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To RAID or not to RAID?
- Thread starter Axsuul
- Start date
Dangman
Ninja Editor SuperMod
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2005
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What exactly do you want out of this storage setup?
But so far, 3 drives in RAID 1 does not sound like an efficient storage method at all.
But so far, 3 drives in RAID 1 does not sound like an efficient storage method at all.
I want redundancy so that I can restore all my data if one of the drives fail. I am planning on storing movies, music, application data..
Hmm, yes, RAID5 might be what I am looking for, thanks
Also, say I have 3 drives in RAID5 and I want to add another drive to it, does all the data get wiped clean in order to add another drive to the array?
Hmm, yes, RAID5 might be what I am looking for, thanks
Also, say I have 3 drives in RAID5 and I want to add another drive to it, does all the data get wiped clean in order to add another drive to the array?
If you want to protect your data, use a backup first. If you want additional protection and also uptime (keeping access uninterrupted during a HDD failure) then RAID1 is a good option.
But if the 2 or 3 drives are all you have, why not just forget about RAID and use one as backup and the other as primary storage? That's alot more safe than just a RAID1, especially on Windows with Silicon Image/Promise/JMicron/AMD/nVidia/ULi drivers, which suck. Intel onboard RAID is quite decent, though. But it is also vulnerable to array splits and other nasty things on trivial errors on the HDD part. For RAID you might need TLER/CCTL capable disks, unless you use a non-Windows OS.
Without RAID, all those issues are gone. And no additional cost or complex setup as well. The only thing that remains is a good backup strategy, like automated incremental backups. Play with them, experiment, test a failure, and be assured your data is stored securely.
But if the 2 or 3 drives are all you have, why not just forget about RAID and use one as backup and the other as primary storage? That's alot more safe than just a RAID1, especially on Windows with Silicon Image/Promise/JMicron/AMD/nVidia/ULi drivers, which suck. Intel onboard RAID is quite decent, though. But it is also vulnerable to array splits and other nasty things on trivial errors on the HDD part. For RAID you might need TLER/CCTL capable disks, unless you use a non-Windows OS.
Without RAID, all those issues are gone. And no additional cost or complex setup as well. The only thing that remains is a good backup strategy, like automated incremental backups. Play with them, experiment, test a failure, and be assured your data is stored securely.
