From: Anders Norrbring (lists_at_norrbring.se)
Date: Wed Feb 16 2005 - 14:55:02 CET
From: "Anders Norrbring" <lists@norrbring.se> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 14:55:02 +0100 Message-Id: <20050216135502.EE825CF45@mail.the-server.net> Subject: RE: [suse-sles-e] File systems and SCSI Arrays...
> On Wednesday, February 16, 2005 03:28 am, Anders Norrbring wrote:
> > > On Tuesday, February 15, 2005 01:28 pm, Anders Norrbring wrote:
> > > > The disk space is located on a Compaq Smart Array 3200
> > > > controller. The controller takes care of everything regarding
> > > > RAID, so that part doesn't load the Linux system.
> > > > The system loads the driver cpqarray in initrd, everything seems
> > > > fine so far.
> > > >
> > > > The problem is that when the file system gets a load, for example
> > > > if I copy large files to the volume, it takes forever to complete
> > > > and the system seems hanged. After 10-90 seconds, it continues
> > > > its work. If I have one window open with 'top', that too freezes
> > > > during this period.
> > > >
> > > > Since it's SuSE SLES9, I formatted everything with reiserfs, my
> > > > thinking wass that this may be the problem, but then I tried with
> > > > XFS as well, just the same problem.. I'm just guessing.. If
> > > > someone can clear things up, I'd be grateful..
> > >
> > > Anders,
> > >
> > > I've got a SLES9 box running on an old Compaq 6400r with a
> > > SmartArray 3200 controller and I see none of the issues you are
> > > having. Reiser shouldn't make a difference (although I now prefer
> > > ext3...)
> > >
> > > If your box is a Compaq box, did you SmartStart it before
> > > installing SuSE? (The choice of OS to be installed sets the BIOS
> > > up correctly.)
> > >
> > > Also, check your boot options in grub and look for the "elevator= "
> > > parameter. If it is set to "as", try changing it to "cfq" or
> > > "deadline" and see what happens after a reboot. (My Compaq has the
> > > parm set to "cfq"; as I understand it, RAID controllers will see
> > > poorer performance if the parm is set to "as".)
> >
> > Thanks Mark,
> >
> > No, this isn't in a Compaq system, so I can't use the SmartStart CD..
> > In my grub's menu.lst, I have:
> >
> > kernel (hd0,1)/boot/vmlinuz root=4802 vga=0x31a splash=silent
> > resume=/dev/ida/c0d0p1 showopts
> >
> > So, there's no "elevator" at all set, perhaps that's the problem... I
> > really haven't spent any time to study kernel and boot options, since
> > I haven't found any documentation at all regarding this old SA 3200
> > controller. I've just moved it from an old Compaq server that ran
> > W2k..
> >
> > I guess I need to find boot/kernel options that can have effect on
> > the Smart Array, I just don't know where to start... I'll try to set
> > "elevator=cfg" in my grub as well, perhaps it can do some good.. :)
> >
> > Later,
> > Anders Norrbring
> > Norrbring Consulting
>
> Anders,
>
> Here's the boot line from my Compaq server's SLES9 kernel grub setup.
> Note that the elevator line is "cfq" not "cfg"! Our config lines look
> verrry similar, but YMMV...
>
> Best regards,
> Mark
>
> (hd0,1)/boot/vmlinuz root=4802 vga=0x317 selinux=0 splash=silent
> resume=/dev/ida/c0d0p1 elevator=cfq showopts
I looked in the kernel's Documentation directory and found out when reading
cpqarray.txt and as-iosched.txt that "elevator=deadline" would be a good
choice, and so it seems.. :)
Now the system looks both stable and fast, I'll monitor it and provoke it
with some huge file copying..
Anders Norrbring
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