So I was thinking about having a file server

mattbrown91

mattbrown91

mattbrown91

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I've got a machine sorted out for it,

I just need to buy the storage and I was thinking, why not RAID it...

I'll be buying 2*250Gig hard disks. The thing which tempts me is that it will be something to do and I would quite like to think that my data is safe. So I want resilience.
RAID 1, this is mirroring, which is what I want.


I was thinking of this
Adaptec AAR-1220SA PCI-Express x1 2-Port SATA-II RAID Controller

Which I think has everything I would need.

So the question......
How easy is it to set it all up, is it just a plug in and play sort of thing where you plug in the card, plug the discs into it and flick a switch which would say RAID1 between the discs on port 1 and 2...yadda yadda yadda...

And away it goes OR does it require a lot of configuring ?
 
OK, firstly your data is not safe with any form of (properly redundant) RAID. All you have is protection from disk failures, you're still vulnerable to data corruption, controller failure or plain human error.

There's no point in that card unless you're out of onboard SATA ports and I don't know of any PCIe equipped mobo which doesn't have at least a couple of RAID capable SATA ports onboard.

Setting up a RAID1 array is pretty simple, whether it be on a card or onboard. There will be some kind of BIOS like config utility accessed via a keystroke at bootup and then it's just a case of picking the drives to add to the array and what type of array to build. The array is then available to the OS (drivers permitting) as a new drive.
 
Lots of DVD-Rs!

You have to be realistic when it comes to backups and put together a strategy which gives a sensible compromise between cost, recovery time and hassle. DVDs can be a real pain, especially when, like me, you want an offsite copy too so external HDDs are worth a look.
 
I was under the assumption/I was working on the fact that if the motherboard decided to fail then you lost the array. Then again, I suppose it's just as likely to fail as the card...

Hmm....
 
rpstewart said:
OK, firstly your data is not safe with any form of (properly redundant) RAID. All you have is protection from disk failures, you're still vulnerable to data corruption, controller failure or plain human error.
Click to expand...

I would have to strongly second the above......

And to add to it:

The purpose of RAID1 is not for backup, but to increase up-time of a file-system. It's a subtle difference, but very important......I learn't this after losing a RAID1 array sometime ago. Although, I did eventually recover the data.............
 
mattbrown91 said:
I was under the assumption/I was working on the fact that if the motherboard decided to fail then you lost the array. Then again, I suppose it's just as likely to fail as the card...

Hmm....
Click to expand...

You got it!

Really you've got to have an off-line backup, preferably two off-line backups..............

.....but, I'm kinda repeating what RPStewart has contributed.
 
michael baxter said:
I would have to strongly second the above......
The purpose of RAID1 is not for backup, but to increase up-time of a file-system. It's a subtle difference, but very important......I learn't this after losing a RAID1 array sometime ago. Although, I did eventually recover the data.............
Click to expand...

+1
 
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