RAID is being revisited this month because you need to know about some additional information and criteria that should be applied in selecting a RAID1 (mirroring) system.
Too many computers are showing up at the clinic having no backups at all—forcing their owners to try to recover from total-loss disasters.
What should be put into a computer to effectively automate the job of backing it up when the user is too inexperienced or unwilling to do it himself? I recommend a one-time installation of a RAID1 mirror, which, if one hard drive fails, can use another hard drive in the RAID system as a source for rebuilding the RAID image. Additional internal or external hard drives will also be needed as part of the RAID setup.
Choose a RAID card that has an on-board processor, so the RAID processes can be performed without burdening your computer’s main CPU.
If the software doesn’t provide:
- meaningful feedback about the condition of the RAID hard drives, or
- complete instructions about how to set up a new RAID structure, or
- a decent instruction manual,
replace it with one that does.
One board that looks promising is the 3ware 8006-2LP < http://tinyurl.com/kk74ep > ($140). It has an on-board processor and meets other requirements such as delayed startup of each hard drive so power on doesn’t overwhelm the power supply.
Experience has shown me that the SIIG Serial ATA PCI RAID card < http://tinyurl.com/lvyo76 > ($60) will do the job even though it violates my “no-Computer-CPU involvement” rule. Its manual is readable.
So, you can take the cheap way for $60 or spend $140 to reduce your computer’s CPU load. Remember to add the cost of any hard drives you’ll need to buy.
The real test is the evaluation of the software. I’ll present that next month.
I’m currently investigating the 3ware RAID setup for a server that needs continuous protection because it will be running 24/7 for worldwide e‑commerce.
NOTE: Ignore the RAID card I mentioned last month—it is junk.
