If you use a RAID card (and actually use it for RAID, not just an extra two or four places to attach HDs) remember that these cards typically have their own low-level disk format. If the card fails and you then plug the drives into the motherboard - the data will be unreadable. RAID cards (and just about any electronics with no moving parts) are quite reliable, but if you're planning on using only RAID as a backup solution, you might want to think about getting a second RAID card. I used to use RAID for my music server, but after thinking this through, ended up -not-. Instead I try to do a backup to external hard drives each week (all that's at risk is whatever ripping/tagging work I've done that week) - and if I haven't ripped anything that week, well, I don't need to bother with another backup. If you care about power consumption, each separate 3.5" drive draws around 9W (Samsungs appear to be the current low-power champion). Fewer drives / lower power also means lower noise. Finally, beware F(fake)RAIDs - these are what appear to be RAID cards, but the work is all done by your processor - in the driver. I've had two of these (at customer's sites) take out the second disk when the first failed. Look for "works with Linux" as a reasonable sign that the RAID is non-fake. These "FRAID" boards are fine for just adding extra drives as drives, though (i.e. non-RAID). Low end Dell servers come with FRAIDs. Grrrr...
-- bobkoure ------------------------------------------------------------------------ bobkoure's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14646 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=41396 _______________________________________________ ripping mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/ripping
