Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 05:04:32 -0800 (PST) From: wellsian <wellsian@caffeine.com> To: James <mlistbsd@icorp.net> Cc: Mike Tancsa <mike@sentex.net>, questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: RAID/config questions Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0003080336200.30393-100000@boris.netgate.net> In-Reply-To: <38C58929.548A69C6@icorp.net>
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On Tue, 7 Mar 2000, James wrote: > I'm definitely interested in performance and reliability and willing > to pay more. This is for a server and not a workstation. > > I guess if I'm interested in a setup where I have 3 drives, with > approximately 2/3 of the total space available, that is RAID0+1? No, that would be RAID3, 4, or 5. RAID0+1 is striping and mirroring combined, and provides 1/2 the normal capacity of your disks for the benefit of improved performance AND reliability. Here's a "what's RAID?" page: http://www.sansite.com/RAID_basics.htm > I haven't worked with RAID before and I'd prefer my first experience > to be as painless as possible. Are there any RAID controllers/drives > specifically tuned for each other? Only when they're sold together. Really, it's more important to get a RAID controller that's "tuned" to your OS by someone who writes a nice driver. An example for FreeBSD would be one from DPT (now Adaptec). The drives pretty much just tag along. (no pun intended) That doesn't mean it isn't a good idea to get modern, matched, drives. I've seen some weird behavior from controllers that got confused by a ragtag drive collection being used across a volume. Not wanting to be the guinea pig for the controller manufacturer's test suites, I now use identical drives for any single "production" volume. So call me paranoid. > I'm hoping to get some feedback on what RAID systems users on this > list may recommend - and a good source for the products. Thanks very > much! You should get plenty. :) Most of us here like vinum(4,8). It's fast, free, and pretty reliable once you get to know it. But if you want to get up-and-running quickly I suggest you go with one of the supported RAID cards. Or, if you have the budget, use a SCSI-SCSI controller that completely isolates the RAID setup and configuration from your computer and OS. As in something like: http://www.cmd.com/brochure/crd5500.pdf Dave To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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