh time frame to purchase new hardware so that you don't have to fight bottlenecks inside the box.

VCP4

[mrstardust]

I changed the raid level from 5 to 10 last week - with exactly NO change in disk performance (no matter if read or write). I've read really much about especially the perc 4 now. It seems that the controller has some internal performance issues - no matter which raid level is used.

A big part of the idea changing the controller is just to see if the problem really is located there. I'm quite sure it will.

[golddiggie]

With that being the case, then try the different controller and see what happens. I would, just for giggles, try RAID 0 on the server to see if there's any difference at all.

VCP4

[mrstardust]

OK, just waiting for the info which controller to use. ?:|

[golddiggie]

From the hardware compatibility section of the VMware site.. (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?action=search&deviceCategory=io&productId=1&advancedORbasic=advanced&maxDisplayRows=50&key=&release[]=13&datePosted=-1&partnerId[]=4&ioTypeId[]=1&manufacturer[]=-1&vid=&did=&svid=&ssid=&rorre=0)

From Adaptec's site, the 29320ALP card supports RAID 0, 1, and 10 only.

The 39320D card is also listed on the HCL

With several more Adaptec SCSI RAID controllers listed, you have enough to chose from. I made sure to look for ones that would be compatible with ESX/ESXi4 u1, but as far as I can see, the compatibility reaches back to at least version 3.5.

At this point, you'll need to research which of the cards has the features you really need, and is at a price you can get purchased at.

VCP4

[mrstardust]

Perfect - I've never heard about the 39320D but its exaclty what I'm looking for.

Thx! Card is ordered and should arrive within the next week. I will check back here and post a short conclusion about the performance after changing the controller.

[ealaqqad]

Hi mrstardust,

I am not sure if you have this server connected to a descent SAN box, as you did not mention anything about that above.

If its connected to a SAN box, a descent HBA can get you booted from SAN in not time :). I have just done this with one IBM X346 which had a non supported raid controller that will not even boot vSphere. I have just pluged in a nice Qlogic card, boot the server from SAN & watch that monster booming :).

I have noticed you have already ordered another card, good luck with that though I still wanted to share this second option.

I hope this help some one, if it does please reward points.

Enjoy,

Eiad Al-Aqqad

System X & Storage Technical Specialist

Founder of http://www.VirtualizationTeam.com