Question about setting up a RAID array

[shadowsoal]

So I just recently built a desktop for the first time, and I feel like I may have made a mistake. My initial plan was to buy two hard drives and set them up in a RAID1 array so I didn't have to worry about backing up data. When I was building the machine I thought, "well I'll just plug in one hard drive now and make sure all the components work, and set up the RAID array later". I have never set up a RAID array and have no idea where to start, so I'm looking for a few pieces of advice.

1) Is it possible to set up a hardware RAID array after installing the OS. I was hoping there'd be a nice way I could just plug the second HDD in, have it mirror everything that was already on the first HDD, and continue without having to reinstall.

2) Most RAID installation guides I've looked at require a floppy disk drive as one of your components, I don't have one... is there any way for me to set up a RAID array without a floppy disk drive?

3) Does anyone want to provide me with a pointer to, or just give, a very detailed beginners guide to setting up a RAID 1 array?

Thank you in advance

 

[kharan5876]

set them up in a RAID1 array so I didn't have to worry about backing up data.

RAID is not a backup. See the article about what happened to journalspace.

1) I think this might depend on the particular hardware RAID solution that you are using. Check the manual or call the manufacturer. You can always do this with software raid.

2) Ive never needed a floppy disk to do any RAID setup. If you are using some hardware raid controller maybe you'd need to use a floppy to flash a certain firmware but beyond that you shouldn't need one.

3) It depends on if you are doing hardware raid, software raid, or using one of those fake raid cards the steps will be different. If it is real hardware RAID or fake RAID then you would just create the mirror using the card's BIOS. If it's software raid then you do your configuration inside the OS. If your doing one of the first 2, then read the manual. If it's the third then google for OSname RAID setup or something similar

What OS are you planning to use? If it is Linux or Solaris I would highly recommend doing software raid (mdadm and zfs respectively). I prefer software raid because it is a more generic open standard. If you buy a hardware raid card, and that card dies, then you have to go and buy the same exact kind of card from somewhere to recover your array (If you can recover the array with a new card). Some of these cards also format the disks in a wierd way so that you would not even be able to break the mirror and just use the disk by itself to recover your data. Hardware RAID cards can be expensive too. With today's cpus the additional performance of hardware RAID is pretty neglegable, especially if you are doing this for home use.
I am not sure if you are aware of fake RAID cards but these are cheap cards that allow you to configure a RAID array in the card's BIOS but it is not real hardware raid. You still need support in the driver in the OS.
Again, I always prefer software RAID. If you are going to use windows then I can't help you too much because I have not tried to do RAID under windows.

 

[shadowsoal]

So reading the manual goes a long way... and since I only installed my OS yesterday I decided there wasn't any real reason not to just start over and reinstall.

My new question, is how to I check to ensure my hardware RAID1 array is working properly? I've got two HDDs plugged into my mobo, and I set them up to a RAID1 configuration in the BIOS, and when I was installing my OS, it only showed 1 HDD available to install itself on, which I suppose is a good thing. I just want to ensure that everything is working correctly, and that my second drive isn't just sitting there twiddling its thumbs.