Looking For RAID Hardware/Software Advice

[Eric Shubert]

Matt Graham wrote:
> From: Alex Dean <alex at crackpot.org>
>> In general, what resources do you guys know about for checking Linux  
>> compatibility for PCI SATA controllers and other hardware?  I haven't  
>> had much success finding a site to check this out.
> 
> This is tricky, because the compatability depends on the chipset the
> controller has, and that info is not easily gleaned from the box the
> card comes in.  Modules for most chipsets show up pretty quickly, for
> obvious reasons, though.  Just use the latest kernel you can, and it'll
> probably work.
> 
>> I'm planning a RAID1 setup.  Is it true that I'll get better  
>> performance from 2 controllers, vs. a single controller for both  
>> disks?
> 
> Yeah.  I don't think it'd be worth it, though.  Motherboard CK804
> SATA controller, 2 disks in softRAID-1 ~= 50M/sec write.  Which is
> fast enough for me, YMMV.
> 
>> Does using multiple controllers add any complexity in the md  
>> raid setup?
> 
> Nope.
> 

I agree with Matt (and Chuck!).

How important is performance on a backup server? (really)

I picked up 2 USB PATA enclosures at Fry's ($17 each) over the weekend. 
Put a couple spare drives in them, set them up as raid-1, and now have a 
nice pair of mirrored backup drives.

Should a restore ever be necessary, one of the drives can be easily 
physically transported for restoration, allowing (other) backups to 
still operate on the degraded single drive (providing you're doing 
internet backups from a fairly close location).

Some newer external enclosures have both USB and eSATA interfaces, if 
you really need better I/O (mostly "O") performance:
http://www.buy.com/prod/acomdata-1tb-puredrive-dual-interface-usb-2-0-esata-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/206460128.html
http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-1tb-g-force-hard-drive-dual-interface-esata-usb-2-0-7200rpm/q/loc/101/206821006.html?adid=17070&dcaid=17070
I've seen the Fantom Drive as low as $89, depending on when you catch 
which price/rebate. I'd check newegg.com (my preferred vendor) too.

Mark, I'd get a couple of these and go USB external. Might want to get 
one of each in case one brand is problematic. That'll give you the 
capacity of "Option D" with the benefits of "Option C", at about the 
same cost. Add an eSATA controller if you must, but that could be added 
later as well without changing much of anything. I don't see the value 
of the extra speed though.

P.S. I figured you meant to say "RAID1", not "RAID10".

-- 
-Eric 'shubes'