How hard is it to RAID?

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fullvietFX

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 1, 2004
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I've never understood how to set-up a RAID. There's a 300GB Raptor on the For Sale forum for $150. I was thinking about picking it up to set-up a RAID. To my understanding my motherboard has some sort of onboard RAID. Can somebody help me with this because I have no idea how it all works.
 
For RAID, you will need at least two drives for RAID 0 or RAID 1. Other RAID varieties required more drives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Its pretty easy to setup the RAID array. All you have to do is start up the RAID utility from the motherboard after POST and select the drives that you want to create the RAID with and what kind of stripe size (which determines how large or small data gets split up). Here's a guide for that: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/concepts/perfStripe-c.html
 
I just set my new array up this morning - it's pretty self explanatory. You'd need two or more Raptors to set up RAID. If you only have two, you need to choose whether you want improved transfer rate and capacity, or improved redundancy - you can't have both unless you have a third drive, in which case RAID 5 can give you a little of both.
 
Do keep in mind you will have to reinstall if your current raptor is your boot drive. (creating the raid will "erase" the drives)
 
Do keep in mind you will have to reinstall if your current raptor is your boot drive. (creating the raid will "erase" the drives)
Click to expand...
If it's RAID 1 I thought you could restore the second drive off the first.
 
Mr. Pedantic said:
If it's RAID 1 I thought you could restore the second drive off the first.
Click to expand...

In the creation of a new raid array you have to initialize the drives. So unless you backup beforehand, you'd have to reinstall.
 
Depends on the controller. If it allows you to build an existing drive into a RAID1, it'll work without reinstalling. Most motherboard RAID chips don't have the code in their BIOS to build a RAID1 array from an existing disk.
 
What I'm confused about is do I keep the two drives in SATA slots 1 and 2. Like they don't need to be connected to each other somehow like SLI video-cards, this might be retarded but I had to ask.
 
lostnkonfused said:
For RAID, you will need at least two drives for RAID 0 or RAID 1. Other RAID varieties required more drives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Its pretty easy to setup the RAID array. All you have to do is start up the RAID utility from the motherboard after POST and select the drives that you want to create the RAID with and what kind of stripe size (which determines how large or small data gets split up). Here's a guide for that: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/concepts/perfStripe-c.html
Click to expand...

I want max performance since I have a back-up HDD for all my important stuff. So I guess I would want to use RAID 0?
 
mikeblas said:
Depends on the controller. If it allows you to build an existing drive into a RAID1, it'll work without reinstalling. Most motherboard RAID chips don't have the code in their BIOS to build a RAID1 array from an existing disk.
Click to expand...

Ah right, I forgot to put "generally speaking" :) Good looking out!
 
fullvietFX said:
What I'm confused about is do I keep the two drives in SATA slots 1 and 2. Like they don't need to be connected to each other somehow like SLI video-cards, this might be retarded but I had to ask.
Click to expand...

The drives have no knowledge that they are being used in RAID, it is entirely up to the controller.. So no, you don't connect them to each other.

(way WAY back in the day with older RAID systems you did link them with a spindle sync cable.. but we are talking back when 500mb (not gig) HD's weighed 10lbs)
 
are the drives nitrobass24s?

Lazn_Work said:
The drives have no knowledge that they are being used in RAID, it is entirely up to the controller.. So no, you don't connect them to each other.

(way WAY back in the day with older RAID systems you did link them with a spindle sync cable.. but we are talking back when 500mb (not gig) HD's weighed 10lbs)
Click to expand...

showing our age, are we? :)
 
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