Re: OT: harddrive addition for RAID
On Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:11:05 -0500
Stan Hoeppner <stan@hardwarefreak.com> wrote:
> On 10/17/2011 5:09 PM, Raf Czlonka wrote:
> > On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 06:12:00PM BST, Camaleón wrote:
> >>> 1. does the HD need to be exactly the same as the one its being paired
> >>> with ?
> >>
> >> Not necessarily, but you will lose the remainder difference space between
> >> the smallest and the bigger of the disks. If you were referring to the
> >> brand/model/serial number of the disks some people think is better they
> >> exactly match (me) others think the opposite.
> >
> > It's not just size that matters ;^)
> > If you'd like your RAID array to perform better it's always better to
> > have the disks identical - cache size, speed, etc. If you have drives
> > which don't match, essentially your RAID will perform as good as your
> > worst drive.
>
> Also keep in mind that with software RAID you won't be mirroring
> "drives" but partitions, since you're looking to mirror your boot/system
> drive. Getting your BIOS, boot loader and mdraid setup correctly so
> that the surviving drive boots the system after the other fails can be
> very very tricky, especially for a Linux RAID novice.
>
> If this is what you want to accomplish, then you have a lot of reading
> and research ahead of you, and likely some trial and error, along with
> headaches.
>
> Given the costs, learning curve, and "ease of use" issues, if I were
> you, I'd simply purchase a good cheap real RAID0/1 card and two new
> matching 500GB drives. Something like this combo:
>
> 1 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116075
> 2 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
>
> Setting up a RAID1 set will be pretty easy with this card, and if one
> drive fails the card simply boots the other automatically and writes the
> failure to a log file and/or sends you an email. No hoops you have to
> jump through as with mdraid. And you'll also get a nice little speed
> bump due to the 128MB of cache on board. If your system is connected to
> a good working UPS you can enable write caching for even better
> performance. Total cost of these parts from Newegg is about
> $270+shipping. All you need is a free PCIe x1 slot.
>
> If the cost isn't prohibitive, you'll be much happier with this solution.
>
Thanks thats VERY informative, I'll check some prices and see whats
in the piggy bank, it may involve bribing my wife with a pair of shoes ;)
--
Best wishes / 73
Richard Bown
e-mail: richard@g8jvm.com or richard.bown@blueyonder.co.uk
nil carborundum a illegitemis
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