Assistance on RAID 1 setup

[Waterguy]

Hi Chaps,

I am hoping to setup RAID 1 storage at work across a SSD (OS drive) and an empty HDD. - To prevent downtime if the OS drive crashes.
I havn't used RAID before and was wondering if this would work
-Is there anything I might need to know??

Computer is running Win 7 Professional.

Thanks,

Al

 

[skyripper]

This could potentially slow down all your write operations to the drive, negating the performance advantages of having an SSD.

Look instead at an automated backup of your SSD to the HDD. Or image it on a regular basis onto the HDD.

 

[coupe69]

2 SSD's in RAID 1 would be fine, a SSD and a mechanical drive in RAID 1 is pointless. Best option would be a single SSD and then 2 mechanical drives in RAID 1, then create regular backups of the SSD on the RAID 1 pack.

 

[Azza666]

2 SSD's in RAID 1 would be fine, a SSD and a mechanical drive in RAID 1 is pointless. Best option would be a single SSD and then 2 mechanical drives in RAID 1, then create regular backups of the SSD on the RAID 1 pack.

That's the route (mechanical raid 1, with backups) that I'd go for. Maintains your SSD performance and gives you recovery options in case of failure.

For added performance you could additionally RAID 0 your SSD with another SSD of the same capacity.

 

[Skynet5]

Not sure I buy the RAID 1 for backup. RAID is for redundancy to provide uninterrupted business continuity. This is actually what the OP is asking for. So yes, RAID 1 for the active data storage (your OS) but you need to make sure they are the same size and type (mechanical/ssd). Depending on your non functionals mechanical raid 1 may well do, they are as fast as the first gen SSDs.

Redundancy != backup

Then of course don't forget your backup.

 

[Skynet5]

Oh and never ever raid 0 in a production environment unless it is a working space. You're just doubling your chance of failure.