Quick WHS Install Question

[DeaconFrost]

I vaguely remember reading that it is better to install WHS with one drive in the system, and then add the remaining drives after WHS is installed and running. However, this may have been for a system with data already present on the drives, that needed to be preserved. If I am doing a fresh install of WHS, and I have two drives, both of which are blank, is it better to install with one drive only, or doesn't it matter?

 

[nitrobass24]

If your drives are blank and you dont have any data to preserve then you can do them all at the time of install...it will probably be faster that way too.

 

[Archer75]

It doesn't matter.

 

[criccio]

I have a WHS box and you're fine, just throw them in whenever, it wont matter.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Sweet. I might as well put them in all at once then.

 

[leezard]

If one drive is larger than the other make sure you install WHS on the largest of the drives

 

[truffle00]

So there isn't a way to have the OS be on a Raptor and everything else on 750 GB drives?

 

[Archer75]

So there isn't a way to have the OS be on a Raptor and everything else on 750 GB drives?

Yes, but it makes no difference in performance. I have done it.

You need to put WHS on the largest drive though.

 

[nitrobass24]

So there isn't a way to have the OS be on a Raptor and everything else on 750 GB drives?

I did that and there is minimal increase in write transfer speed, no increase in read transfer speed.

Although it is advised that the largest drive be OS drive it is not a necessity...I had my WHS on a 80gb raptor for quite a while and only ran into an issue when I tried to write to the WHS 4 bluray iso at the same time (approx175GB)

 

[truffle00]

Got it, thanks.

 

[Archer75]

The reason you want a large drive for the OS is because it's the loading zone. The free space on that drive is what is seen by other computers writing to it. You can have 14tb free what if there is only 20gb available on the main drive you can only send over 20gb of files at a time.

 

[[LYL]Homer]

IMO a Raptor is a waste of performance in a WHS box.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Also with WHS, I would definitely do something a lot of people don't do, that is use the vendor tools to test the drive before adding it to the pool. In a server situation, a lot of time you don't know the drive sector is bad until it kills a file. Better to find out if the drive, when first installed, is fully healthy.

 

[elleana]

The reason you want a large drive for the OS is because it's the loading zone. The free space on that drive is what is seen by other computers writing to it. You can have 14tb free what if there is only 20gb available on the main drive you can only send over 20gb of files at a time.

Thanks for the tip, am about to use an old 74GB raptor as my OS drive but I guess I won't need to.

Also with WHS, I would definitely do something a lot of people don't do, that is use the vendor tools to test the drive before adding it to the pool. In a server situation, a lot of time you don't know the drive sector is bad until it kills a file. Better to find out if the drive, when first installed, is fully healthy.

I guess this won't make a difference if both drives are brand new?

 

[Dangman]

I guess this won't make a difference if both drives are brand new?

Still makes a difference. Even new drives can be DOA or already defective. Old, new, whatever the status, test the drives before you put them in the server.