To RAID or not to RAID

[Bar]

Hey all, I just joined up after reading some great stuff on the forums.

Im chucking together a htpc and a media server. I have a couple of questions and would like some advice.

My htpc is a dual core 4200+, asus m2npv-vm with 1Gb ram, my current desktop comp is a A64 s754 3000+, gigabyte k8ns-pro mobo with 1gb ddr ram a 200b hdd and a 6600gt.

I was thinking of going another 4200+ and 1gb to go into my desktop machine and throwing the older gear into my media server. Would this be a good idea?

Questions:

1. Will my A64 setup make a good media server?

2. When upgrading my desktop machine, I dont really play games anymore so would onboard graphics be the way to go? if so what board should I look at. it will be used mostly for encoding and internet browsing.

3. If I setup the media server what hard drives should I put in my htpc and desktop machine? I currently have a 200gb and 500gb drive. I was thinking of putting a small drive in the htpc and desktop PCs (what size?), making the 200gb into an external hard drive, buying a raptor for the media server and 2-3 more 500gb hard drives and maybe setup raid 5. Would a Seasonic power supply be good for the server? how powerful?


RAID questions:

If I were to setup RAID in the server how many drives would I need initially is it at least 3?

How easy is it to add drives to the RAID array? is their a maximum?

Does the drive that contains the OS go in the RAID array?

What are some good back up solutions for RAID arrays? $$ wise for me its not feasible to back up everything. Also what would be an alternative backup instead of RAID (I know RAID isnt exactly backup but it helps)

Should I even RAID? I see alot of people on here with HUGE amounts of data but no RAID. Ockie for instance has a gazillion gigabytes of data but doesnt RAID.

Thanks for comments and suggestions!

 

[unhappy_mage]

1. Will my A64 setup make a good media server?

Sure. It's only got pci slots, and you'll need to keep a video card in it, but other than that there's nothing wrong with it.

2. When upgrading my desktop machine, I dont really play games anymore so would onboard graphics be the way to go? if so what board should I look at. it will be used mostly for encoding and internet browsing.

This might be a good choice. I'm not up to speed on boards, though, so you might ask about this in Motherboards.

3. If I setup the media server what hard drives should I put in my htpc and desktop machine? I currently have a 200gb and 500gb drive. I was thinking of putting a small drive in the htpc and desktop PCs (what size?), making the 200gb into an external hard drive, buying a raptor for the media server and 2-3 more 500gb hard drives and maybe setup raid 5. Would a Seasonic power supply be good for the server? how powerful?

If you do buy a Raptor, don't put it in the media box; it'd be much more useful in the desktop machine. A Seasonic power supply is a good choice; what size you buy depends on how many disks you plan to get eventually.

If I were to setup RAID in the server how many drives would I need initially is it at least 3?

If you're still talking raid 5, then yes.

How easy is it to add drives to the RAID array? is their a maximum?

If you buy a good controller (don't use integrated raid 5) you're usually only limited to the number of drives on the controller. Most that are worth buying have 8, and some controllers go up to 24 ports.

Does the drive that contains the OS go in the RAID array?

It's not recommended. Having a separate disk for the OS is suggested because raid 5 isn't good at small random reads and writes, which is what happens a lot on the OS disk.

What are some good back up solutions for RAID arrays? $$ wise for me its not feasible to back up everything. Also what would be an alternative backup instead of RAID (I know RAID isnt exactly backup but it helps)

Another raid array Tape is expensive, DVDs are impractical for weekly backups, you're basically stuck with buying more disks. You should consider getting one large external drive and backing everything up on it.

Should I even RAID? I see alot of people on here with HUGE amounts of data but no RAID. Ockie for instance has a gazillion gigabytes of data but doesnt RAID.

I wouldn't recommend it. If one disk fails, you lose data right then and there. With raid 5 you have to replace the failed disk right away, but you haven't lost data yet.