I'm looking to build a server to basically be a ton of space for some web projects of mine.
assumptions I'm making but I'm totally not sure of, based on my knowledge of SAS/SATA:
1) I can set up a very large number of disks in single array
2) one card (albeit a high quality card) can accomplish this
3) I can connect the SAS network to multiple computers, correct?
things I'm totally not sure of:
is there a limit to the number of disks that should realistically run into one server via one card before it'd max out?
if I build a RAID 5 array, am I able to add disks to the array later to increase storage? ie, if it's initially 4x500GB drives, can I add a 5th or a 6th without rebuilding the entire array?
is there any problem with "super large" partitions working in operating systems? (ie, an array that's terrabytes large) are there ways to avoid this?
is there any limit to the consistant throughput a computer can handle assuming the disks can push it? I know I won't hit pci-e 4x's limit, but can I really expect one computer to handle sustained throughput of a few hundred megabytes per second, assuming the disks can perform that well? are there any other sorts of limits I should be aware of?
I'm a bit confused when it comes to hardware. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816116035 for example (just picked a random card) says it supports "4 Multi-lane connectors Support up to 16 Serial ATA II drives"
does that mean there are 4 connections for SATA drives, but I need to use port expanders to actually get 16 disks? or are just the "SFF-8484" 1 -> 4 SATA adapter cables used?
what if hypothetically I wanted more than 16 disks? not neccessarily in a RAID array together, but still in the SAS networt
what hardware is required if I want another computer to be able to have access to the SAS/SATA network exactly?
assumptions I'm making but I'm totally not sure of, based on my knowledge of SAS/SATA:
1) I can set up a very large number of disks in single array
2) one card (albeit a high quality card) can accomplish this
3) I can connect the SAS network to multiple computers, correct?
things I'm totally not sure of:
is there a limit to the number of disks that should realistically run into one server via one card before it'd max out?
if I build a RAID 5 array, am I able to add disks to the array later to increase storage? ie, if it's initially 4x500GB drives, can I add a 5th or a 6th without rebuilding the entire array?
is there any problem with "super large" partitions working in operating systems? (ie, an array that's terrabytes large) are there ways to avoid this?
is there any limit to the consistant throughput a computer can handle assuming the disks can push it? I know I won't hit pci-e 4x's limit, but can I really expect one computer to handle sustained throughput of a few hundred megabytes per second, assuming the disks can perform that well? are there any other sorts of limits I should be aware of?
I'm a bit confused when it comes to hardware. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816116035 for example (just picked a random card) says it supports "4 Multi-lane connectors Support up to 16 Serial ATA II drives"
does that mean there are 4 connections for SATA drives, but I need to use port expanders to actually get 16 disks? or are just the "SFF-8484" 1 -> 4 SATA adapter cables used?
what if hypothetically I wanted more than 16 disks? not neccessarily in a RAID array together, but still in the SAS networt
what hardware is required if I want another computer to be able to have access to the SAS/SATA network exactly?