Compatible PCI to SATA card for Iyonix?

Hi,
I’m thinking of purchasing an Iyonix PC to use as a storage server so I don’t have to buy 3 or so parts to get similar functionality out of a RiscPC, I’m wondering if there is a compatible PCI to SATA expansion card for the Iyonix so I can add bigger drives (with 5.21 around the corner with the larger FileCore). Or there is no drivers within Risc OS to support that kind of hardware?
Thanks in advance.

A storage server? What exactly do you mean by that?

Much as I like RISC OS, I can’t help thinking that you might do better to buy a NAS device of some sort. I’ve received flyers for two different ones today, but around GBP50 without drives. They are far smaller than an Iyonix, probably more reliable, support more protocols, lower power consumption… and probably cheaper too.

Both the devices I saw are designed to contain the drives (1 or 2) within their case, so they are neat and tidy solutions too.

Just something where I have a machine where I can store all of my Risc OS and PC files alike on a unified system, maybe play a few games on it as well.

Seeing how often Iyonix PSU problems come up on c.s.a. it’s probably not the best idea and certainly no advantage over a proper NAS.

Probably, but that’s besides the point of this thread. I can use the IDE connectors on the motherboard on a Iyonix or I could invest £240 for a second slice, Risc OS 5.20 ROMS and a Unipod for my retired RiscPC.
So before I do anything I would like to know if there is any PCI to SATA cards that will work with the iyonix.

I don’t think there is any such thing as a driver for a PCI SATA card for RISC OS.

The nearest solution is an IDE to SATA adaptor so you can plus a SATA drive into the Iyonix’s IDE connector.

However, your possible avenues look to me like this:

1) RISC PC: expensive, slow, obsolete.

2) Iyonix: expensive, obsolete.

3) NAS: small, cheap, versatile, low power consumption.

My main computer is an Iyonix. I also have a Risc PC, two BeagleBoards and three Raspberry Pis and a few other computers. And a cheap NAS. The NAS is permanently on and available to all clients all the time. For what you claim to want to do, NAS looks like the best solution.

I get what your saying. But I like to upgrade hardware and repurpose old machines every once and a while.
Thanks for answering my question though!

We have a NAS and do use it but it has draw backs!
Some file and path names valid in Filecore format are not valid on the formats used by NAS’s
When we backup our main File server HD which is an ADFS drive some files/paths baulk making it a real pain.
e.g. prn is invalid as a file name on most NAS’s but older versions of !Photodesk used it (we changed it to help in future but our file server has backups of all versions we’ve been involved with).
I forget the exact details but today I tried copying an old !Twain to the NAS it baulked at / or \ being the last character in a directories name this stops all the contents of the directory being backed up.
So we have to keep a Filecore format drive as our main file server.

We have been recently evaluating some IDE to SATA interfaces on an Iyonix, generally they work but it doesn’t change the size of drives supported. n.b. They do not work in a RiscPC:-(

@Chris Evens – is the 256gb HDD limit a hardware or software limit on the iyonix?

is the 256gb HDD limit a hardware or software limit on the iyonix?

it’s 128GB and the limit is the hardware DMA.

AIUI a 256gb drive will work but there is a bug (hardware DMA as Jeff says) in one of the chips in an Iyonix that slows down massively access for any data stored after 120GB into the drive. As RISC OS doesn’t use space from the start onwards you may have a half empty drive but a file might be saved to the slow part on a drive >120GB.
Castle often fitted 160GB drives formatted down to 120GB

so would I be wasting money if I bought 250GB hard drives if the Iyonix only supports 128GB?

You won’t be wasting money buying a 250GB drive – the full size will be usable. It’s just that the area past the 128GB DMA limit will be accessed more slowly (and due to the way that FileCore fills drives from the middle outwards, you may end up with slow performance right off the bat).

You’d only be wasting money if you bought a drive larger than 256GB, as that’s the current partition size limit of FileCore, which applies to any FileCore formatted disc (IDE, USB, SCSI, etc.), on any RISC OS machine. However that limit will hopefully be removed in the future – whether indirectly removed via partition support or directly removed via a new and improved FileCore format (which is likely to be part of a future filing system bounty).

Thanks Jeffrey, I was planning to buy 4 250GB HDDs equaling the total size to 1TB (its not going to be put into RAID before you ask). All of your advise will be put into consideration when I get an Iyonix (classic case preferably) and the HDD and maybe a RAM upgrade if I feel I need to.
Thanks Again!

You’d only be wasting money if you bought a drive larger than 256GB, as that’s the current partition size limit of FileCore

With FileCore 3.61 (in RISC OS 5.20) the limit is 256GB per partition (2^29 × 512B) and a length of 4G per file (2^32 minus 1).
With FileCore 3.63 (in current betas) the limit is 2TB per partition (2^29 × 4096B), though as Jeffrey points out currently none of the default shipped filing systems support drives with 4k sectors, but if they did, it’d be 2TB.

My ARMiniX lists Filecore 3.63 (20 Jul 2013). This is the now-current R-comp build of RO5.21 (7-Mar-14). Does that mean it should be OK for external Filecore discs bigger than 256GB and for files up to 4GB? Or is this an example of different releases of RO having different version numberings in a confusing manner?

Jim

Does that mean it should be OK for external Filecore discs bigger than 256GB and for files up to 4GB?

Perhaps read Sprow’s post again.

currently none of the default shipped filing systems support drives with 4k sectors