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Re: write cache on 3ware controller and XFS -- firmware and driver _must

To: Stephen Lord <lord@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: write cache on 3ware controller and XFS -- firmware and driver _must_ match
From: "Bryan J. Smith" <b.j.smith@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2002 15:41:51 -0500 (EST)
Cc: Christophe Zwecker <doc@xxxxxxxxxx>, linux-xfs@xxxxxxxxxxx
In-reply-to: <1036527421.10815.41.camel@snafu>
References: <1036525848.20194.5.camel@dumbo.zwecker.de> <1036527421.10815.41.camel@snafu>
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Quoting Stephen Lord <lord@xxxxxxx>:
> Unfortunately, some hardware is just designed to rely on write
> caching. It does seem a little odd that you lost the superblock
> though. This is put there by mkfs, and is always present, so how
> powering down the device is corrupting it I do not know. That
> seems like an issue with the 3ware firmware to me.

Yes, as with _all_ RAID controllers, you _must_ make sure the driver and
firmware "match up."  _You_ must be _vigilant_ to do this as OS upgrades and
kernel updates in newer versions can introduce newer drivers than require newer
firmware.

CASE-IN-POINT:  _Always_ investigate the driver version in a newer kernel or OS,
and make sure you have a compatible firmware, _before_ upgrading it.

My Linux /var filesystem (XFS) was heavily corrupted (~50% file loss) after I
upgraded to Windows XP and loaded a newer 3Ware ATA RAID driver than the
firmware was designed for.  Yes, the driver in another OS messed with blocks
outside its partitions, because the firmware was too old.

Had a /home filesystem (Ext3) filesystem was moderately corrupted (~100 files) I
upgraded an ICP-Vortex SCSI RAID kernel driver without upgrading the firmware,
and failed disk detection took 24 seconds before it realized it needed to stop
writing to it.

-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I.            Contact Info:  http://thebs.org
A+/i-Net+/Linux+/Network+/Server+ CCNA CIWA CNA SCSA/SCWSE/SCNA
---------------------------------------------------------------
'In the new commercials for MSN 8, a guy dressed in a Microsoft
 Butterfly costume drops out of a "cocoon" ... nobody at
 Microsoft ... knows that a butterfly doesn't emerge from a
 cocoon, but a chrysalis -- moths come from cocoons ... "this
 should not be all that surprising since Microsoft seems to
 have problems recognizing bugs ..."' -- Cringely



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