Raid question

[Eeyore]

I've got 120 gig Maxtor Sata hdd. If I get another 120 gig sata maxtor, will I be able to set up a raid? (assuming I have the mother board to support it)

And is there different raids? like I saw SEAL post about "raid 0"....are there others?

And what are the advantages of having one? do games load faster?

I'm posting these questions because COBRA informed me that I have to have the same make and model of HDD to do a raid. So with my old 120 gig sata, I can't just go out and buy another 120 gig sata and expect it to work because they probably aren't the same model number......right? wrong?

thanks

I played with Dan in the server today.... INTENSE!!! I sucked ass too...but it was italy, not my fav

[Amarsaudon]

I happen to be a fan of Raid 0 myself. It works awesome.
Pros: Loads EVERYTHING faster. Lots faster. and is generaly stable.
Cons: Notice I said GENERALY stable. Because if one hdd fails, they both fail, you are doubeling your risk of system meltdown . Also, you will have to format your computer. Third off, I have never attempted a stripe (also known as "Raid 0") with non-identical hard drives.. I'd search around and see what you can find about that.

[Knives]

too much power for a donkey

[Eeyore]

If one HDD fails, you just have to format both and start again right? I mean even now I only have 1 120 gig....if it fails, I still lose everything so....I'm not better off.


And what you're saying is that raid 0 isn't stable? Meaning the computer might crash and need a reboot? or crash and need a format?

I'll check on the thing about identical hdds.

Thanks

[gazzman]

RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) comes in many flavours. Most modern PC motherboards generally support 2 types, RAID 0 and RAID 1.

It's inaccurate to call RAID 0 a RAID 'cuz it ain't redundant. RAID 0 is strictly for performance. RAID 1 is mirroring (2 drives with the same data on both so if 1 dies you're still good). RAID 1 can be a bit of a performance hit since youare doing everything twice, sorta.

As for what eeyore said about not being any different than having a single drive that may fail, it is different because you now have 2 single points of failure instead of 1. Using RAID 0 will effectively double your chances of a hard drive failure, cuz you have 2 drives. That being said, hard drive failures are few and far between in modern drives. But like Sun said RAID 0 is MUCH faster than anything other RAID setup or a single drive, so it's a trade off. If you have you data backed up and secure there should be no issues at all.

As for the drives having to be the same size and make, I don't believe that this is true. As long as they are the same interface (SATA, IDE, SCSI, etc..) it should work. About the size,though, it is most efficient to use 2 drives of the same size. Here's why. If you use, let's say an 80GB and an 120GB in a RAID set of any kind, 40GB on the 120GB drive will be wasted. The usable size of the drives will default to the smaller size. Remember too that in a RAID 0 setup if you are using 2 120GB drives your total usable space will be 240GB. Those same 2 drives in a RAID 1 setup will give you 120GB of usable space.

Bottom line? RAID 0 rocks! With load times getting longer and longer in games like Doom III and HL2 faster is better. It is ideal to have 2 identical drives on the set then you will know that the level of performance and efficiency of space will consistant.

Here endeth the lesson!

[Eeyore]

*puts hand up* What is the point of Raid 1 if you don't get the added sized of the hard drives, and if loading time and all that is SLOWER!!!!......seems dumb.

[seal]

Data security, real-time backup, etc...

[gazzman]

Yeah! Exactly. If there is critical data on the drives and one fails you don't have to worry about restoring from backup. Just replace the dead drive and the RAID set will rebuild itself. Here at work we use a variety of RAID sets. Usually, in the smaller servers we will use a RAID 5 with a hot spare. Super redunancy.

[Knives]

gazz quiet before i mug u