RAID Controller or Motherboard?

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James Bowler

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Mar 25, 2014
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Hello!

I was wondering if the GIGABYTE GA-X79-UP4 is software or hardware RAID?

Looking at a PCIe RAID Controller but not sure if it would be worth it?

Also any recomendations on which controllers are best?

Cheers
 
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It depends on What type of RAID you want and what you're using it for. For RAID 0 or 1 I would say OS controlled software RAID, it's the easiest to set up and is not controller dependent so the drives can be easily migrated to another computer if needed. Also, Software RAID doesn't care what kind of hard drives you use, whereas Hardware RAID requires TLER hard drives (like WD Red). For RAID 5, I also think OS controlled software RAID is best, but this is only available on Windows Server, Linux or BSD. Client versions of Windows require Hardware controllers to use RAID 5.

For hardware controllers, my current favorite is Areca.
 
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This is NOT a hardware RAID!

James Bowler
You can use either software or hardware RAID, it depends on your application if fast, high reliability, raid roaming, etc... then hardware raid is the way to go
You can use either ARECA, ADAPTEC, HP, DEL cards those would work
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=adaptec&N=-1&isNodeId=1
But for the less than $100.00 100% hardware raid with decent performance i highly recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/multiplier-hardware-RAID0-CLONE-Controller/dp/B004JPUZWU/
 
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EDIT
if you ever read the manual you'll see the " The Marvell 88SE9172 chip supports RAID 0 and RAID 1." in page 26 of the manual...besides that you can also read that you can configure the raid in the BIOS" page 63 to page 65.... here read it http://download.gigabyte.ru/manual/mb_manual_ga-x79-up4_e.pdf

so tell me why this id not "HARDWARE RAID"?? or you don't know the difference between "HARDWARE RAID" and SOFTWARE RAID"??

btw
the more accurate is @LordConrad in terms of this mobo. but technically HR...
 
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To discover why this is not hardware RAID, Google "Fake RAID". Software RAID, as provided by an OS, is normally more efficient than Fake RAID. True hardware RAID, which almost always means a separate PCI card is the most efficient.

Frankly, in a home environment, all are a waste of money.
 
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It's not " Fake Raid" the term to use is Hybrid.... but in essences still a HR... since it can be configure before the OS...the "Fake Raid" that i am aware of, is the one that you configure it in the BIOS then DO IT AGAIN via installed software in the OS. which some china imitation Motherboard has.
 
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How you configure it is irrelevant. I would suspect that what the OP is concerned about is performance and impact on system resources. A consumer motherboard is not goiing to give you true hardware raid. There is a reason that RAID controllers tend to cost more than a cheap motherboard in the first place.

But I still doubt that the OP will see a benefit from any form of RAID. (This is assuming that he is not running a large SQL database, but home users don't often do that; and in that case you would use proper server hardware.)
 
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EDIT
if your going to say "how you configure it is irrelevant" then don't tell me "Fake Raid" Software Raid" or Hardware Raid" which the OP actually asked. so the irrelevant one is your answer.
 
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It doesn't really matter who is technically correct in order to answer this question. If this is for a home system then go with Software RAID as it is the easiest and most cost effective to set up and maintain. If this is for a large number of users, or if your OS doesn't offer the type of RAID you want to use, then hardware RAID is what you need. Hardware RAID is more expensive to set up because you need both the RAID controller card *and* RAID certified (TLER) hard drives.
 
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EDIT
lmao. you know that article is good, but not great looks like it was written before 2010 because now there is the thing called hybrid raid that it seems that article didn't mention. so please do some more research and reply to the thread.

i was answering the OP's 1st question. that it IS technically HR.
on the 2nd question @LordConrad and McHenryB actually answered it.
 
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oops..i wast deleting my double and didn't read this. well i do agree with you on that. but then again i'm still caught up in this argument, so...i'd rather defend myself with the facts.
 
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Not according to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Matrix_RAID ) or Intel themselves if you care to follow the references. They call it firmware RAID ( http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/cs-032032.htm but also note "... Intel® RST (Matrix) RAID could be considered “software” RAID. See the Comparing Intel® Hardware and Software RAID solutions document for the architectural differences between software and hardware RAID.) - what is also generally known a "FakeRAID" (or "hybrid RAID" as you like to call it). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID )

To repeat myself; the RAID supplied by this chipset is most definitely not hardware RAID and it is inferior in performance to both hardware RAID and software RAID.

Research, research, research!
 
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2nd EDIT(sorry forgot something)
Lmao. your quoting wikipedia? to settle this i can see only 3 options to do that:

1. buy the mobo and test it ourselves(like hell im buying that.) and test it and send the video to confirm it.

2. i work in a pc repair. we could wait for a client to come in with the exact board then i test it to see if it's a "fake" or "Hybrid" raid. then i will pm you the video on the test so you can confirm whether or not it is what i say or you say it is.(but that will take weeks or months or even years if were unlucky)

3. we can wait or look for someone who uses this mobo and ask them to test it for us.

either way this argument will never be settled until there is actual proof on the mobo itself.

btw.. did you read the manual?? you can see that as a screen shot they have an INTEL RST in page 65. but if you ACTUALLY RESEARCH IT.... Scroll down to page 70. you can see now that it uses MARVEL BIOS SETUP. so your argument is invalid since you didnt research it enough!! LMAO!!

here read it http://download.gigabyte.ru/manual/mb_manual_ga-x79-up4_e.pdf

ok now that you said that is use "INTEL RST" which is software RAID. and if you scroll down to page 70 it uses "MARVEL BIOS SETUP"
the conclusion is simple.....it can be configure in the RAID BIOS independent of the OS and it can also be configure inside the OS....which makes it "Hybrid RAID"... 😀
 
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(Quoting Intel via Wipedia, actually - but I'll overlook that. :)

You are correct; as well as the FakeRAID from Intel that m/b also has an inferior FakeRAID controller from Marvell. Unsurprisingly, the general advice is that if you are going to use either of these at least use the superior Intel controller.

Better advice has already been given in this thread. Ignore the FakeRAID and use software RAID. (Although my advice would still be to avoid RAID altogether - unless you are using a modern filesystem such as ZFD.)
 
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It appears you have no clue, what is hardware raid is,
- Configure the raid in the BIOS DOES NOT means it;'s a HW raid...
Let me sum it up for you -
HW RAID is a RAID engine contains its own IO processor, PROM, RAM and DOES NOT TAX or use host CPU for RAID calculations. Which in turn reduces lot of IRQ handling from devices, therefore end result overall system runs lot more efficient .

If you are insisting "Configure the raid in the BIOS" is hardware RAID, then there is nothing I can do 🙂
 
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EDIT
ahhh if youre talking about "TRUE HARDWARE RAID" then yes what you said is true....but the simplest definition of a hardware RAID is able to configure, create etc. a raid independent of the OS. so technically HR. 😀

btw @LordConrad and McHenryB already explain that.
 
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I came into the forum to learn what RAID controllers are currently available, and noticed that the definitions provided here for RAID controllers, whether they are software or hardware RAID, seem unclear.

There are basically three kinds of controllers. Those which are not controllers at all, but the functions of RAID control over the drives are provided entirely by the operating system, or an application which may be run after the OS is booted. This is Software RAID.

Then there is the type of RAID controller which is CPU and system memory dependent, and which is administered by an application which runs after the OS is booted. Such applications are OS dependent. There might be rudimentary administration of the RAID before the OS is booted, but full control of the drives is not possible until after the OS is booted. This type is usually found with motherboards, and sometimes with very inexpensive RAID controllers that have no processor nor memory for RAID functions. It is a hybrid of hardware and software RAID.

Hardware RAID has its own processor, and its own memory, and its own cache, etc., and there is full administration and control from an application run from the card itself before the OS is booted. There might be applications run after the OS is booted to monitor the RAID, but they are not necessary. Hardware RAID is always the most dependable, but is almost always too expensive for anything but enterprise systems.

Hardware RAID has certain requirements for drives which make them more expensive, and may or may not have hot swap functions with direct control over the back plane of the drive cage, and they may have hot reset synchronization functions which make them very safe for data. Not all have hot swap but all are completely independent from the OS. Such things are not possible with software nor hybrid raid. Because there is a processor and memory with the hardware RAID card, the card is very expensive.

Software RAID has the particular disadvantage of not offering assurance that the system may continue to run with a failed drive, whereas hybrid and hardware RAID, depending on the type of parity, striping and redundancy or mirroring scheme that is used (such as RAID 1, 5, 10, etc), the system may continue with one drive failed (such as RAID 1 or 5) or with two or more drives failed (such as RAID 10) uninterrupted until the situation is resolved.

The advantage of hardware RAID with hot swap over other types of RAID systems is that the solution may be implemented without downing the system.
 
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