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How to setup RAID in Linux type systems
Here's a very good how to setup Linux Raid Tutorial.
This focuses on software raid using mdadm raid. This technology is getting more stable, so I can now see some cases where using software raid might be ok, as opposed to using higher end raid cards like 3ware to do hardware raid, which is far more reliable and trustworthy, but it's also expensive. Unusually, their summary is decidedly non-fanboyish, ie, it's accurate and well considered: :: Quote :: Linux software RAID provides redundancy across partitions and hard disks, but it tends to be slower and less reliable than RAID provided by a hardware-based RAID disk controller.
Hardware RAID configuration is usually done via the system BIOS when the server boots up, and once configured, it is absolutely transparent to Linux. Unlike software RAID, hardware RAID requires entire disks to be dedicated to the purpose and when combined with the fact that it usually requires faster SCSI hard disks and an additional controller card, it tends to be expensive. Remember to take these factors into consideration when determining the right solution for your needs and research the topic thoroughly before proceeding. Weighing cost versus reliability is always a difficult choice in systems administration. I agree with that statement 100%. One thing you'll note they didn't discuss was if a drive fails in mdadm raid, which, especially with raid 1, is the entire reason you use raid in the first place, data safety. Or what if the motherboard fails? Back to top |
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