Selecting RAID controller for my needs

[nanofrog]

I received an email by the starline guy who obviously got it from Areca because the attached pdf had a Chinese page numbers. The pdf describes how you use the rEFIt shell to identify the driver configuration and pull up the McBIOS RAID firmware interface in rEFIt shell. It is a very help full facility for Mac users and I attach it here.

No surprise the answer is just forwarded email.

The rEFIt idea is a good idea. I don't have EFI firmware, and haven't even attempted it. But if I ever get around to making this one a hackintosh, I'll try it (EFI emulation method, btw). It might work then.

When I manage to close down the beep it only works one time and then it gives double beep the next time I boot the controller. This leads me to believe that there is still a fault that doesn't get reported.

No, it's actually not a fault, so there's no need to worry.

Each beep is a bus signal reset, and there are no codes associated with it. So if the bus has multiple resets, it will beep each time. It's different for each board.

I have loaded the firmware several times for Mac and PC and it has never changed anything but I will do it another time.

Then it sounds like there's no need to.

The extra information has helped me as well, btw.

The reason why I want a smooth shut down and restart is my use of both OS X and Vista. I need the machine to switch the OS quickly and silent because I don't want to wake the house if I do it in the night.

You can MUTE the BEEP.

It might be possible to do this off the Web Browser Interface, but the ARC-1231ML (SATA version) won't allow me access to this setting in the browser. I have to boot the system, and enter the firmware. My guess, this will be the same for you. But it CAN be done.

BTW, my processor is a 500 MHz IOP333

Odd, but cool.

I was going off the specs on the site that stated the IOP332 for the ARC-1210, and the IOP333 for the ARC-1220.

If that's the case, you can solder on the extra SATA headers, flash it with the ARC-1220 firmware, and use the extra ports (not possible with the IOP332).

Hope this helps.

 

[gugucom]

You can MUTE the BEEP.

It might be possible to do this off the Web Browser Interface, but the ARC-1231ML (SATA version) won't allow me access to this setting in the browser. I have to boot the system, and enter the firmware. My guess, this will be the same for you. But it CAN be done.

Actually I can't mute the beep by any means. It occurs with any setting that I apply even in firmware and it leads me to believe that there is something wrong. If it is just the bus reset, fine , but I don't want it to give an audible alarm. Also the different shut down duration between OS X and Vista is strange. It should not take that long in OS X. Finally I need to find the temperature for the CPU.

I was going off the specs on the site that stated the IOP332 for the ARC-1210, and the IOP333 for the ARC-1220.

If that's the case, you can solder on the extra SATA headers, flash it with the ARC-1220 firmware, and use the extra ports (not possible with the IOP332).

Hope this helps.

Do you think it would be a problem to try if the 1220 firmware would run better on my card without adding ports?

 

[nanofrog]

Actually I can't mute the beep by any means. It occurs with any setting that I apply even in firmware and it leads me to believe that there is something wrong. If it is just the bus reset, fine , but I don't want it to give an audible alarm. Also the different shut down duration between OS X and Vista is strange. It should not take that long in OS X. Finally I need to find the temperature for the CPU.

I'll take a look at the ARC-1210 manual. What ever firmware features are present, should be listed.

If I were you, I'd verify what the card does/doesn't have feature wise (firmware), and a separate email for the issues you're encountering.

If not, they're lible to skip most of it, and answer the first question only. It's happened to me a couple of times when the email contained multiple questions, even if related. So keep note of that one.

Otherwise, they actually do know what they're doing.

Do you think it would be a problem to try if the 1220 firmware would run better on my card without adding ports?

Really hard to say. Assuming the IOP is truly the same, it may not hurt, but I'd think it's the same firmware in that case, save the port count data. I truly can't be sure here, as I've not tried it without modding the card first.

 

[nanofrog]

OK. Here's the most recent ed. of the manual (Sept. 1, 2009). Unfortunately, it covers quite a few models, and doesn't indicate whether or not any settings are missing on certain cards.

At any rate, take a look at page 77. That's the location & How To of the Alert Beeper Setting is located.

Sorry I can't offer more on this, but I dont' have that particular model to verify if what you're experiencing is normal for that card or not (no Alert Beeper Setting, Temp sensor data via the browser interface). To my way of thinking, it's not. I just can't prove it, as my "control group" consists of different models.

 

[gugucom]

Just for verification I have run the card with the active heat sink. It acts absolutely the same as the passive. So I believe that there is no temperature fault that causes my card to behave the way it does. I will go back to passive now because it drives me nuts to have audible fans.

I should probably try to sort all of this with Areca. They should tell me what is regular for my card.

I read the manual on page 77 and can confirm that this function does not work on my card. I have the menue option and can set the beeper to disabled but the card will not react to setting this variable. It beeps regardless of what I set there.

Thanks, nanofrog for all your help. I will take my issues up with Areca.

 

[nanofrog]

Just for verification I have run the card with the active heat sink. It acts absolutely the same as the passive. So I believe that there is no temperature fault that causes my card to behave the way it does. I will go back to passive now because it drives me nuts to have audible fans.

I should probably try to sort all of this with Areca. They should tell me what is regular for my card.

I read the manual on page 77 and can confirm that this function does not work on my card. I have the menue option and can set the beeper to disabled but the card will not react to setting this variable. It beeps regardless of what I set there.

Thanks, nanofrog for all your help. I will take my issues up with Areca.

NP.

I hope they can get you sorted. Worst case, it's just a bad one, and a swap for a new one would solve it. Otherwise, a different model would work. If that's the case, I'd try to get it out of them, rather than pay the difference due to the aggravation.

Justifiable IMO, as the manual doesn't state that some functions are limited/disabled/non-existant,... for certain models. If so, then it should indicate that in the manual, and in the site's specifications.

Good luck with it, and if there's anything else I can help with, let me know.

 

[gugucom]

Heureka Areca

It looks like I finally got those mad documentation people at Areca beaten. It only took me two weeks to figure out what they have done to screw me up.

I have tried a million ways to install Vista64 or Seven64 to my SSD RAID0 array on the ARC1210 Raid card. Nothing worked. The issue was cpompounded by the fact that I had to fight the EFI32 on my MP1,1.

Initially I used nLite to make the 64bit .iso readable on the MP. It had the bad draw back that the program cut out the repair menue every time I compiled a dedicated Vista Business version without the other versions.

One step in the right direction was switching to another method of making the .iso compatible. I used Howie's method with the program imgburn to eliminate the load variables that make the bootloader stall. I can recommend that method.

Another piece of crucial info came from Starline.de, the German Areca importer. They told me to install rEFIt and how to use the rEFIt shell to set up RAID sets and Volume sets. Marvelous little piece of software!

The final discovery came tonight after countless hours of experimentation. The Mac firmware for the card is modular and comprises three BIOS and one EFI modul. For 13 day I have only worked with all modules loaded. As a result I could not for any effort I made load any Windows version on an Areca drive. Tonight I simply left the EFI module out in a desperate attempt to try something I had not done. The installer went without a hitch, no problem at all.

I have probably written more than a hundred mails and postings and spend two weeks solid on this problem. I contacted Areca in Taiwan but they aparently did not understand English. At least they did not understand my request. Two minutes of advise by an experts would have saved me two weeks.

SIGH

 

[nanofrog]

It looks like I finally got those mad documentation people at Areca beaten. It only took me two weeks to figure out what they have done to screw me up.

I have tried a million ways to install Vista64 or Seven64 to my SSD RAID0 array on the ARC1210 Raid card. Nothing worked. The issue was cpompounded by the fact that I had to fight the EFI32 on my MP1,1.

Initially I used nLite to make the 64bit .iso readable on the MP. It had the bad draw back that the program cut out the repair menue every time I compiled a dedicated Vista Business version without the other versions.

One step in the right direction was switching to another method of making the .iso compatible. I used Howie's method with the program imgburn to eliminate the load variables that make the bootloader stall. I can recommend that method.

Another piece of crucial info came from Starline.de, the German Areca importer. They told me to install rEFIt and how to use the rEFIt shell to set up RAID sets and Volume sets. Marvelous little piece of software!

The final discovery came tonight after countless hours of experimentation. The Mac firmware for the card is modular and comprises three BIOS and one EFI modul. For 13 day I have only worked with all modules loaded. As a result I could not for any effort I made load any Windows version on an Areca drive. Tonight I simply left the EFI module out in a desperate attempt to try something I had not done. The installer went without a hitch, no problem at all.

I have probably written more than a hundred mails and postings and spend two weeks solid on this problem. I contacted Areca in Taiwan but they aparently did not understand English. At least they did not understand my request. Two minutes of advise by an experts would have saved me two weeks.

SIGH

So you have it sorted then.

The language barrier can be a real difficulty with them. I do think if they can't understand it, they don't really try to respond. Certianly not request any clarification to help them understand it. I guess they just basically skip on to another one.

 

[gugucom]

So you have it sorted then.

The language barrier can be a real difficulty with them. I do think if they can't understand it, they don't really try to respond. Certianly not request any clarification to help them understand it. I guess they just basically skip on to another one.

Two hours after my posting here I received an email by their support engineer with the solution. It is unbelievable.

Once I have the thing running to my satisfaction I will post a little tutorial. I think Areca are very good technically but absolutely chaotic in terms of software distribution. At minimum they need to cathagorise their downloads strictly by products and provide a lot more advise on installation and use.

 

[nanofrog]

Two hours after my posting here I received an email by their support engineer with the solution. It is unbelievable.

Once I have the thing running to my satisfaction I will post a little tutorial.

I look foward to the details.

I think Areca are very good technically but absolutely chaotic in terms of software distribution. At minimum they need to cathagorise their downloads strictly by products and provide a lot more advise on installation and use.

It would help. Just break it down by model number, then split into the different areas (firmware, drivers, documents,...).

I'd also like to see the possiblity of getting older versions of the firmware in case there's a problem, as the copies kept may not be accessible when needed (especially for a failed boot array). Another machine and a copy of some kind would be needed.

A minor niggle until it's needed.

 

[gugucom]

A little update again.

It has turned out that booting a Windows RAID0 array on a MP1,1 is impossible even if you succeed to actually install Windows on an array, which in itself is a challenge.

I have decided to use the ARC1210 now to boot Snow Leopard from a Hardware SSD RAID0 array rather than from a SW array. This will use two of my ports. A third port will be an external eSATA port with a Delock bracket which will make it powered even.

Vista will be restricted to one SSD which will ultimately be on the ODD SATA 02 port with the Blu-Ray drive on ODD SATA 01.

All three SSDs will reside in the Addonix enclosure with one reserve which I could dedicate to fast Vista data jobs or redundancy if needed.

All my four 3,5" sled ports are dedicated to mass storage and some backup with big 2 TB disks. This will make for a nice system I feel.

Ultimate backup is by an ethernet networked 2TB TC.

 

[nanofrog]

A little update again.

It has turned out that booting a Windows RAID0 array on a MP1,1 is impossible even if you succeed to actually install Windows on an array, which in itself is a challenge.

I have decided to use the ARC1210 now to boot Snow Leopard from a Hardware SSD RAID0 array rather than from a SW array. This will use two of my ports. A third port will be an external eSATA port with a Delock bracket which will make it powered even.

Vista will be restricted to one SSD which will ultimately be on the ODD SATA 02 port with the Blu-Ray drive on ODD SATA 01.

All three SSDs will reside in the Addonix enclosure with one reserve which I could dedicate to fast Vista data jobs or redundancy if needed.

All my four 3,5" sled ports are dedicated to mass storage and some backup with big 2 TB disks. This will make for a nice system I feel.

Ultimate backup is by an ethernet networked 2TB TC.

As long as it works for you to do what you need.

It just sucks that it's been such an ordeal.

 

[nanofrog]

BTW, I meant to ask:

Did you ever try swapping out the EFI firmware on the ARC-1210 for the ARC1210BOOT.BIN and see if that would boot the Windows drive/array?

Assuming the BIOS emulator in EFI32 works with it as it should, it would work. It's that little wrinkle I'm not sure of. But if it does, it means you couldn't boot an OS X disk/array, but it could be used under OS X if the OS is on another controller (logic board for example).

Worth a shot, if you're willing to try it. Might as well, seeing as you've tried everything else.

 

[gugucom]

BTW, I meant to ask:

Did you ever try swapping out the EFI firmware on the ARC-1210 for the ARC1210BOOT.BIN and see if that would boot the Windows drive/array?

Assuming the BIOS emulator in EFI32 works with it as it should, it would work. It's that little wrinkle I'm not sure of. But if it does, it means you couldn't boot an OS X disk/array, but it could be used under OS X if the OS is on another controller (logic board for example).

Worth a shot, if you're willing to try it. Might as well, seeing as you've tried everything else.

The only time I could get Vista to install was when I had nor EFI.bin in the ARC1210.

I have now switched over to no BIOS just EFI.

I just had a strange experience. My SATA Blu-Ray drive in the MP1,1 actually booted a DVD. It was the SL install DVD. I guess SL must have a SATA bootable driver on the DVD. No other DVD ever booted from that drive.

I am currently installing SL again on the ARC SSD RAID0 array. When I cloned it the first time I got a message that I must shut down forced with the power button and restart. That message will not go away. I repaired the volume and permissions from the SL install disk and it still did not go away. I did a PRAM reset and had no joy. So hopefully a complete SL re installation will work. Will the agro never end?

 

[nanofrog]

The only time I could get Vista to install was when I had nor EFI.bin in the ARC1210.

I have now switched over to no BIOS just EFI.

I just had a strange experience. My SATA Blu-Ray drive in the MP1,1 actually booted a DVD. It was the SL install DVD. I guess SL must have a SATA bootable driver on the DVD. No other DVD ever booted from that drive.

I am currently installing SL again on the ARC SSD RAID0 array. When I cloned it the first time I got a message that I must shut down forced with the power button and restart. That message will not go away. I repaired the volume and permissions from the SL install disk and it still did not go away. I did a PRAM reset and had no joy. So hopefully a complete SL re installation will work. Will the agro never end?

It's my understanding that SL did include the ability to boot off the DVD drives on SATA ports. Finally.

If you're set on running OS X (boot) off the ARC1210, then you do need the EFI firmware installed.

And for SL, I'd do a clean installation, not attempt a clone. Assuming it goes without a problem, then make a clone or backup, and you'll have it for an emergency, and it would function.

Hope it goes well, so good luck.

 

[gugucom]

It's my understanding that SL did include the ability to boot off the DVD drives on SATA ports. Finally.

If you're set on running OS X (boot) off the ARC1210, then you do need the EFI firmware installed.

And for SL, I'd do a clean installation, not attempt a clone. Assuming it goes without a problem, then make a clone or backup, and you'll have it for an emergency, and it would function.

Hope it goes well, so good luck.

When there is no SL disk in the drive the ODD will not boot as expected. So the SL disk brings its own driver for MP1,1 EFI32 and SATA boot.

That issue will be sorted next week when I switch to MP4,1.

As I said I have now a three piece ARC firmware running with EFI, BOOT and FIRM being the modules.

I installed SL over the cloned installation and it started without problems. So that side is almost done if I disregard the long shut down time that I still have.

The only serious remaining issue is Vista currently will only boot from the 3,5" ports and not from the ODD SATA 02 port. I'm cloning the Vista with Winclone on a second SSD on that port and hope Winclone will sort it out. Alternatively I can get the Intel Matrix storage manager look into that issue. It was pretty useless until now.

Will tell later how that went.

 

[gugucom]

You'd need another card, and at this point, I'd recommend going to a proper RAID card. The downside, is that they're not exactly cheap. But the array's operation/management,... is governed by the card, and not the OS.

Can you try to return the Intel's for exchange?

Halleluja, praise the Lord!! I just got an email from my supplier that they will replace the Intel SSDs without charge. Unbelievable!!

They will charge me another 15€ for shipping a 160GB Gen2 instead of the two 80GB I had. That is generous. I love it!!!

 

[nanofrog]

Halleluja, praise the Lord!! I just got an email from my supplier that they will replace the Intel SSDs without charge. Unbelievable!!

They will charge me another 15€ for shipping a 160GB Gen2 instead of the two 80GB I had. That is generous. I love it!!!

WOW! You lucked into that one.

Maybe I need to move to Germany. Here they'd have told you to go fly a kite I think.