[GRLUG] To Raid, or not to Raid, that is the question.

[Dan Taylor]

On 03/09/2011 07:05 PM, Joseph VanDerStelt wrote:
> So, here is the situation. I am about to send a server down to a data
> center in Indiana. I just purchased two WD 1GB hard drives to place in
> it for extra storage. I also bought a $25 raid controller, just in
> case. Should I even bother with the raid? I was going to go raid 1, so
> as not to risk losing my data and other peoples data. However, I have
> to ask... Would simply creating a cron job to backup key
> directories/files every 2 hours or so get the job done just as well?
>
> Just looking for a little input and maybe spark some debate.
>
> So far, I am leaning towards raid 1.
>
I know people who have had hardware RAID cards with buggy firmwares
corrupting data, locking up or behaving poorly under load.  As others
have said, so long as you have a backup solution outside of the RAID
realm this isn't as much of an issue.  But for the success of RAID
cards, it's highly dependent on what card you choose and the firmware
version.  I'd be skeptical of trusting any RAID controller with my data
that costs $25.

Another thing, are your two hard drives identical in make and model? 
You should try and avoid purchasing identical drives when they're being
used for RAID.  The reason being is if there's a manufacturing defect on
a specific model of hard drive when they are being made, you have less
chance of having all your hard drives failing with the same identical
problem.

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