# 3ware 9550SX RAID controller w/ AMD64 2005.1-r1 CD [solved]

## mrsastro

Edit: Sorry.  Although the 9550SX driver is backward compatible with the 9500S controller, the 9500S controller had its own driver.  The 9550SX driver doesn't appear as part of the Linux kernel until 2.6.14 (whereas the 9550S driver appeared in 2.6.8).  All this was clear on the 3ware website under OS Support.

From https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-400714-highlight-3ware.html I saw that the AMD64 Live CD 2005.1 kernel recognized a 3ware 9500S-4LP RAID controller.

I am installing Gentoo with the AMD64 Live CD 2005.1-r1 kernel, and I have not succeeded in getting it to recognize my 3ware 9550SX-4LP RAID controller:

livecd root # lspci

...

0000:03:01.0 RAID bus controller: 3ware Inc: Unknown device 1003

This seems independent of the kernel options I specify, including doload=3w-9xxx (which I thought should load the 3ware 9xxx-series controller driver).

I understand that I should be able to use the 'old' technique of first installing Gentoo on another (non-RAID) HD, and compiling the 3ware 3w-9xxx driver (along with the other low-level SCSI support) into the kernel, and then installing from there to the RAID.  But since someone else succeeded in installing straight to a 9500S from the CD, and both controllers take the same driver, I thought it might be possible to skip that step.

I configued and verified the RAID using the 3ware BIOS (RAID5 on 3x300 GB Seagates).  The hardware is 4xOpteron 850 and 8 GB RAM on a Tyan Thunder K8QSD Pro.

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## jklett

So what was your solution? Install to a single IDE drive, compile a newer kernel and bootstrap the system on the RAID array that way?

The 2005.1-r1 CD only has a kernel version of 2.6.12, which doesn't include the 3w-9xxx driver that supports the 9550SX cards, which 3ware's web site says, as you point out. Here's a link:

http://3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=14546

So the only options are to go the IDE drive route or wait for the 2006.0 LiveCD? or is there some other way?

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## Lubomir

Have you installed gentoo on that RAID card? I am watching to get the same you have. I have now a highpoint 2220 and the card doesnt work. i have tried sooo much things. Can you tell me how fast the card is realy working?

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## Ast0r

 *Lubomir wrote:*   

> Have you installed gentoo on that RAID card? I am watching to get the same you have. I have now a highpoint 2220 and the card doesnt work. i have tried sooo much things. Can you tell me how fast the card is realy working?

 I built a server with the following specs back in February (and had this same issue with the driver).

Specs:

Intel Xeon Irwindale Core 3.0ghz (64-bit, 2MB L2 cache)

4GB PC2100 ECC SDRAM

Dual Xeon SuperMicro motherboard

3ware 9550SX-8LP RAID controller

and ... 5x300GB Seagate 7200rpm drives (wanted 10,000rpm but budget wouldn't allow for it)

The RAID setup was a breeze, but when I booted from the Gentoo 2005.1-r1 LiveCD I couldn't access the drives. After doing some research, I found from that the driver wasn't included in the kernel until 2.6.14. I searched and found some generic rescue disk with a 2.6.15 kernel and setup worked fine after that. I would recommend this card to anyone now that Gentoo 2006.0 has a 2.6.15 kernel.

This card is FAST.

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## Aiwa

I would be very interested in any concrete ideas how to get that controller to work. My 2006.0 kernel does not even list the controller with lspci, regardless of modules loaded and boot-options. So unless I figure out how to access my RAID I would _not_ recommend this card to anyone  :Wink: 

Please check my thread:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-452575.html

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## Lubomir

make a firmware update.maybe that will help you.the first thing i done was to update the firmware from the card.after that everything have worked worderful. i installed the card and have now running a raid5 with 3 hdd and one hot spare.i cant beleve how fast gentoo can run .... .

Amd opteron 265 (dualcore, 2*1,8ghz)

tyan k8we

2gb corsair ecc ram

4*hitachi with 250gb

nvidia 7300

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## d_logan

 *Ast0r wrote:*   

> 
> 
> Specs:
> 
> Intel Xeon Irwindale Core 3.0ghz (64-bit, 2MB L2 cache)
> ...

 

This is what I have in a new machine I just built.  I don't know which architecture CD to download.  x86? (if so, what about the 64-bit?)

I read that the ia64 is only for the Itaniums, and that the Xeon Irwindales use different 64-bit code (EMT64).

I also read that software compiled for the amd64 should run on the Irwindales.

I don't see any x86_64 category.

Any help would be much appreciated.

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