FreeBSD 9 on Adaptec 6805

skillcoder · #1 April 13th, 2012, 12:46

1. How can I install FreeBSD 9 on Adaptec 6805? I try a new install of FreeBSD 9, but the system doesn't detect the disk managed by Adaptec 6805.

On the official site of Adaptec I get a driver only for 7.4 and 8.2, but not for 9.0. And the drivers re not compatible with the kernel of 9.0.

2. How to boot from array on Adaptec 6805? Need to recompile the kernel with drivers for 9.0, but where can I get them?

migle · #2 April 13th, 2012, 22:12

Oh, please don't remind me of this...

1) You can't. Not until Adaptec releases a driver for FreeBSD 9 (or, sigh, someone writes an open source driver). Forget about all the benefits of Softupdate+Journaling and all the good stuff in 9.

You must install FreeBSD 8.2.

2) Booting is relatively easy if it's ok with you doing a manual install.

- First configure your array in the BIOS.
- Have the kernel module from Adaptec aacu64.ko at hand, maybe in a USB pen.
- When booting the FreeBSD live image drop into a shell and kldload the module. Your array will appear as /dev/aacd0.
- Then do a manual install, maybe let yourself be inspired by http://wiki.freebsd.org/RootOnZFS.
- When everything is ready in the disk, copy aacu64.ko to /boot/kernel and add

Code:

aacu64_load="YES"

to /boot/loader.conf.

And it will work. The array will be available as a BIOS drive, so the loader can load both the kernel and aacu64.ko, and afterwards everything will be fine.

You will want to install sysutils/arcconf, the command line configuration tool. It's terribly slow (I suppose BIOS is involved, ok) and has a terrible interface (compared to camcontrol and the like).

3) You didn't ask, but there are some downsides to this driver, read the release notes. It does not support power management at all.

I'm running a file server with ZFS on a 6805E and a database server with UFS on a 6805 with the NVRAM module since last November or so. Obviously, my heavy-duty multi-terabyte database is used on the LAN and no one uses it during the night, and I can't power down the 16 hard disks involved here. There is more scary stuff in the release notes.

I guess it's already too late to choose a different controller, right?

Greetings,

PS: I found your question googling for a newer driver version for FreeBSD 9 but in vain.

migle · #3 April 13th, 2012, 22:52

By the way (I'd better not spell BTW), you don't have to do a manual install, not at all. It should be perfectly possible to start the installer, drop to a shell to load the kernel module and then go back to the installer and continue, I just never tried it.

Greetings to both,

gregober · #4 January 7th, 2013, 15:46

Hi,

Just a little information to let you know that there is a new driver available for 6805 Adaptec driver :

http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/speed/r...b30034_tgz.htm

1. decompress the archive, copy the module to /boot/module/.
2. add a /boot/loader.conf.local containing :

Code:

# Loading Adaptec Raid ASR 6805 card
aacu64_load="YES"

Sincerely yours.

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