Easier Hardware-based raid management

[Per Hansson]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

It will probably work just fine, the best way to test is if you have a shop that will allow a return.
That way you can test the UPS with your system (by creating a couple power failures).
And see how it holds up.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

That goes without saying. I'll have to price match at our local frys. Thanks

[Curious.George]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

Yeah easy for you to say. Also usps that have been used, you never know the component and capacitor condition especially if they've been running 24/7

That's true of any bit of kit that you didn't "purchase new" (e.g., your PE1800). IME (I have 10 of them running at the present time), the problem (reason for the disposal) with any of the "better" UPSs is always batteries. This is particularly true of the "4 battery" units and the "extra large battery" (think motorcycle size) devices -- its just expensive to replace a complete set of batteries if you're a business and you buy retail (from the UPS vendor).

[Digikey used to ship prepaid orders for free. Handy when buying 10 batteries at a time! But, now, have excluded batteries from this policy]

Attached pics of the stack that I dug through yesterday (I cherry pick for Anderson connectors, NMC's & particularly NMC2's -- and the occasional SMX1000s -- which is why you see many of the "plastic bezels" removed). They'll start a new pallet(s) Monday.

[Curious.George]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

That way you can test the UPS with your system (by creating a couple power failures). And see how it holds up.

You should also test to see if the UPS will support "cold start" (not all will). And, how it will handle that condition with your load.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

I just read from apcs site that a cold start on a pfc psu can pull Wx1.25. So that's near 1k for this 750 :/

[Curious.George]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

I just read from apcs site that a cold start on a pfc psu can pull Wx1.25. So that's near 1k for this 750 :/

There are two issues.

First, verifying that the unit (model number) CAN do a cold start (assuming you may find that feature desireable at some time; if not... moot point).

Second, being aware of the effort that the UPS has to undertake to cold start YOUR LOAD. (Remember, this is just a transient event; the additional load goes away once things have stabilized)

Note that you have some control over this. E.g., whenever I power up a UPS (even with mains voltage available), I arrange for the load to be "off". It remains off until the UPS has done its self test (for those UPSs that I have been unable to configure to skip that test). In this way, I don't risk my device seeing power come on -- and then "fail" a few seconds later (if on battery and batter is weak).

Additionally, I configure my loads so they try to be gentler in their start-up requirements. E.g., If there are monitors associated with the load, I manually turn them on a few seconds after the computer (which is usually the biggest part of my loads). I arrange for the disks to stagger their spinups a few seconds apart (so only one disk is in the act of spinning up at any given time).

Where possible (or necessary), I move loads to other UPSs. E.g., I have 4 monitors on each workstation and typically "share" the monitors between two workstations (using the A/B select switch on the monitor to choose which workstation's output they display). So, I want to be able to power the monitors regardless of which of that pair of workstations happens to have its UPS running. (I.e., a group of three UPSs for each set of four heads fed by two workstations; only two UPSs powered at any time)

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

This is a non graphics server. There is no monitor. The only thing on the ups would be it

There is no staggered spinup supported

[Curious.George]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

This is a non graphics server. There is no monitor. The only thing on the ups would be it

There is no staggered spinup supported

Google "PUIS". Linux will have hooks for this.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

These are wd blacks with pm2 support but the adapter did not spin them up, dispite the settings I checked on the adapter had a 3sec start spin from adapter bios initialization and a 3 sec drive to drive

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

Well, I've decided against using a ups. After looking and look8ng, newegg had reviews of non sine wave 900w ones that would kick from 500w pfcs. And these were some of the better rated ones.

Cyberpower had some cheaper sine wave ones but the ratings were not ao great

Apc sine wave had the best rarings and were around ¢300-360.

I'm thinking, how often is something written to this array? Not often. Booted after a while running minidlna audios stream, 14% ram, 0-1% swap (pure server, no x).

I unplugged it once or twice and it never tripped the recheck/rebuild on the raid card, which im finding is not fully hardware raid, but a mpt card wih an lsi bios. The id is ok for it not to be fake raid, but not by that much

The heatsink chip is really a pci-e to pcix for the lsi chip. Still better than on board intel ahci sata 150, with linux raid. Certainly faster

I already ordered a sff 8484 fan out 19" cable so I can hook to my drive bays in the front 5.25 bays

I wonder if there is an advantage to finding a way to keep the drives powered on a ups (I do have a power brick sata adapter that came with a sata/ide -> usb adapter

Hook two of those to a cheaper ups, keep the drives on when power to the server is cut. Would that be detrimental or a good thing? Could having the drives power down stop corrupted data being written, oe the opposite?

[Curious.George]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

These are wd blacks with pm2 support but the adapter did not spin them up, dispite the settings I checked on the adapter had a 3sec start spin from adapter bios initialization and a 3 sec drive to drive

The drive(s) have to be strapped for PUIS (power management). If the drive is NOT, then it will spin itself up, regardless of when the adapter decides it SHOULD spin up.

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebas...er.aspx?ID=958

[Uranium-235]

Re: Easier Hardware-based raid management

The drive(s) have to be strapped for PUIS (power management). If the drive is NOT, then it will spin itself up, regardless of when the adapter decides it SHOULD spin up.

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebas...er.aspx?ID=958

I don't what to say. I put the jumper there. Neither spun up

and the drive label lists 3-4 as PM2