Compare LVM & MirrorDisk/UX with Smart Array 6402

[Greg Nowicki]

I'm configuring a new database server and am not interested in RAID 5. With disks attached in a dual bus MSA 30, what are the differences between using dumb U320 adapters with LVM + MirrorDisk/UX and a Smart Array 6402 controller? I expect there to be plenty of spare CPU cycles. One difference I see is that the SA 6402 is a single point of failure. I can define the mirrors on seperate U320 adapters and keep going if one fails.

[Luk Vandenbussche]

Greg,

What is de model off the server and what is the OS.

Mirror/UX on HPUX doesn't use much CPU cycles. I installed hundred of these configs and I had never any problem.

[Torsten.]

Hi,

if you don't want to use RAID5, I agree with you - the smart array controller is single point of failure.

So it may be better to use "dumb" scsi controllers and LVM mirror the disks across independent busses.

[Greg Nowicki]

Luk, I'm looking at a rp3440 with 2 1GHz PA-8900's (4 total cores) running HP-UX 11i v1.

Redundancy in the system is important but so is performance. Will I get more IOPS out of a SA 6402 managing RAID 1+0 drives or two U320 adapters with LVM defined mirrored stripes? I have done both before with good results but never compared the two with the same hardware. I was hoping to find someone in the forums that could give an authoritative answer.