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View Full Version : Stripping Hard drives?

BombThreat
07-28-2004, 12:40 PM
Does anyone know what exactly is involved in this type of modification? I've heard this can greatly improve performace, is this true? Thanks.
defakto
07-28-2004, 01:02 PM
Stripping is also known as raid 0...it will NOT improve all performance. Best applications are large, sequential file transfers, and any type of large file work, for average everyday use, it might *feel* slower, I recommend against it but, you'll find opinions on both sides.
Paragon
07-28-2004, 01:16 PM
You are talking about RAID.. not really a modification. It is more of a configuration/setup.
I will give you the basics.. Someone who has actually set one up can help ya more if needed. It is not hard to set up an array. Can be time consuming if you have a large one, though.

First you need the ability to have RAID on your system [some motherboards have this.. usually seen with more than 2 IDE connectors, also SATA capable boards will have an option for RAID setup] or you need a PCI card that supports RAID
After that, you should understand the different types of RAID and select what is best for you. Familiarize yourself with what you are doing.
http://www.uni-mainz.de/~neuffer/scsi/what_is_raid.html [search google for more info]
Your basic RAID0 will just do the Striping.. which means the data blocks will alternate between the drives. THis allows your computer to read/write to two drives instead of just one, increasing your performance. It basically splits up the file across the two drives giving each drive half the file to read/write. Read that link for more depth.
After you do that, then you will tell the RAID controller [onboard, PCI.. whatever.] to create the RAID array on the drives as selected [for striping, first block on first drive, second block on second drive, third block on first drive.. fourth on second... ]
Pretty much done. I think ya Format, install, enjoy.

hope this helps a lil.

A friend of mine did an SATA raid of 2 Raptors in his mini Shuttle system. Seems to be working fine once we were able to get the correct BIOS and drivers installed for it.