XP's 2Tb limit or Another NAS Question

[cablesguy]

Hi All,

have a few questions regarding the abv,

1) since XP's 2Tb limited, assuming that i need an OS to host a say for eg a Raid6 abv 2Tb, what would be an appropriate OS to use to overcome the limitation.

2) And what raid controller would be ideal, preference pcie, 8 sata ports, onboard disk expansion and rebuild. Plus not costing an arm and a leg..ok maybe a toe :D

3) What else should i be looking for and be aware of

Im currently reading up on NAS and am also contemplating something like this

http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=23&pid=55&PHPSESSID=536a391ac64d6ba654052a0fd3f287de

available Septemberish or so i hear, plus its limited to R5 and 2Tb max.
My preference in a NAS box is 5 disk but the cost plus the 5HDD is :eek:


TIA :D

[Volkum]

1. Windows server editions allow for use of GUID partition tables (GPT) as does any linux/unix distro
2. You're looking at about $500 for anything that's real hardware RAID. I recommend Areca and 3ware.

[general]

There are options out there for less. I use 3ware 9500S.

[Volkum]

There are options out there for less. I use 3ware 9500S.

The 9500S is still not cheap and it's also several generations old (9500, 9550, 9590, 9650, 9690) which is why it's a bit cheaper than, say, the 9650SE-8LPML. He also prefer's PCI-E and the 9500/9550 cards were all PCI-X.

Example cards:
Areca 1220 $435
3ware 9650SE-8LPML $500
Adaptec 3805 $450

[cablesguy]

1. Windows server editions allow for use of GUID partition tables (GPT) as does any linux/unix distro
2. You're looking at about $500 for anything that's real hardware RAID. I recommend Areca and 3ware.

dagnabit, now i'll hv to go read up abt GPT :D, a little checking up on the raid controllers, seems like the only ideal cards are in the 5-700 range, dont these cards ever come down in prices

[Danny Bui]

dagnabit, now i'll hv to go read up abt GPT :D, a little checking up on the raid controllers, seems like the only ideal cards are in the 5-700 range, dont these cards ever come down in prices

When a newer, better and faster version of those cards come out. :)

If you don't mind used, look up the Dell Perc5/i card on eBay. It can be had for ~$130 for the card itself and two SAS to SATA cables for $30. So for a total of $150 to $200, you'll get a true hardware RAID card with 8 SATA ports and OCE IIRC. Hit up these two threads for more info:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1298815
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1301566

[HDClown]

I just went through this. I'm using an Adaptec 5405 card which is 4 internal SATA/SAS drives. Got it for $310 + $25 for the necessary cable. It's the best SAS/SATA RAID controller on the market due to it's use of a Dual Core 1.2ghz ROC processor. Areca/3ware are also very good, but they have not released next-gen cards with Dual Core processors, so they are a little slower (albeit not much).

The PERC5 approach looks pretty good. Haven't done any research to see what processor it's using or performance, but getting 8 ports for that kind of $$ is hard to beat.

The Adaptec 5805 is the 8 port SAS/SATA card equivalent to my 5405 and it's available for $463 from ewiz.com. You need to go to froogle.com and use the referral link. You'll also need 2 cables at $25/ea

You can get beyond the 2TB limit with Windows XP 64bit or Vista 32bit/64bit.

This has all the info you need about GPT:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302873/en-us

And in a list form of supported OS. (note that Server 2008 also supports GPT)
http://ask.adaptec.com/scripts/adaptec_tic.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=14691&p_created=1149909314&p_sid=1t2ZFv7j&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQ6MSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3J vd19jbnQ9MywzJnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3N lYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmN oX3RleHQ9R1BU&p_li=&p_topview=1

[cablesguy]

the Dell Perc5/i looks 2b a good solution price wise but seems to require quite abit of a workaround.

The adaptec looks good but still exp, i guess theres just no avoiding paying premium for these branded cards, hopefully the branding comes with more peace of mind...and coincidentally i was just toying with the idea of 64bit :D

2 questions:

1) are data interchangeable between 32bit and 64bit and vice versa, ie meaning saved and retrieved btwn each other.

2) assuming an array is more than 2Tb, how would another computer from the network running XP 32bit recognises that 2Tb+ array.


Thx All

[Volkum]

1) are data interchangeable between 32bit and 64bit and vice versa, ie meaning saved and retrieved btwn each other.

2) assuming an array is more than 2Tb, how would another computer from the network running XP 32bit recognises that 2Tb+ array.

1. I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. Partitions aren't 32 or 64 bit specific. You could take an array that is formatted with a file system and put it in a computer for use as long as the host OS can use it.

2. It doesn't seem to have problems mapping network shares over 2TB. For example, this is my gaming box with 32-bit XP:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v44/Galaine/mycomputer.jpg

[HDClown]

Any true hardware assisted RAID card comes with a price, but it's not as bad as you were last expecting. The Adaptec 5 series card like the 5405/5805 have some horrible MSRP prices, but you can get them WELL under that. ewiz.com through froogle.com referrals was the BEST prices I found, and they are a trusted internet seller.

I'll be posting some performance info with my Adaptec 5405 based array. It outperforms the PERC5 card but not by a HUGE amount. What the PERC5 offers for the $$ is HUGE. If I would have known about it previously, I just may have gone down that road. Having the ability for 8 drives would have been a worthwhile sacrifice over the slight performance hit.

The 2TB limit has to do with the drive's direct use in the parent OS as it sees the partition. Network drives don't deal with partitions like that, so they will see as big of a partition as you want to serve up, regardless of if the OS mapping the drive supports GPT.

FWIW - I've been using 64bit Vista for 1 1/2 years now. ALL my hardware was purchased new at the time which is a key to quality 64bit support. I would NOT run 64bit on anything > 2 years old.
My motherboard is an ASUS P5K Deluxe with Intel P35 chipset and a GeForce8800GT video card. Everything has been ROCK solid, no complaints about it being 64bit. I've got some Vista annoyance complaints, but they are the same with 32bit VIsta as well.

[dandragonrage]

Areca/3ware are also very good, but they have not released next-gen cards with Dual Core processors, so they are a little slower (albeit not much).


dunno about 3ware, but Areca has. But those ones (the IOP348 controllers) are much slower with SATA.

[cablesguy]

i'll give an eg' of 32/64bit, or cud be my understanding of that is all skewed lol
Eg;
Say a MS Word file, composed in a 32bit XP machine, and stored in a 64bit environment, isit retrievable/readable/editable under 32bit MS Word?
The 32bit XP is the machine im working on and the 64bit as the plain ol NAS.

Or a media file stored in 64bit, played in VLC on the 32bit machine

Hope im being clear

Thx

[HDClown]

i'll give an eg' of 32/64bit, or cud be my understanding of that is all skewed lol
Eg;
Say a MS Word file, composed in a 32bit XP machine, and stored in a 64bit environment, isit retrievable/readable/editable under 32bit MS Word?
The 32bit XP is the machine im working on and the 64bit as the plain ol NAS.

Or a media file stored in 64bit, played in VLC on the 32bit machine

Hope im being clear

Thx

Files are not effected by 32bit or 64bit OS's or if they are stored on a 32bit or 64bit OS. All that matters is whatever program you are using can read the type of file and the file system it's held on.

[cablesguy]

got it thx