As far as i know intel matrix raid is not really hardware raid. Linux software raid is damn good and it beats low end raid controllers and usually matches performance of midend ones. Due to the fact that the standard update is a xenserver installation of the new xenserver with virtual machines preservation, with the loss of all the changes that were made manually on the server installed software, changing adding settings through the console, etc. Yes, idea of raid1 is that one disk is a copy of another, but this is software raid and it based on partitions. If you really need software raid, id suggest investigating the xenserver alternative xcpng project, which does support software raid. Historically xenserver does not support software raid outthebox, and this is unchanged in the latest 6. Use xencenter to access the xenserver hosts console, or log in directly using ssh. On the steps to follow, devsda are used for the disc where the instalation was made and devsdb for the second disc with the same size. Citrix hypervisor is a leading virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures. A raid 1 will write in the same time the data to both disks taking twice as long as a raid 0, but can, in theory read twice as fast, because will read from one disk a part of the data and from another the other part, so raid 1 is not twice as bad as raid 0, both have their place. Validated platforms this release family of nvidia vgpu software provides support for several nvidia gpus on validated server hardware platforms, citrix xenserver hypervisor software versions, and guest operating systems. It is also called intelligent raid on chip iroc or software raid and it is built into the firmware of the controller.
Convert xenserver installation to software raid1 technicus. Hi, for those who have a dedicated server with two hdd, the idea is to put them in a raid via software, but if i use it with xenserver, there is a problem. The installation of any third party software directly on the xenserver host i. This article provides an understanding of the citrix hypervisor hardware compatibility list hcl. Intel matrix raid then thinks the disk is bad and tries to recover from the other disk, killing your xenserver install. There is no additional raid processor on hostraid cards. While i would like to use software raid on my xenserver installation and it is possible, its just a little bit too much patchinghacking to get working and there is a bit of uncertainty. Citrix xenserver does not support onboard software raid. If you want to run a supported configuration, go for hardware raid or a zfs raid during installation.
Driver disk for hp smart array raid controller hpsa v3. Xenserver has configured 3 partitions on devsda and left devsdb intact, as shown by the answer file in the example. All the processing is done by your cpu and is similar to software raid in that regard. How to configure raid 5 after installing xenserver 7. It is true that all servers have hardware raid and xenserver is for server not desktop pc, but some students with limit resources like to learn it and most pc motherboards use software raid. I would hope that both ext4 and btrfs support is added in the near future. When i go to install xenserver it ask which disk i want to install the xenserver on and it list all 4 of my harddrives instead of showing the raid 5 as one disk. Honestly, you are wasting your time with software raid 5, unless this is just for a home lab to educate yourself. Xenserver 7 and software raid configuration howtoforge.
For situations requiring maximum data security, a ciphertex external raid system with hardware aes 256bit encryption can by connected to the ciphertex nas server providing complete security of the stored data. We need to install too, but at this time we are stucked on raid software, mdadm configuration. Try with our new gen8 bl460c blade servers, with locally attached p420i raid controllers and 2gb cache. Hey guys, are you looking for on how to keep track your xenserver status of raid disk and want to make it in a daily checking and alerting by send email. In addition, the price of software raid makes it a very desirable solution. To ensure that a servers complete system configuration is fully supported, all individual hardware components must also be validated as certified for the appropriate citrix hypervisor version. Xenserver simply has one of the worst hardware compatibility lists in the industry. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. It saves its config to the disks and linux happily writes over one of the disk killing the config files on that particular disk. This document describes how to install xenserver 6. Setting up the second drive sdb devsda should now contain 3.
This article also contains information about how products get qualified for inclusion in the hcl and what listing in the hcl represents these from a support perspective. Citrix xenserver does not support onboard software raid thinkservercitrix xenserver does not support onboard software raid thinkserver citrix xenserver does not support onboard software raid. Software block device software volume management evms, lvm and software raid md wrap hardware and other software block devices and give them new names as part of the interface of adding functionality to the storage they manage. It is true that all servers have hardware raid and xenserver is for server not desktop pc, but some students with limit resources like to learn it. The alternative to this problem is configuring the system in software raid1.
The system requirements for the xenserver host are. Xenserver 7 and software raid configuration howtoforge linux. Especially because i use uefi with nvme ssd i ended up with no raid. Does anyone have handson experience to share with regards to software raid performance under xenserver 5. In this example we are using a nfs datastore on the network to store continue reading how to install xenserver 6. Basically after that we have setup the raid, following that thread its look that there is no official documentation. With the recent public availability of xenserver 6. Qmh2572 8gb fibre channel hba for hp cclass bladesystem.
In my idea if xenserver support software raid then it is a good feature. Poor techies like unable to afford a hardware raid controller for a simple test box so, theres plenty of docs out there, telling you the steps on how to enable software raid using mdadm on a xenserver. Hi everyone, if you recall our previous article hardware raid or software raid. Xenserver 8 express how to create an software raid 10. Citrix hypervisor hardware compatibility list explained. Advanced micro devices amd fch sata controller ahci mode sata. Someone have installed already that enviroment xen7 raid 1 grub, successfully. To ensure that a servers complete system configuration is fully supported, all individual hardware components must also be validated as. Poor techies like unable to afford a hardware raid controller for a simple test box so, theres plenty of docs out there, telling you the steps on how. Because i have heard that only hardware can be used.
That post also explains an optional adjustment to get a larger root. Without having any extra hardware or software to install, only. Asked by cmendoza 0 points na posted on 03062012 for those who have a dedicated server with two hdd, the common idea is to put them in a raid via software, but when you use it with a xen server, a problem will occur. Software raid is not officially supported on xenserver, so it will be a hot or miss issue whether it might work or not. Upgrade raid cards to 1gb cache we have some spares. Download the driver disk directly to the xenserver host to be updated citrix recommends storing it in the tmp directory, or first download the file to an internetconnected computer, and burn the iso image to a cd. You need not rewrite mbr again after rebuild arrays. Xenserver 6 uses gpt instead of mbr to set up the partitions.
First we set up the 2nd disk by copying the partition tables whilst enabling a degraded raid on it, then copy data over with custom initrd. This new landing page provides links to citrix hypervisor content and resources available on and developer. Hypervisor hardware compatibility list this site lists all the hardware components currently certified and supported for use with citrix hypervisor. Consolidation and containment of workloads on citrix hypervisor enables organizations of any vertical or size to transform their business it compute infrastructures. Consult the xenserver hardware compatibility list hcl for more details. Note that support for servers listed are for the server model only and may not include support for additional hardware. Domain0 access to real physical storage, be it a whole ide disk, a partition, or a hardware raid. Imho, im a big fan of kernel developers non directly related to zfs, so i really prefere mdadm to hardware raid. It allows data from the ciphertex nas server to be transferred to the external encrypted raid, and then removed to be connected elsewhere. Although citrix recommends against using software raid with xenserver due to performance issues, ive had some pretty awful experiences with hardware raid cards over the last few years. Our take on the great religious debate, we made the case that hardware raid served virtually no purpose, and software raid was better in all important ways. After the instalaltion the xenserver should be accessible via ssh with the password entered in the answer file.
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