Help Me With My Raid -- I Have No Clue

[jorberg]

Hello Everyone,
I am a bit of a computer enthusiast, but RAID has been somewhat of a mystery to me for the past couple years. I do a lot of video production and motion graphic animation, so my hard drives are constantly being taxed! Speed is another issue -- I need fast access times because I need the clips (Sometimes 30-40 gigs) to load quickly so I'm not always waiting on my computer. I've pretty much decided that I need some kind of RAID array, but I just don't know which one.

I would prefer it to be external, because I don't want to put anything else in my case because I'm already having heat issues. I would really like to know what kind of Raid you think I should setup, and if you have any places that I can go to learn how to setup an external Raid that would work best for me. Also, I know I would like to have a RAID array for all of my video stuff, but do you think I should go with one for my OS and Programs as well? That one would have to be internal of course. What do you think?

Here are my current Computer Specs:
Antec P180b
Thermaltake Toughpower 750watt PSU
evga 680i MB
Intel Q6600
Kingston 4gb DDR2800
Geforce 8800GTS 640mb
160g Raptor -- OS & Program Files
2 x 500 SATA2 Seagate Barracuda

 

[rozar]

Most people use RAID for one or more of the following reasons.

Speed
Redundancy
Volume size

It sounds like you are wanting speed, which would be RAID 0 but be aware it offers no redundancy and you lose everything with the loss of 1 drive. Is it possible you could use a RAID 0 array for what they call "scratch space" and then store important files somewhere else?

I have just given you 1 possibility for using RAID in your system there are many many more ways to setup RIAD and even with each RAID level there are multiple ways to setup a system.

Before jumping into RAID you really need a budget in mind. For instance a good RAID controller such as LSI/Intel, 3ware, Adaptec, is going to be expensive. If you want to explore an external RAID setup normally called a DAS (direct attached storage). You will really need to do some reading. There are several way to do this.

If I knew more about your budget I could do a little better with helping you.

 

[jorberg]

Thank you for replying rozar -- my budget is under 800 if possible.

Is there a Raid configuration where you get speed and insurance? I might be asking for too much aye?

 

[T8RR8R]

RAID 0+1 is the way to go for speed and security, but I've never actually set it up for myself, soooo yeah. Best bet is to do a search on RAID 0+1 and see how it sounds to you. Instead of RAID though you could just get a VelociRaptor for $300. I know that they are super fast and give RAID a pretty decent run for the money, but they also end up giving you the security of a single drive over RAID 0.

 

[quietfly]

this link gives a great explanation and diagram of each level of raid

http://www.acnc.com/04_01_00.html

you'll probably want to go with raid 5 which will give you the best (relative) throughput and some redundancy/insurance (one drive can completely fail and you'll still be ok

hope this helps

 

[rozar]

Most good controllers are going to cost around $300-$400 for a 4 port. This will limit your budget and will almost certainly not allow you to use external storage. Have a look at this controller.

This is going to be one of the faster 4 port controllers on the market today.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=207469273&SearchEngine=PriceGrabber&SearchTerm=207469273&Type=PE&Category=Comp&dcaid=15890

You might want to look at RAID 10, Its faster than RAID 5 and is a better solution than RAID 0+1 in my opinion. RAID 5 is also a good choice but it will have slower writes and slower access times. RAID 10 will cost you 1 more drive of overhead than RAID 5 would. There are advantages and disadvantages of each RAID level and there is not perfect RAID.

At this point you really need to do your homework and make a choice that fits your application and budget.