IDE RAID (was SCSI 'n other stuff)

[Ken D'Ambrosio]

>   I will say that the best ATA RAID stuff I've personally used was 
> from 3Ware.  Nice hardware.  Nice software.  Native, GPL Linux 
> drivers, with full OEM support, from way early on.

I've always liked the 3Ware stuff, with the caveat that if you're 
looking for an inexpensive home/desktop hardware RAID solution, this 
ain't it.

>
>   The MegaRAID ATA variants worked well enough, but they were somewhat 
> expensive and inelegant (IIRC, they used SATA-to-SCSI bridge chips).

MegaRAID -- formerly based in none other than Nashua -- has been 
acquired by LSI.  Their technology is nifty, and inexpensive, with one 
substantial issue (IMHO): no XOR chip.  It was all done by the system's 
CPU.  Now, granted, their algorithms looked like they made for truly 
impressive performance, but I have inherent distrust of the "soft modem" 
approach.

>
>   I've recently read a review of a RAID card from a company by the 
> name of "NetCell" which sounded very promising.  The review was for 
> Doze.  NetCell's website claims Linux support with drivers in the 
> kernel.  Haven't looked beyond that.  Worth checking out, if you're in 
> the market.

Hadn't heard of NetCell.  I like it!  Looks like an awesome offering for 
the stuff that 3Ware's too expensive for, such as the small site server, 
or the really-important-engineer's desktop, and so forth.  Thanks for 
the pointer, Ben!

-Ken