Hi all,
I have tried to read up on this, and it is a bit of a head spin.
What I want to do is put together a server with three volumes. I will list them now, and state their intended function:
1.) RAID 5, 900GB (4 x 300GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Win Server 2008, Exchange 2007 EDB files, SQL 2008 MDF files, general files (xls, doc, jpg, etc.)
2.) RAID 10, 144GB (4 x 72GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Exchange 2007 and SQL 2008 transaction log files
3.) RAID 10, 500GB (4 x 250GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Storage for backups (Backup Exec 12.5, Sys Recov 8): real-time, bare metal recovery, etc.
I have decided to got with RAID 5 because it reads quick, and writes to the DB files will be done at "idle" time so no need for speedy write speeds there. Of course the read/write activity caused by the OS and files in the network shared folders is going to have an impact, but I think (tell me if I am wrong) it would be too expensive, and strain capacity, to provide a disk sytem for each application's storage needs.
The drives that support the transaction logs and real-time backups will need to be able to write more quickly. I have opted for RAID 10 as opposed to RAID 1 because it has better fault tolerance (depending on how the drives fail), and better read AND write performance than RAID 1 or 5.
RAID 1 would be cheaper, could RAID 10 be overkill? Please let me know.
So now I am left with deciding on what to do about controllers. Battery packed is happening, but I can't find out very readily how many controllers to install and how to configure them.
Here are a couple of questions:
1.) I will need to install a second 8 bay drive cage and was going to put both the RAID10s in the same cage.
a.) Should I rather have the RAID 5 and one RAID 1 in the same cage?
b.) How many controllers can you connect to one cage? (Obvioulsy this MIGHT be make/model dependent.)
2.) How much of a performance hit is there between putting both the RAID 1s on one controller or each RAID 1 having its own? Would it be any different if the RAID 5 shared its controller with one of the RAID 1s? Do all three HAVE to be on their own RAID controller to realise decent perfomance?
3.) If it is possible to install three RAID controllers in to a sytem that has two drive cages, would the expected cost significantly outweigh the gains achieved in performance? (convential wisdom says, "..." sort of thing).
4.) To reiterate the question above so it is in this neat little list: RAID 1 would be cheaper than RAID 10, could RAID 10 be overkill? Please let me know.
TIA,
TIUK-3000
I have tried to read up on this, and it is a bit of a head spin.
What I want to do is put together a server with three volumes. I will list them now, and state their intended function:
1.) RAID 5, 900GB (4 x 300GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Win Server 2008, Exchange 2007 EDB files, SQL 2008 MDF files, general files (xls, doc, jpg, etc.)
2.) RAID 10, 144GB (4 x 72GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Exchange 2007 and SQL 2008 transaction log files
3.) RAID 10, 500GB (4 x 250GB SAS 15K HDDs) - Storage for backups (Backup Exec 12.5, Sys Recov 8): real-time, bare metal recovery, etc.
I have decided to got with RAID 5 because it reads quick, and writes to the DB files will be done at "idle" time so no need for speedy write speeds there. Of course the read/write activity caused by the OS and files in the network shared folders is going to have an impact, but I think (tell me if I am wrong) it would be too expensive, and strain capacity, to provide a disk sytem for each application's storage needs.
The drives that support the transaction logs and real-time backups will need to be able to write more quickly. I have opted for RAID 10 as opposed to RAID 1 because it has better fault tolerance (depending on how the drives fail), and better read AND write performance than RAID 1 or 5.
RAID 1 would be cheaper, could RAID 10 be overkill? Please let me know.
So now I am left with deciding on what to do about controllers. Battery packed is happening, but I can't find out very readily how many controllers to install and how to configure them.
Here are a couple of questions:
1.) I will need to install a second 8 bay drive cage and was going to put both the RAID10s in the same cage.
a.) Should I rather have the RAID 5 and one RAID 1 in the same cage?
b.) How many controllers can you connect to one cage? (Obvioulsy this MIGHT be make/model dependent.)
2.) How much of a performance hit is there between putting both the RAID 1s on one controller or each RAID 1 having its own? Would it be any different if the RAID 5 shared its controller with one of the RAID 1s? Do all three HAVE to be on their own RAID controller to realise decent perfomance?
3.) If it is possible to install three RAID controllers in to a sytem that has two drive cages, would the expected cost significantly outweigh the gains achieved in performance? (convential wisdom says, "..." sort of thing).
4.) To reiterate the question above so it is in this neat little list: RAID 1 would be cheaper than RAID 10, could RAID 10 be overkill? Please let me know.
TIA,
TIUK-3000