Hello,
I had previously offered the RKSAS4R5 as a software RAID 5 option for SAS disks. RSTe has been the preferred configuration because firstly it supports EFI boot and secondly I could pre-install the console to manage the RAID array. One downside was that I couldn't designate a hot spare in the RSTe BIOS utility and had to wait until I had the console installed on the OS, yes I know CLi exists but it's too much hardship for me.
I was disappointed to see that in the latest RSTe driver/BIOS that SAS R5 has been removed so previously where the RKSAS4R5 would operate in both RSTs and ESRT2 mode it will now work in ESRT2 mode only.
A few questions as a result.
- Why was SAS R5 removed from RSTe driver 3.8.0.1111?
- Will SAS R5 support be added back at a later date?
- Can current implementations of ESRT2 allow EFI BOOT?
- Is ESRT2 performance below par when compared to RSTe
- We build servers for resellers and I understand that the Intel RAID Web console cannot be pre-installed from a Windows Server audit boot environment because firstly an administrator password is required and secondly if the reseller changes the default server name (100% likely) the installation no longer works.Is my understanding correct or can Intel RAID Web Console 2 be pre-installed?
Of course one advantage to using ESRT2 is that I can pre designate a hot spare in the BIOS setup. Why can hot spares not be designated in the BIOS pages for the RSTe?
Regards,
GT
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Known Restrictions
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1. SAS features are enabled on SATA/SAS Capable Controller if appropriate Intel(R) RAID C600 Upgrade Key is present in the system.
2. RAID 5 is no longer supported by SATA/SAS Capable Controller when SAS features are enabled.