:Since you are personally using this solution, I'm thinking I could do :a lot worse. I need reliability more than anything (which is why I've :gone DragonFly). The way vinum is behaving, maybe I should try this :strategy and see how it works? : :Might I ask the exact model number of the 3ware card(s) you use for :RAID 5? If I do things this way I've got to buy two at the same time, :and I'd like to be accurate. ;) :------
pkgbox.dragonflybsd.org has a 3ware 9500S-4LP in it (4 SATA ports), with four 250G drives in a RAID-5 configuration (750G of usable storage). I have a second box with the same configuration to support my LAN/family. My backup box has my extra IDE (PATA) drives in it so I bought a 7506-4LP (4 PATA ports) 3ware controller for it. Currently I have 3 drives in that one in a striped config, and as soon as I get the fourth drive I'll reformat it to be RAID-5. The 9xxx series cards have optional battery-backup. I have not yet bought the battery-backup option/daughter-board but I intend to. You can get 3ware cards in 2, 4, 8, and 12-port versions. You can't gang cards together (i.e. the RAID has to be within a single card), but you can of course stuff multiple cards and use them independantly. The most commonly used cards are the 4 and 8-port cards. They get progressively more expensive. If purchasing new equipment/drives I recommend sticking to SATA drives. I bought most of the junk for the new machines, including the 3ware cards, at www.newegg.com on David Rhodus's recommendation. They did a great job collecting all the pieces together and getting them shipped. -Matt Matthew Dillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>