[SOLVED] Raid solution for small medical office server

[toboboto]

I've been building pcs for years. Not experieced in raid arrays

would like to raid 1 the single boot/storage drive.

I am replacing the win10pro server in my good friend's small med office (HIPAA compliant).

was looking at HP Smart Array P822 Controller. Would this be ideal? Suggest an alternative?


Server needs to

1. host: windows Patient Management Software (50gb sql database)
2. host :shared drive (150gb)
3. host: printer
4. bitlocker required (will this work with raid 1 ??? )

I like the idea of Raid 1 so that if there is drive failure,

1. instant or quick fix to get server up again so Dr. can still see patients
2. almost zero patient data loss
3. minimize downtime
4. minimize need for in-office tech call

additional info that may be helpful
serves 7 workstations, 2 printers
in cart: Server Optiplex SFF 7050 i7 6700
backups currently are done via script nightly to usb drives. (odd day drive and even day drive)

 

[Tom_nerd]

1. bitlocker required (will this work with raid 1 ??? )

Windows will just recognise it as one drive, so yes.

 

[popatim]

I would suggest going to two nightly backups unless the Doc is ok with losing a days worth of possible billing revenue.
Ie - what do you do if one of the drives goes bad and you need the backup* that was on it?
* keep in mind that if you need the backup, the raid1 is dead on both drives.

Also, what about severe office damage that destroys the server? An off-site back up would be preferred for one of the two nightly copies.

 

[toboboto]

Ok so I'm down a rabbit hole on raid cards, having never used one. More questions arising.

Is a hardware raid card recommended for SSD two-drive Raid 1 ?

If so, which model raid card is recommended to boot from with a Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF?? I'm getting the idea that only some cards are compatible with the motherboard bios?

Is battery backup on the raid card highly recommended?

I would suggest going to two nightly backups unless the Doc is ok with losing a days worth of possible billing revenue.
Ie - what do you do if one of the drives goes bad and you need the backup* that was on it?

we have paper log of everyone who was in our office, and what needs to be billed. In the event that one of the two drives failed and our server failed, we would only be losing patient medical information for the day, much of which Dr. would be able to reconstruct from notes. With the cost of hard drives so cheap, adding a third drive and a script for an additional daily backup of the sql database would be more redunant and faster/easier to reconstruct than a cloud backup we are also getting.

Also, what about severe office damage that destroys the server? An off-site back up would be preferred for one of the two nightly copies.

It's on my list to research hipaa compliant cloud backups to suppliment the raid 0 and the two local hard drives.

 

[popatim]

That SFF PC has no room for those drives.
It fits one 2.5" drive.
IMO - Keep shopping.

Dell generally uses Perc controllers.
Yes a battery backup on it is recommended.