Any way to have two RAID cards in one box?

  • Thread starter Thread starter fotoobscura
  • Start date Start date
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fotoobscura

Hi,

I've had a Promise Fasttrack 2000 for years and today I bought another
raid card in hopes of creating another mirror. The problem is either
one or the other card shows up but not both. I have swapped the cards
around in the PCI slots and still only one or the other. I presume
they are sharing the same IRQ or something. I don't think I can change
the IRQ setting on either card. I really don't want to have to buy a
4-port raid card if possible, especially because I already have the
gear, I just need to make it work.

Thanks!
 
Hi,

I presume they are sharing the same IRQ or something.
I don't think I can change the IRQ setting on either card.
Click to expand...

The way IDE RAID adapters interface with the BIOS and operating system is a
lot like SCSI adapters, and this is somewhat of a black art.

In general, multiple identical adapters are the safest bet, *provided* both
the adapter's BIOS and drivers have been written with awareness of such a
setup. Mixed models of adapters will usually work fine with the OS, but may
have boot time issues if you can't disable the BIOS on the adapters that
don't control your boot drive.
 
Actually most boards that have RAID also have two diffrent RAID controllers
installed-diffrent as in mfg.This eliminates conflicts.Are youre settings
in the
BIOS configured properly,also,some boards wont let you configure the settings
of two controllers,if it has configurations,two controllers with RAID
should work
fine...
 
Hi,

Ok well first off the raid chipset is not built-in. These are two
separate cards.

The problem as explained is that either on or the other card is seen,
but not both. This means that I cannot even *see* a second card in the
BIOS. There is only one card showing up in the BIOS at a time. There
are no settings in the actually controller BIOS to change the IRQ's. :(

Thanks!
 
The problem as explained is that either on or the other card
is seen, but not both. This means that I cannot even *see*
a second card in the BIOS. There is only one card showing
up in the BIOS at a time. There are no settings in the actually
controller BIOS to change the IRQ's. :(
Click to expand...


I have heard of this difficulty occurring for two identical
PCI IDE controller cards in the same box. The recommended
solution in the NGs was to use controllers from different
manufacturers so that the drivers would be distinguishable
by the system. Care to try a different manufacturer of RAID
controllers for the 2nd card?

*TimDaniels*
 
I have heard of this difficulty occurring for two identical
PCI IDE controller cards in the same box. The recommended
solution in the NGs was to use controllers from different
manufacturers so that the drivers would be distinguishable
by the system. Care to try a different manufacturer of RAID
controllers for the 2nd card?
Click to expand...

I've seen the same. Bought a Promise SX6000 RAID card to build a 1.4TB
array and could not use the motherboards onboard Promise SATA RAID
controller. A non-promise RAID card worked fine.
 
With SCSI RAID cards, it seems to be possible. With IDE, it does not work!
Click to expand...

That's not true in all cases. I have a Promise SX6000 IDE RAID
controller with 6 drives on it in a single R5 array. I also use the
motherboards onbound Intel RAID controller to mirror a set of SATA
drives.
 
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