To raid or not to raid....that is the question

Youstolemyname · 31 Aug 2007 at 10:26

Simple really. I am unsure whether it is worth raiding or not.

I am going to be buying 2 new SATA II HDDs shortly and cannot decide whether to whack them in a RAID 0 config or not. The sensible part of me says 'don't do it' and the performance junkie says 'do it'

However, I already have two SATA I drives here so was thinking of using them as a data dump for mp3s and work and using the RAID array as OS drives along with installations of apps and none-sensitive work.

Is that the best solution as I am just wary of loosing data.

Thanks for any advice

semi-pro waster · 31 Aug 2007 at 10:44

As long as you back up regularly and are aware of the risks of RAID0 then there is no harm in going for it. Either use it for non-critical data (as you seem to intend to) or back up even more regularly than you would for an ordinary single drive.

Youstolemyname · 31 Aug 2007 at 11:03

are the performance benefits that noticeable for raid0? I have a nf4 raid controller that supports raid 0, raid 1 and raid 0+1

PinkFloyd · 31 Aug 2007 at 11:27

Go for the raid. Yes there is an increased risk of loosing data. but its still only a small risk.

Worth it for the performance imo

ByteJuggler · 31 Aug 2007 at 14:01

You should have backups/disaster recovery regardless of whether you use RAID0 or not. E.g. I agree with PinkFloyd that the increase in risk is not a deciding factor in whether to use RAID0 or not, since in either case you run a risk of data loss, which should be addressed through a suitable backup regimen or disaster recovery plan.