[SlugLUG] Re: Sluglug Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1

[Rick Moen]

Quoting cerise at armory.com (cerise at armory.com):

> > Do you know if any linux distribution comes with software raid beside
> > fedora? What I meant is when you pop in a CD and install linux, it gives
> > you an option of doing software raid right that moment so that the software
> > raided partition can be booted up right way instead of hacking around
> > by installing on one non-software raided and copy them to the software
> > raided partition. Thanks for your help :)
> 
>    I can't speak for the newer graphical install, but Gentoo has that
> capability on the LiveCD.  I'd be shocked if Debian didn't.

There are two things that need to be disambiguated:  

o  "software RAID" == Linux's native "md" software RAID
o  "software RAID" == various manufacturers BIOS-assisted proprietary
                      software RAID formats, what on comp.os.linux.hardware
                      we call "fakeraid" schemes

Linux's "md" driver is much faster and more reliable than all existing
fakeraid schemes.  However, some people insist on using the latter
because either they value the BIOS features (e.g., fewer complexities 
involved with booting) or they have existing fakeraid data volumes, 
usually those of MS-Windows.

Both Official Debian and various other Debian installation images have
fully supported the "md" driver since forever.  I'm not sure about the
various fakeraid schemes, e.g., Intel ISWraid, Silicon Image "Medley",
etc.  You'd have to check.

More at:

"Serial ATA" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Hardware (includes fakeraid info)
"Installers" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian

-- 
Cheers,                   I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, 
Rick Moen                 which, when you looked at it in the right way, did 
rick at linuxmafia.com       not become still more complicated. -- Poul Anderson