Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (More info?)
Hello,
I've recently purchased an external Firewire RAID box. I got it from
firewiredirect.com, and they sell it as the "NitroAV Vanguard V", but
it's also available from other companies. Raidsonic.de calls it Stardom
SR6500, but epowermac.com.au sells it under its original name: SOHORAID
SR6500.
It is, in fact, made by a Taiwanese company called Raidon Technology.
The unit is rather nice: 5 PATA bays, RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5 or JBOD,
LCD display, browser-based management tool (via serial port). The host
connectors are Firewire 800, USB 2 and SATA. It's very well made - high
quality plastics and metals. Sturdy.
I plugged in five 300GB Maxtor drives and created a RAID 5 array. Setup
was easy. Hooked it up to the computer via the Firewire port, and the
array appeared as a new drive. So far, perfect.
There is, however, a slight problem with data corruption. I've copied
everything from my old array over to the new disk - but being cautious
I made sure I had MD5 prints of every original file. When the copying
was done, I proceeded to verify the results, and there came the
surprise: A bunch of files came up as different. I proceeded to
re-verify the different files, and another surprise: they were OK.
It appears that the array has a problem with data corruption upon
reads. It can go 20-30 gigabytes without a hiccup, but then it will
mis-read a byte or two. Writes always complete perfectly, it's only
reads where the problem occurs. Re-reading the file always fixes the
problem, but it will eventually (and randomly) pop up somewhere else.
I was wondering if anyone here had a similar unit and has seen these
symptoms. I've pretty much tried everything by now:
1. Connect to computer via Firewire 800.
2. Connect to computer via USB 2.
3. Connect to computer via Firewire 400 (9-to-6 cable).
4. Re-create the array and start from scratch.
5. Verify the array (clean).
No matter what I do, it seems to work perfectly then the read
corruption hits.
I could not get the SATA port to work though: I hooked the device up to
a PC that has SATA connectors on the motherboard, and it would not
recognize it. Also attached it to an Adaptec 2410SA controller on
another PC without any results. I'm not too worried about this though:
first, I never intended to use the box via SATA. Second, the unit has
"passthrough" drive modes and JBOD - SATA might be meant for these.
Anyone?
-Marton
Hello,
I've recently purchased an external Firewire RAID box. I got it from
firewiredirect.com, and they sell it as the "NitroAV Vanguard V", but
it's also available from other companies. Raidsonic.de calls it Stardom
SR6500, but epowermac.com.au sells it under its original name: SOHORAID
SR6500.
It is, in fact, made by a Taiwanese company called Raidon Technology.
The unit is rather nice: 5 PATA bays, RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5 or JBOD,
LCD display, browser-based management tool (via serial port). The host
connectors are Firewire 800, USB 2 and SATA. It's very well made - high
quality plastics and metals. Sturdy.
I plugged in five 300GB Maxtor drives and created a RAID 5 array. Setup
was easy. Hooked it up to the computer via the Firewire port, and the
array appeared as a new drive. So far, perfect.
There is, however, a slight problem with data corruption. I've copied
everything from my old array over to the new disk - but being cautious
I made sure I had MD5 prints of every original file. When the copying
was done, I proceeded to verify the results, and there came the
surprise: A bunch of files came up as different. I proceeded to
re-verify the different files, and another surprise: they were OK.
It appears that the array has a problem with data corruption upon
reads. It can go 20-30 gigabytes without a hiccup, but then it will
mis-read a byte or two. Writes always complete perfectly, it's only
reads where the problem occurs. Re-reading the file always fixes the
problem, but it will eventually (and randomly) pop up somewhere else.
I was wondering if anyone here had a similar unit and has seen these
symptoms. I've pretty much tried everything by now:
1. Connect to computer via Firewire 800.
2. Connect to computer via USB 2.
3. Connect to computer via Firewire 400 (9-to-6 cable).
4. Re-create the array and start from scratch.
5. Verify the array (clean).
No matter what I do, it seems to work perfectly then the read
corruption hits.
I could not get the SATA port to work though: I hooked the device up to
a PC that has SATA connectors on the motherboard, and it would not
recognize it. Also attached it to an Adaptec 2410SA controller on
another PC without any results. I'm not too worried about this though:
first, I never intended to use the box via SATA. Second, the unit has
"passthrough" drive modes and JBOD - SATA might be meant for these.
Anyone?
-Marton
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