Migration Test Results
... To AMD/ATI SB600
| Source Platform | Target Controller | Successful Migration Possible? | Port Change Possible? | Plug & Play | Migrate with Windows Repair Installation | Rollback if Failed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia nForce3 MCP | ATI SB600 | No | - | - | - | yes |
| Intel ICH6R | ATI SB600 | No | - | - | - | yes |
| Promise FastTrak 378 | ATI SB600 | Yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| VIA VT8237 | ATI SB600 | No | - | - | - | yes |
We first tried to migrate four different source RAID arrays to ATI’s/AMD’s SB600 Southbridge, which only worked in a single case: the source system had to be the Promise FastTrak 20378. Interestingly, the RAID Firmware of the AMD/ATI chipset and the Promise controller looks very much the same, which led us to assume that the controller logic might also be the same. It was also possible to confuse the SATA ports 0 and 1 - the RAID would still work both on the source and the target system. Converting from Intel’s ICH6R, the Nvidia nForce 3 or VIA VT8237 to AMD’s/ATI’s SB600 was not possible, as the ATI/AMD controller always recognized a broken RAID 1+0, which obviously wasn’t there.
... To Intel ICH9R (82801IR)
| Source Platform | Target Controller | Successful Migration Possible? | Port Change Possible? | Plug & Play | Migrate with Windows Repair Installation | Rollback if Failed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel ICH5R | Intel ICH9R | yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| Promise FastTrak 378 | Intel ICH9R | no | yes | - | Windows boot disc doesn’t start while array is connected | yes |
| Nvidia nForce3 | Intel ICH9R | no | - | - | - | yes |
| VIA VT8237 | Intel ICH9R | no | yes | - | - | yes |
| Intel ICH6R | Intel ICH9R | yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| Intel ICH7R | Intel ICH9R | yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| Intel ICH8R | Intel ICH9R | yes | yes | yes | - | - |
We switched our target test system to Asus’ P5K3 Deluxe and the P35 chipset with ICH9R, and we added some more Intel chipset source systems to see how compatible various Intel chipset/storage controller generations are. It was always possible to migrate from an older Intel chipset to a newer one, but we had to run the Windows XP repair installation, which then allowed us to reinstall the updated storage driver. We could also swap the SATA ports during the process, which made the whole process really painless. Converting from ICH8 to ICH9 didn’t even require any user intervention, as the mass storage controllers seem to operate identically.
Migrating an installation from an Nvidia nForce3 MCP or VIA’s VT8237 to Intel ICH9R did not work. The nForce3 drives were logged in as non-RAID drives, while in the case of the VIA installation, Intel’s controller only found unused RAID drives.
