Considering RAID5

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LstBrunnenG

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I'm considering purchasing 4 Seagate 500 GB drives and placing them into a RAID5, for an effective ~1.5 TB of storage space. I'm considering either using the onboard Silicon Image 3114 controller's RAID, or using Windows to convert them to dynamic disks and have it RAID them.

I was wondering if there are any pros and cons to either situation. One thing in particular is whether the drives will be spun down when idle under either method.

Thanks for all your help in advance, I actually know next to nothing about Windows Dynamic Disks and only slightly more about the Silicon Image controller.

Edit: The main advantage of the Windows Dynamic Disk thing that I see is that, if my motherboard dies, I can upgrade to a C2D board with enough SATA ports and still be able to see my disks. As far as I know, hopping from one RAID controller to another with an array doesn't often work well.
 
Don't use software RAID, it sucks.
Use a hardware solution, the onboard isn't great but it'll do.

Also, don't rely on RAID as an effective backup solution, always keep copies of critical files backed up in a seperate offline medium.
 
gigabyte1024 said:
Don't use software RAID, it sucks.
Click to expand...
Not really.
gigabyte1024 said:
Also, don't rely on RAID as an effective backup solution, always keep copies of critical files backed up in a seperate offline medium.
Click to expand...
Yes. Good advice. :) :) :) :)

Even entry level raid controllers still use the mobo cpu for parity. I guess there are three levels, onboard sw, controller sw, controller hw. The controller hw is the most expensive. People have different opinions about mobo vs controller sw raid. I personally use a controller sw raid and it's fine. I like highpoint. Lsi is a option, areca.
 
The remark about software RAID sucking does apply IMO to Windows OS RAID 5. Despite trying, I've never gotten good write performance from it. Think 10-30 MB/s for a multi-drive array where each drive can sustain > 60 MB/s by itself. I call this "sucks".

So you might get luckier than most and have decent RAID 5 write performance, or not care about it. This is just a "heads up" in that respect.

Of course, write performance is RAID 5's weak spot, and many inexpensive implementations don't get good write performance. But some can at least do reasonably fast sequential writes. E.g. Highpoint, Intel Matrix RAID. Probably not the 3114, especially because it has the "worst of both worlds" due to being on the PCI bus and not having a hardware processor.

Here's a older thread on the subject. There's always a chance that SiI did some wonders with new drivers, and I'd certainly test it out if I had it before giving up and getting something else.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=921779
 
I like my RAID5 array. :D Windows RAID does suck. Period. The Microsoft Implementation is just plain aweful. I've never gotten decent performance out of it. If you use an integrated motherboard controller with a BIOS that's fine, though the performance won't be the best, it will be decent enough. Other OSes have software RAID that's not so bad, but not Windows.
 
Dedicated cards are very nice. A fairly cheap way to go is with a Highpoint 2300. It is PCI-e x1 and has 4 ports. Otherwise, if you plan on expanding, go with the Highpoint 2320.
 
Yeah, but if my motherboard died, it would let me stick the array in a new computer and have access to my data. Jumping motherboards with an array like that is a crapshoot.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Yeah, but if my motherboard died, it would let me stick the array in a new computer and have access to my data. Jumping motherboards with an array like that is a crapshoot.
Click to expand...

You completely ignored all advice about backups?
It's vary rare that a motherboard would die before two hard drives.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
A $100 card isn't an option, sorry :(
Click to expand...

You have enough money to spend $400 on drives to create a raid 5 system but not enough for a controller? Maybe just JBOD three of the disks and backup critical data to the fourth. Same effect...same size, less chance of raid crash causing complete loss of data.
 
So....

anyone ever actually tired migrating from an ICH8R to a 9R with a raid 5 ? Any speculation on the ICH on a X38 board ?
 
BillParrish said:
So....

anyone ever actually tired migrating from an ICH8R to a 9R with a raid 5 ? Any speculation on the ICH on a X38 board ?
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that the X38 will use the ICH9R. In any case, migrating from ICH8 to ICH9R should be fine. Matrix RAID is pretty good about handling arrays from other Matrix RAID controllers.

The $100 controller shouldn't be an option really. It will provide worse performance than the onboard controller will in some cases. At best it might be equal.
 
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