vicidial.org

Web based GUI:
VERSION: 2.12-560a
BUILD: 160617-1427

Command line info:
ViciBox v.7.0.3-160505

My new server has a LSI MegaRAID 9341-4i-SGL RAID controller.

I would like to use Vicibox for the server.

Under supported distros the closest to Vicibox's OpenSUSE is below. Can someone advise me if I need to install a supported distro or if OpenSUSE will be fine? I'm just starting out with RAID and I thought I was purchasing a hardware based RAID system that didn't rely on the OS or need drivers.

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SuSE:
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i686
SLES 11 SP2
Gold (3.0.13-0.27) (default, pae, xen)
SLES 11 SP3
Gold (3.0.76-0.11) (default, pae, xen)
SLES 11 SP4
Gold (3.0.101-63) (default, pae, xen)
x86_64
SLES 11 SP2
Gold (3.0.13-0.27) (default, xen)
SLES 11 SP3
Gold (3.0.76-0.11) (default, xen)
SLES 11 SP4
Gold (3.0.101-63) (default, xen)
SLES 12
Gold (3.12.28-4) (default, xen)
SLES 12 SP1
Gold (3.12.49-11) (default, xen)
SLES 12 SP2
Gold (4.4.21-69) (default, xen)

1) If you are installing now, you should be using the latest vicibox distro. 7.0.4, not 7.0.3.

2) If the card is already in the box, the question of compatibility is best answered by performing an installation from the vicibox iso. If the operating system sees the RAID drive you configured, then you're good to go. Note that this only counts after OS installation. I've had some RAID controllers that worked during install but failed on 1st boot. So ... if you get the system to boot from your RAID drive, you're good to go.

3) RAID has two primary concerns:
* Redundancy: in case of a drive failure, RAID allows you to keep working and replace the drive after hours. Handy.
* Speed: RAID1 (or 5) can slow down your server. This adds load and can reduce your server capacity, causing it to become unstable with less agents/calls. RAID10, however, tends to allow full speed while maintaining redundancy.

Note that RAID is NOT required. If you have a good backup (moved off the server nightly), and routinely check your HD for imminent death, you may never have a need for RAID. Not installing RAID is useful in that there is now one less component that can die.

Common RAID problems:
* 6G/sec RAID controller (not a cheap one) is required.
* 6G/sec RAID cable is required (no, you don't "automatically" get a 6G cable just because you bought a 6G card, you have to be careful).
* 6G/sec RAID drive is required (just like the cables, drives come in slower speeds). 15k SAS drives are standard, but SSD drives are also quite popular, and often support faster read times, but beware the cheap ones as they may not have the ability to maintain constant speed over an entire workday.
* Configuration: Some of the RAID interfaces are complex. This happens before booting the OS in a special RAID configuration that happens during startup. Some IT professionals micro-manage the RAID configuration and do more harm than good. Most RAID controllers have good settings out of the box and merely need to be informed of which HDs to use and the RAID level you want to create.

7.0.3 is what I have on my current server which is an old desktop, hence the server upgrade. I will install 7.0.4 on the new server.

On the RAID controllers website they have updated drivers I'm assuming for a reason so it is a little concerning that I would not be able to use them? Or can I use the linux drivers? Or is this something to just not worry about if it works?

I have a RAID 1 setup with an additional hot swappable drive. Surely this is a much easier solution than anything else as long as it works? I will definitely be doing backups nightly as well using the scripts and recordings every few minutes but are you referring to drive images?

Thank you for your rundown on RAID! I'm not clear on cable speed but everything else looks good to me.

On my invoice it says:
LSI MegaRAID 9341-4i-SGL Entry Level 4-port Internal SAS3
12G/SATA, LSISAS3008, 1x mini-SAS HD SFF8643, PCIe3.0 x8,
RAID 0,1,5,10,50,JBOD, 32 devices in RAID mode, Low Profile

Supermicro internal cable mini-SAS HD SFF8643 to 4xSATA
w/side band, 75cm

SSD 240GB 2.5” SATA 6Gbps, DC S3520 Series, 16nm 3D NAND
MLC, Random R65K/W16K IOPS, 599TBW/5Yr