RAID setup

[Zak]

A customer has asked me to build a system with 5 SATA hard drives. Then configure the Raid array so that Windows XP would be installed on drive 1 by itself, and then configure the remaining 4 drives in a RIAD 0 . I know how to configure all 5 disks in a raid array, but i'm a bit confusd on how to set this configuration. Any suggestios or help would be appreiated thanks... :confused:

[Midknyte]

It depends on what RAID hardware you are using. Is it onboard or an add on card?

You would just need to setup the array to include 4 drives instead of all 5. It's as simple as that. Most RAID setups will ask which drives you want to include in the array.

RAID0 with 4 drives? does your customer realize that if just ONE drive fails, they lose ALL their data? They better have a backup that can accomodate the entire array volume.

[Sterling_Aug]

Your customer should select RAID5 at a minimum for data protection.

[Zak]

This is an ASUS mobo , the Raid is onboard. I've installed XP on a single drive only Plugged in. I've then disconnected this drive with XP, and plugged the remaining sata drives, gone into the Bios and set the 4 drives to RAID vs IDE. Once my system boots I hit CTRL I and create the Raid setup choosing only the 4 drives. My first (single drive withe XP), When I installed XP on this drive it was in IDE mode in the BIOS, Should it have been set as RAID ?

[Midknyte]

yeah, it should have been set as RAID mode. you would have had to install the drivers via the f6 option and floppy.

make and model of motherboard?

So did you set it as RAID0 or 5? You keep saying RAID, but you don't specify the type.

[Zak]

Sorry RAID 0, the board is an Asus formula maximus.

[Sterling_Aug]

Makes sure you warn your customer that you are not responsible when he loses all of his data when a drive crashes.

[Midknyte]

RAID0 with 4 drives? does your customer realize that if just ONE drive fails, they lose ALL their data? They better have a backup that can accomodate the entire array volume.

Why would your customer want to have a RAID0 array with 4 drives? More drives mean more chances of the array breaking or one of the drives failing. If you just used 250G drives, that means you would need a 1TB drive to back them up.

I would make them sign something stating that they are aware of the risks of RAID0 and that you are not responsible for loss of data. You need to cover your rear.

[ers1121]

Just out of curiosity wouldn't that be better off with RAID1+0 with 4 drives. Seems like a bit of overkill and a lot of money IMHO.

[Midknyte]

RAID5 would be best for 4 drives. RAID1+0 means you would lose 1/2 of the storage space. RAID5 only loses the equivalent of 1 drive for parity.