= 1. Vendor information = 3Ware (http://www.3ware.com) card are usually well supported on Linux.[[BR]] Theses cards are often considered as some of the bests hardware RAID controllers for GNU/Linux or BSD systems.[[BR]] 3Ware supports Linux and provide an '''opensource kernel driver''' which is part of Linux since ages. [[BR]] = 2. Linux kernel drivers = There is two drivers for 3ware cards: || Driver || Supported cards || || 3w_xxxx || 3Ware Eskalad 7000 and 8000 series || || 3w_9xxx || 3Ware Eskaled 9000 series || You should not expect any problems with theses drivers which are known to be '''mature''' and '''stable'''.[[BR]] We don't know any current Linux distrubtion which miss theses drivers so no additional step should be required to get it working. [[BR]] = 3. Management and reporting tools = It currently exists '''no opensource tools''' for the 3Ware cards. However, 3Ware provides two proprietary utilities for x86 and x86_64 linux systems. == 3.1. tw_cli == tw_cli is a command line tool to manage and monitore Eskaled cards. It works fine with 7000 and 8000 cards, as well as with the 9000 series.[[BR]] Latest version is 2.00.07.009, available in 3Ware applications package release 9.5.0.1. ''AVAILABLE IN OUR DEBIAN PACKAGES REPOSITORY FOR BOTH I386 AND AMD64 ARCHITECTURES'' === 3.1.1. Quickstart guide for tw_cli === List available controllers: {{{ server:~# tw-cli info Ctl Model (V)Ports Drives Units NotOpt RRate VRate BBU ------------------------------------------------------------------------ c0 8006-2LP 2 2 1 0 2 - - }}} All arrays and disks from controller "c0": {{{ server:~# tw-cli /c0 show Unit UnitType Status %RCmpl %V/I/M Stripe Size(GB) Cache AVrfy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ u0 RAID-1 OK - - - 153.385 OFF - Port Status Unit Size Blocks Serial --------------------------------------------------------------- p0 OK u0 153.38 GB 321672960 VNRD3EC4C7J1SM p1 OK u0 153.38 GB 321672960 VNRD3EC4C7HZZM }}} Print all bios versions {{{ server:~# tw-cli /c0 show bios firmware monitor /c0 Bios Version = BE7X 1.08.00.048 /c0 Firmware Version = FE8S 1.05.00.068 /c0 Boot Loader Version = ME7X 1.01.00.040 }}} Full tw_cli documentation can be downloaded for 3Ware website: http://3ware.com/support/UserDocs/CLIGuide-9.4.3.pdf === 3.1.2. My opinion about tw_cli === tw_cli is really a good utility. It show all needed informations in just one command.[[BR]] Moreover, it show rebuild status in percent when the array is rebuilding and it's easily parsable because 3Ware filled the not relevant columns with a dash instead of let them empty. Good job ! == 3.2. 3ware-status == 3ware-status is a package I wrote by myself. It includes a python wrapper around tw_cli command and an initscript which daemonize the launch of the wrapper.[[BR]] It also handle failure detection and report it by mail and syslog. It also handle unexpected output change and reminder until the status is fine again. ''GRAB-IT NOW FROM OUR REPOSITORY'' Example output: {{{ server:~# 3ware-status -- Arrays informations -- -- ID Type Size Status c0u0 RAID1 153G OK -- Disks informations -- ID Model Status c0u0p0 VNRD3EC4C7J1SM OK c0u0p1 VNRD3EC4C7HZZM OK }}} == 3.3. 3dm2 == 3DM2 is a Web applications with an embedded web servers that allow use to do the same things than with tw_cli but graphical.[[BR]] It's works fine and doesn't rely on insane dependencies like java, tomcat or something else. = 4. BIOS upgrade from a Linux system =