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Raid 5 for New System Questions

H

hiengu

n00b
Joined
Jun 10, 2003
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21
It was suggested I move my questions to this sub forum from networking.

Background Info:

I'm finding my data storage requirements are increasing due to recent purchases in digital cameras, music, camcorders, etc. and would like to protect my data in the event of hardware failure.

Right now, I just have a utility that runs nightly and copies all my important files onto a second drive but was thinking Raid 5 might be a good solution.

My Questions:

1) Any of you use Raid 5 for a home computer?

I was thinking of either a 3ware or Raidcore controller with 4 SATA hard drives (maybe samsung for quietness) and then adding more.

2) Is my data lost if my motherboard fails?

3) Is my data lost if my RAID controller fails?

4) Any other solutions/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
 
1) Any of you use Raid 5 for a home computer?

I am. LSI Logic MegaRAID 150-4 64bit 64mb RAID card in an MSN K8N Neo2.

2) Is my data lost if my motherboard fails?

It should not be if you're using a PCI RAID solution.

3) Is my data lost if my RAID controller fails?

not too sure, but there's a good chance it may fail.

4) Any other solutions/suggestions?

Don't get a software RAID card...
 
My Questions:

1) Any of you use Raid 5 for a home computer?
Yep I use a Promise IDE card that works great for my needs. It's cheaper then 3ware but the throughput isn't the best.

I was thinking of either a 3ware or Raidcore controller with 4 SATA hard drives (maybe samsung for quietness) and then adding more.

2) Is my data lost if my motherboard fails?
Nope nothing to do with PCI raid card

3) Is my data lost if my RAID controller fails?
You will be ok if you replace it with the same model or brand.

4) Any other solutions/suggestions?

With drive sizes these days it might be better if you get 2x500GB SATA drives and mirror them.
 
So it seems the only risk if I get a PCI based RAID card is if the RAID card dies and I can't find the same brand. How likely is it for the RAID card to fail? I've never heard of this ever happening.

Other than risk of theft or fire, that seems like the only obvious risk. Do any of you do monthly tape backups?
 
yes. raid cards can fail, though it is unlikely. Unless you are not planning to migrate your data (ever) it is most likely that you will be able to either buy a replacement card OR you will have moved your data to another array at that time.
 
Like a lot of hardware enthusiasts, I tend to upgrade every year or few months.

With this system I'm planning, I want it to run for 5+ years without having to worry about it.

If the raid controller is another point of failure, perhaps I need to consider Tape Backups as well to complete my backup solution.
 
Running Raid 5 on a Broadcom BC4852. 8 200GB Seagates. Most annoying thing is getting a good psu to power it all. Software isnt so bad for a few users and save you about $100.
 
Chaotic Master said:
Running Raid 5 on a Broadcom BC4852. 8 200GB Seagates. Most annoying thing is getting a good psu to power it all. Software isnt so bad for a few users and save you about $100.
Click to expand...

You just reminded me of something I overlooked ... the "Power Bill" :)

What's the cost of operating a system like yours?
 
hiengu said:
Like a lot of hardware enthusiasts, I tend to upgrade every year or few months.

With this system I'm planning, I want it to run for 5+ years without having to worry about it.

If the raid controller is another point of failure, perhaps I need to consider Tape Backups as well to complete my backup solution.
Click to expand...

RAID is not a backup method, one virus still can take that data down and out very quickly.

RAID is used for high availability, not backup.
 
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