Topic: SME and CompactFlash

[Brygger]

Hi everybody

Just a few questions for you all...

1. Can SME be installed and boot from a CompactFlash?
2. How small can I make the installed image. The intention is to only use it as a NAS for file (maybe printer) sharing?
3. Does it support USB2.0 attatched devices like HDDs and/or printers?
4. Does it support RAID 0, 1, 5, JBOD on SATA-discs?

Thx in advance for your replys  

/Brygger

[MSmith]

1. Can SME be installed and boot from a CompactFlash?
2. How small can I make the installed image. The intention is to only use it as a NAS for file (maybe printer) sharing?
3. Does it support USB2.0 attatched devices like HDDs and/or printers?
4. Does it support RAID 0, 1, 5, JBOD on SATA-discs?

1.  As far as I know, no one has made this work.  Writing the logs would ruin the CF in a matter of weeks.
2.  I don't think there's much fat in the stock SME.
3.  USB Printers yes, at least some.
4.  6.0 has no SATA support.  7.0 supports SATA and does software RAID-1.  Anything else would have to be handled by the controller or would have to be custom-coded; I don't know of a RAID contrib that does what you want.

[gregswallow]

Anything else would have to be handled by the controller or would have to be custom-coded; I don't know of a RAID contrib that does what you want.

SME 7 does Raid 1, 5 and 6 actually.  Raid 5 is set up if you have 3-5 drives, and Raid 6 with 6+ drives.  Testers are needed for Raid 5 and 6 setups at the moment, as the developers are currently working on improvements to the RAID 5/6 install procedure (to make sure if you lose a drive, the system will still boot) - see this bug report for details and watch for things to test:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1365152&group_id=96750&atid=615772

[MSmith]

I didn't know that; very cool!  Should be great for those buying older servers with bunches of 9.1 GB SCSI disks, for instance.

[arne]

I spent a number of work hours to try to make the sme 6.0.1 to boot from a USB stick. I were able to make a number of other small Linux distros to do this, but In the end I had to give up "the SME from the USB stick project". (Reason: the way the sme 6.0.1 is derived from a RH 7.3)

Well I guess that a compact flash is not a USB stick and a SME 7.0 is different from a SME 6.0.1

Just a guess .. It might be more possible to make a SME 7.0 to run from a compact flash than a SME 6.0.1 from a USB stick.  

It would be interesting if "someone" would like to give it a try and then to leave a message.

[arne]

I wrote down the experiences from the "boot from the usb stick project" (that did not work) in this tread.

http://forums.contribs.org/index.php?topic=26662.0

Possible some of the info could be recycled for some other "boot from hardware project".

(And hopefully this time with a fully working result !!