RAID setup, don't want to look a fool
Private_Snoball
Dover AFB, DE, USA
Hello there,
I'm setting up a friends computer for him and the only part of it I get messed up with is a RAID setup. I understand I have to use the SATA cables and not the IDE but can someone explain the difference between the types? I always get them confused. I set it up on my new PC but I don't want to look like I don't know what I'm doing because that could hurt his trust in me on knowing what I'm doing.
I've recently heard of RAID 5, what in the world is that?
Another issue is choosing which RAID setup I use a BIOS setup I can do or do I just set it up when installing WIN XP?
Thanks for any help.
Later,
Alex
I'm setting up a friends computer for him and the only part of it I get messed up with is a RAID setup. I understand I have to use the SATA cables and not the IDE but can someone explain the difference between the types? I always get them confused. I set it up on my new PC but I don't want to look like I don't know what I'm doing because that could hurt his trust in me on knowing what I'm doing.
I've recently heard of RAID 5, what in the world is that?
Another issue is choosing which RAID setup I use a BIOS setup I can do or do I just set it up when installing WIN XP?
Thanks for any help.
Later,
Alex
0
Comments
RAID 5 is not for home computers. It's for servers. It's slow and you need at least four drives.
I'm guessing this board has a couple of onboard Serial ATA ports? If so, you can run RAID 0 (fast, but data is 2x as vulnerable to loss) or RAID 1 (roughly the same speed as a single drive, but one drive can fail and you don't lose data).
Both drives would need to be hooked up to the SATA ports, with some exceptions depending on the motherboard. After both are hooked up, wait for the RAID/Serial ATA controller information to come on screen as the computer is starting up (before the Windows screen) and press whichever button it tells you to. Once in the setup utility for the RAID controller, you can set up your RAID array. You'll need drivers for the RAID controller for it to show up in Windows.
Are you trying to install Windows onto the RAID, or a seperate drive?
Raid-0: Also known as striping. Offerns no redundancy, so if a single drive dies, you loose all data stored across both drives. This offers you better performance than a single drive (not in all situations). This is great for gaming/photo/graphics design, however you should not store large amounts of data on a Raid-0 array, unless you back everything up regularly. Requires 2 drives, however you'll have the full amount of space avaliable to you. I.e. 2x80GB drives = 160GB in Raid-0.
Raid-1: Also known as mirroring. Offers the same performance as a single drive, but essentially has identical data written to both drives. If a single drive fails, all of your data will be intact. A very smart choice for anyone who stores valuable data on their PCs. Requires 2 drives, only 1/2 space avaliable. I.e. 2x36GB drives = 36GB.
Raid-10: Also known as mirrored stripes. Basically a combination of raid-0 and raid-1. You essentially have a mirror of two drives in raid-0 (as confusing as that sounds). 4 Drives required however, and only 1/2 space avaliable. This is not very common, however a good choice if you need redundancy AND high performance.
Raid-5 is more for servers and requires complex controller cards to operate with any level of acceptable performance.
The raid will originally have to be configured outside of windows (either in the bios or in the 'raid setup' menu that flashes on screen when you first boot up the PC. Your mainboard manufacturer's manual should have some step-by-step instructions, but I would encourage you to do some google searches on the topic. When you first setup the array, you are essentially creating a 'virtual container' that windows will see. You'll usually need to provide windows with some drivers in order for it to recognize the container. Once windows recognizes it, it'll appear almost as a single hard drive.
If you have any doubts, you may be better off running a single drive. For a first-time raid user, I'd probably recommend setting up a raid-1. If you are just using your PC for gaming, and really don't care if you loose all of your data, go ahead and give raid-0 a whirl.
You'll come across some other configuration options when setting up the raid for the first time, such as stripe sizing for Raid-0. 16K is a good overall choice for stripe size, or you can stick with whatever default values are there.
Good luck
Unless you do this for a living and have done it for years and years even then there are things you won't know and thats nothing to be embaressed about.
I have built thousands of PC's. But if a customer wanted a high end video card for some particular game setup... I would post to the guys here. They live breathe and die that stuff where its not something I was ever into. Better to just be upfront with your buddy then pretend you know everything is my advice.
NO ONE knows it all. Some may BS you better then others pretending they do.
Just be honest and truthful and he will trust you more. Sometimes it's better to just say "I don't know, but I have connections to find out for ya". I know. I do it all the time.
Tex
His inital setup was a single HDD running PATA but then he heard someone talk about RAID and wanted to know what that was all about. I told him I had set it up on my PC but that was with my cousins help over the phone and wasn't sure if I could do it on my own.
I know enough to not say "yeah I can do it, no problem" if I can't i just wanted to get a quit review of what they were, see if I have confidence in myself for it. Now I don't think I will set it up for him without my cousin on the phone with me again. Good thing he doesn't care.
Later,
Alex