Dell Raid Question

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Does anyone have experience with Dell Raid?

I have a Dell Precision T7400 that has built in SAS 6 Raid. As I understand it, this is not normal software Raid but actually a light integrated hardware raid.

I can also pick up a Dell SAS 6ir (PERC) Raid card for a good price and I have heard that this does a better job (more features, etc).

Here is what I want to do.

5 Hard drives.

I SSD HD hooked to the motherboard for the OS (Linux Mint) --> This will be on all of the time.

2 80 GB HD's in mirror raid for my home folder (where all my settings, etc are stored) and my working files for my business (about 40 gb of files). --> These will also be on all of the time.

2 1 TB HD's in a mirror raid to store other files and backups. --> I want these to power down and be on standby and ramp up when I access them (which will be very infrequently).

The integrated SAS RAID will handle 4 drives, but I am wondering if I am better off with a PERC Raid Card.

Anyone here work with the these before?

Here is some info on the controllers:

http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/power/ps2q08-20080312-Dixit.pdf

[jason str]

3 hard drive RAID 5 would be my choice.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

RAID 5 wil not do what I am after. I want to use mirrored discs and back them up on another mirrored pair. This together with offsite backups on an external drive should help me to sleep at night.

Ever use the Dell SAS or PERC 6 ir Raid?

[down_2_earth]

raid 10 level would be my choice.

[jason str]

RAID 10 would be another great option.

[REDdawn6]

Raid 5

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Gee, thanks everyone...

[muel]

In case you haven't already made a decision...

Lot of experience with old Perc controllers. Nice and fast but only ever used them for Raid 5. I understand what you are going for.

Your weak link is the controller... if it goes out you better be able to get a replacement with the same firmware. I don't know where you are putting this but there is nowhere in my house that I would want that noisy thing! This isn't much help but I mainly wanted to point out the controller.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Muel,

Thanks for the response. If the controller can leave me stranded, then I am gaining redundance through the RAID 1 (although I use a server right now that is mirrored) but adding another possible failure route through the controller.

I thought that if the controller failed, I can just pop the HD in a docking station and read or copy the files. These will be data only discs (well, maybe store iso's of the OS there too).

The T7400 is very quiet (the fans are big) and I added passive video cards.

The T7400 has a built in SAS 6 controller that will do a mirror RAID (or 2). If something were to happen, I should be able to pull a drive and pop it into a docking station and read the files (I assume).

The PERC 6I is an upgrade board that I can add to the T7400 in a PCIe slot. I am hoping that this is the same thing. if the board fails, pop the HD in a docking station and have access to my files. The boards are relatively inexpensive so adding one is not an issue.

So does the PERC 6I add complexity or potential problems that I should avoid?

I have a cable question too, I am assuming that SATA drives use different cables than SAS drives on the PERC Boards. The cables look like they may be universal, but I do not know.

The real advantage that I am looking for is to eliminate my server and router from my business. If my desktop has the OS on a SSD and the files on a mirror, with a second mirror for internal backups (I will still do external backups too), I will only need my network for internet connection.

I also have a pair of Intel Pro/1000 GT Gigabit Ethernet cards. I want to use those to create a link between my other office compuiter and my desktop (there is a reverse wire that I need and then set ports). That way the second computer can access the mirrored files on my computer without having to go through the router.

The whole idea is that when the router drops or loses connection, we will only lose internet connection, but still be able to have full access to files (and not get annoying messages, recovered cocs, etc).

[muel]

You are getting pretty fancy with that setup! ...But I won't be the one to tell someone they have too many backups.

I laughed when I stopped to think about the last time I installed Dell server. At that time, if you lost the PERC controller there would be no way to read the drives unless had another PERC controller with the exact same firmware. They were nice and fast as I remember though.

Weird thing is that while installing that server a tornado struck north of town. Years later the server was destroyed by a tornado... not just destroyed... it was gone along with everything else except bricks, splinters and concrete. I wasn't even supporting it anymore but its last act was to send me an email telling me that there had been a power loss.

At least 2 copies on site and a backup to the cloud is what I'd suggest. I think CrashPlan Pro is a good business plan but their regular service would suit the size of your backup well. You might also look into Amazon S3 storage. Decent pricing and I've heard of some good success with that solution.

I haven't done that for a while but be sure to setup a Gateway on only one NIC if you have more than one in the server. There can only be one gateway for all NICs. Personally, I would not worry about the router. You could put your devices that don't need direct connection to the router on a switch and the switch to the router. If the router went down all your devices would still communicate. Replacing a bad switch only takes seconds. Even If the router was serving DHCP you would still be ok for a while.