Arch Linux

andrej.podzimek

Member

From: Zürich, Switzerland

Registered: 2005-04-10

Posts: 115

Does ATTO ThunderLink SH 3128 work with Linux?

This question is not Arch-specific, but my machines that could benefit from this Thunderbolt SAS controller all happen to run Arch, so I'm asking here:
Does the ThunderLink SH 3128 work (well) with Linux? Does anyone use this device (e.g.) with Arch? Are there any caveats or concerns?

Of course I've contacted their pre-sales support, but got no response.

There is a configuration tool for ATTO devices for Linux and its release notes explicitly mention the SH 3128 (a number of times), which sounds promising. Yet the download page for the device lists precisely zero Linux-related items. (In general, the product description and documentation is surprisingly silent about Linux support.)

There is another similar device, albeit bigger and with a less advanced controller (6 Gb/s instead of 12 Gb/s), which may work with Linux, because its PCIe card (e.g. RocketRAID 4522SGL or RocketRAID RR2722) has Linux support. Sadly, it requires out-of-tree kernel modules (some of which are available on AUR). This may become an issue later on, if the module source code becomes outdated and unbuildable.

If anyone could chime in with a bit of experience with ATTO ThunderLink SH 3128 or RocketStor 6661A-mSAS{1,2,3} on Linux (or suggest alternatives known to work), that would be very helpful.

andrej.podzimek

Member

From: Zürich, Switzerland

Registered: 2005-04-10

Posts: 115

Re: Does ATTO ThunderLink SH 3128 work with Linux?

An update on this: I got a response from ATTO, simply stating that the ThunderLink SH 3128 does not work with Linux. Of course I asked whether

1. "doesn't work" == "really doesn't work" or

2. "doesn't work" == "should work fine, but we don't provide technical support",

but never heard back. (Plus there has been no response to my question why the configuration tool release notes for Linux explicitly mention the device. (Maybe the tool can only manage devices connected to remote, non-Linux systems, rather than local ones? No idea.))

There is a kernel module called pm80xx which might support this type of hardware, because there's a PMC chipset in it. (Unfortunately, the name PMC has been (ab)used in so many contexts that it no longer refers to one hardware type / company / technology.)

Gah. This is quite frustrating. If this was, say, a $100 device, I'd just buy it and try it, no big deal. But it's more like $800, so if it doesn't work, I don't necessarily need a paperweight in that price category.