Should I use raid or not?

[cluelessnewbie]

If i bought a motherboard which supports RAID options, should I use it or not? I mean should I just buy one BIG hard drive or buy two and combine them with raid??

for ex, one 60 gigs hard drive better than two 30 gig hard drive?

also, is it easier to install one hard drive then two with RAID option?

[cluelessnewbie]

is it complex to do the raid option? my friend got an epox 8K7A+ and it has the raid option but when we looked at it, we had no clue how to do it...

also, in the raid 1 version, isnt it bad??
for example, if i get 2 30gig hard drive, everything i install or download on one drive will be copied onto the second hard drive.. right? then that means i basically have the space of only 30 gigs? am i right or wrong? need some clarification plz heh

also, raid 0 means that you connect the two hard drive so you get speed of 2 hard drive right? thx for help

[This message has been edited by cluelessnewbie (edited 06-16-2001).]

[Mntsnow]

Raid O = FAST combines both drives into a SINGLE drive(in your case 30x2=60gigs). Data is split between the two drives if you lose one drive ALL DATA is lost on BOTH drives (as 1/2 of each file is basically on the other drive!)


Raid 1 = Redunancy one drive is the "mirror" of the other. Thus 1/2 of TOTAL capacity in your case 30 gigs usable.

[Stan]

Hi,

Two 30GB in RAID0 (stripe) is way faster than one single 60GB.
It is a bit more expensive (because you have to buy 2 disks) but it is worth it.
Bear in mind that in RAID0, if you loose one HD, all your data is lost.

I say: go for it!
I have been using RAID controllers for the last 2 years and I love them!
I've had 2 Promise FastTrak33, 1 FastTrak66 and now, I have an Adaptec SCSI 2100s.

Stan

[Imperion1]

Another option for raid using 2 hard drives is a mirror image. If one hard drive goes down, you still have your info on the other hard drive.

Last option requires 4 hard drives, striping and mirror.

Its for speed and mirror image.

[MiKe85]

Imperion1:
The mirror image is a good idea, I think it's safe to say that everyone has had a HD just go down, and I know for sure that I had wished I had a copy of what was on the first hard drive. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[Stan]

Hi,

Here is a good link (http://www.acnc.com/raid.html) about RAID level.

Stan