(warning 1: potentially off-topic message)
(warning 2: lengthy message)
Hi there fellow PLUGgers,
This may be off-topic as it is not particularly Linux. If it is so my
apologies. We just got a 3Ware Escalade 3W-6400, the seemingly only true
hardware IDE RAID controller out there that works on Linux. The model I
got supports four drives up to UDMA-100.
Initially I was thinking of going RAID 10/0+1/1+0, two pairs of RAID 0,
doing RAID 1 on each other. I already have four drives ready. 3Ware's RAID
10 seems to be pretty good, in that the processor on the controller
handles data reads intelligently so that both the striping and the
mirroring are taken advantage of. (For a mirrored array, it reads from
both and not just from one drive. For a striped array of course it gets
data from wherever it is, which is load balanced across the two striped
disks. For a combination, it _seems_ that a "double load balancing"
happens.).
Lately 3Ware got RAID 5 working for their controllers, and so this brings
me to my issue. The documents I read on the Internet unfortunately do not
have anything comparing RAID 10/0+1/1+0 with RAID 5. They compare RAID 5
with the rest, though, and it looks like a fairly good idea. I wonder,
though, if RAID 5 works with an even number of disks as I have four, and
not the minimum three nor the recommended five.
Anyone with helpful information? URLs to recommend, perhaps?
As an aside, and even more potentially off-topic is a recommendation for
some hardware. I will be assembling a box for this (case, mobo, RAM), and
am now thinking about what to put in. Perhaps someone would be willing to
give me some recommendations (I don't know if replies should go on the
list for others to benefit from the suggestions, or if they should go to
me privately to save bandwidth). [Of course the server will be running
Linux, I will be installing Debian 2.2 subsequently upgraded to kernel
2.4.3.]
1. Motherboard - no particular interest in the built-in controller as this
will only be controlling the CD-ROM drive. I can't afford those "server
level" mobos, either. Something in the middle, perhaps (entry level
server?), for a decent CPU. Important, though, is that it must be able to
boot my off-board controller (the 3Ware). AFAIK this will be seen as SCSI
which gives me hope. :)
2. Case / Hard Drive Coolers
a. Hard drive cooling bays - looks like 3Ware supports hot
swapping, this was listed in the data sheet, although it had an asterisk
beside it and I didn't find the footnote about that asterisk. I'm thinking
of getting those hard drive cooling bays that can be removed, too. Would
anyone have a recommendation for a decent brand and model for this gadget?
GlobalWin's King Kong II and IStorm-II look like a good quality cooling
solutions (available through MonsterPC <http://monsterpc.tripod.com/>),
although they don't support removing of the drive for hot swapping. I'm
also concerned about the possible effects of all those fans (moving parts,
agh!). Might this affect the stability of the system's current?
b. Power supply and case - there seem to be two cases available
via VillMan's website that are good (as far as my requirements are
concerned), albeit a little expensive. These two are the Elan Vital T-15
and the Enlight EN-8902A1. Any comments on these? The Enlight EN-8902A1's
front cover looks like it won't close if I've got removable hard drives,
BTW. The handles of the bays won't fit.
Thanks a lot in advance! :)
--> Jijo
PS- if anyone's wondering where I got the controller, I got it from Hong
Kong. I still haven't found a local distributor.
---
Linux, MS-DOS, and Windows NT ...
... also known as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
_
Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph
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