Server Spec

Issues related to hardware problems
Post Reply
WiredIT
Posts: 1
Joined: 2017/12/15 16:10:07

Server Spec

Post by WiredIT » 2017/12/15 16:17:33

Hi,

We've been sent a specification from a supplier for a server to run a new software product.

They have spec'd up a Dell Precision T3420 server with 2 x 1TB discs and a RAID controller......however when we try to buy the specific configuration from Dell with CentOS installed we're prevented with a warning that CentOS does not support the RAID configuration.

The spec calls for a Dell C2 SATA RAID controller. Has anybody got any views on if this controller is actually compatible ? Or can anybody suggest a better supplier who would guarantee CentOS compatibility ?

Other specs are :

7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700 (Quad Core 3.6GHz, 4.2Ghz Turbo, 8MB, w/ HD Graphics 630)
16GB RAM
2 x 1TB 2.5" SATA 7200rpm drives

User avatar
TrevorH
Site Admin
Posts: 33202
Joined: 2009/09/24 10:40:56
Location: Brighton, UK

Re: Server Spec

Post by TrevorH » 2017/12/15 16:35:38

Well a "C2 RAID" is just an option number, it doesn't tell you what controller that actually includes but if it says it's not supported then I'd guess it means that it is a FakeRAID controller whose model number is of the format Sxxx. Those are SATA FakeRAID controllers and do not work with linux.

I did try to spec a system up but the dell website is now useless and just sends my cpu usage to 100% and keeps jumping around the configuration page at random and doesn't seem to work well at all. In the UK it wouldn't let me configure a T3420 with anything newer than an i7-6700 and I couldn't get it to allow me to pick 2 x 1TB disks either.

I would phone them up as they can often offer configuration options on the phone that are not available via the web. What you need to get CentOS support is a hardware RAID controller like an H730 or H730P. Anything that starts with an S is a software RAID card and is rubbish. The models that start with an H are hardware RAID and have on-board cache, battery or nvm backup and are leagues ahead of the S models in both compatibility and performance.

A Precision system is not a server in any case. It's a workstation product. That will be missing things like the iDRAC that you'd get on a server for remote management.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

User avatar
jlehtone
Posts: 4523
Joined: 2007/12/11 08:17:33
Location: Finland

Re: Server Spec

Post by jlehtone » 2017/12/17 21:29:44

"RAID Controller" -- for what purpose? With two drives one can only stripe (which is anti-redundant) or mirror. These two modes do not require much computation. Hence pure software RAID is about as good as hardware RAID. That brings us back to "why a controller is requested"?

2.5" drives? I don't know what the T3420 takes, but I'd expect both 2.5" and 3.5" to be equally possible on a tower(?).
EDIT: ahh, a minuscule SFF case.

Post Reply