Mixing Drive Types on a Smart Array controller (Quantum and COMPAQ)
 

I have a Proliant ML370 with a Smart Array controller.
This system is a little over 3 years old and out of warranty.

I have 6 Ultra3 SCSI 36GB 10K drives with one configured as a hot
spare.

One of the drives keeps failing, but if I pull it out and reinsert it
it works for a while. COMPAQ is of little help regarding this issue.

We recently lost a second drive, so I had to immediately procure a
replacement. I found one locally, but after purchasing it, I realized
that it was a Quantum drive in a COMPAQ housing.

I was able to install it, but since it's the hot spare, it is not
currently in the array.

It fits the same specs, but when I use the array configuration
utility, it has a different firmware and model. The model does not
say COMPAQ unlike the other drives.

I have had problems in the past mixing drives from the same
manufacturer in an IDE RAID configuration, so I am worried that when I
need this drive to work, it will not!

Can anyone please tell me if I should return this drive and get a
COMPAQ one (for about double the price)?

Thank you,

D

Should work. Unlike IDE raid, SCSI raid doesn't care about brand, it only
cares about capacity. I mix Fujitsu and Compaq OEM on my DL380G2 with no ill
effect.

"Colin Anderson" wrote in message news:Lxdsb.29675$jy.18906@clgrps13...
Should work. Unlike IDE raid, SCSI raid doesn't care about brand, it only
cares about capacity. I mix Fujitsu and Compaq OEM on my DL380G2 with no ill
effect.

Of course compaq would have you believe otherwise. So you have not
had ANY problems at all? What concerns me is that the drive has
different firmware and model info when viewed in the array
configuration utility... so if the controller knows, perhaps it will
create problems for me. Are you using a COMPAQ RAID controller too?

Thanks,

D

Should work. Unlike IDE raid, SCSI raid doesn't care about brand, it only
cares about capacity. I mix Fujitsu and Compaq OEM on my DL380G2 with no ill
effect.

Of course compaq would have you believe otherwise. So you have not
had ANY problems at all? What concerns me is that the drive has
different firmware and model info when viewed in the array
configuration utility... so if the controller knows, perhaps it will
create problems for me. Are you using a COMPAQ RAID controller too?

Probably not,
I allways got warning messages from ACU trying to install non CPQ drives,
but nevertheless the drives work fine.
Compaq (as HP) used different vendor drives with a special Firmware.
(HP, IBM, Seagate, Quantum, Fujitsu)
You might be able to extract the FW files from the option rompaqs
and flash the drives with a Compaq Firmware.
I allways swapped the PCB from old seagate barracudas to
get rid of the warnings.
At least its not worth paying Compaq for the few different bits.

Gereon Wenzel