Is this possible with RAID 1?

manoz · 28 Aug 2007 at 02:14

Hey all, contemplating setting up a RAID 1 in my rig? I have a single 250GB to store my files(on top of a 2x80gb RAID 0 for Appz), Basically I want to RAID 1 the data I have on the 250gb so I could just buy another 250gb but the thing is I also want to increase my storage so was wondering if it is possible to put a 500gb in and partition it in half and RAID 1 one of those partitions with my existing 250gb and have an extra 250gb for none important data? Can I do that, if so how would I go about doing it? Maybe plug in the 500gb, split it in windows then RAID 1 it at boot? Cheers

Craig321 · 28 Aug 2007 at 02:33

I don't think it'd work.

If I understand correctly you want to partition a 500GB in half and use one half in a RAID 1 array?

manoz · 28 Aug 2007 at 02:33

Craig321 said:
I don't think it'd work.

If I understand correctly you want to partition a 500GB in half and use one half in a RAID 1 array?

Yeah that's the short of it

Craig321 · 28 Aug 2007 at 02:36

I don't think it'd be possible.

You could buy 2 250GBs rather than 1 500GB (it'd cost about £10 more).

matja · 28 Aug 2007 at 09:57

It's possible on some RAID controllers, I know for a fact it is on my LSI chipset.
I think it's possible in Intel Matrix RAID, but you'd have to configure it as a RAID-1 volume of 250GB and a JBOD volume of 1 component of 250GB in the spare space. Any software RAID implementation would be able to do it, also.

IAmATeaf · 28 Aug 2007 at 17:12

I've read that it's possible to do with an Intel Matrix RAID controller but have never tried it myself.

NickK · 28 Aug 2007 at 17:55

It depends on the controller.

If it raid's the discs then no. If it raids the partitions/logical volumes then yes.

Linux software raid can do this as it can raid at the physical and the logical levels.

The problem I see is that the system will mirror on insertion of the backup drive causing the system to effectively copy all the data from one partition to the partition on the backup drive.. That's like copying 250GB.. so it could take some time

enigmo · 28 Aug 2007 at 22:22

If I were you, I'd just get the extra discs as Craig321 suggested. Not only does it avoid running into a controller that doesn't support it, but more importantly it reduces the complexity of your setup, making data recovery easier if anything devastatingly bad happens i.e. In a straight mirror, pulling a drive and giving it to your mate to recover the data on his machine should be easy. If you've used some weird Intel Matrix dark magic thing, it might make things more difficult.