[Solved] Dynamic Disk formatting and other software RAID 5 stuff

Hello all! This is my first post! Yey me! I did read up on RAID 5 in the forum, and didn't find the answers I am looking for.

I built a Windows Server 2003 rig out of my old main desktop machine. I've updated it via windows update to SP2 and more, updated the onboard SATA BIOS, and have gotten the RAID 5 container setup. Hardware specs:

Asus A7n8x-e mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (yeah, it's a 32 bit proc)
2 GB RAM, dual channel
Promise SATAII150TX4 4 port SATA/RAID controller
5x WD Green 1TB drives (2 on onboard, 3 on add-in card)
ATI 9800 pro 256 mb RAM
PC Power and Cooling 500 watt power supply
4x 80mm case fans (2 in 2 out)
Zalman cooler for CPU and another one for the graphics card
misc other stuff like DVD burner, fan controller, etc..
Boot drive is PATA 200 GB (60 and 130 GB partitions)

I picked software RAID so that in the unlikely event that the controller hardware took a dump, I could recover the data. Originally I was going to use Linux, but then I found out Windows could do it, so I used the MSDN AA access my school gives me to get Windows Server 2003 going.

I got the RAID container initialized yesterday around this time (10ish pm EST), and allowed it to format. I never saw a %age like I normally do on a format, but it's my first time with dynamic disks and I was using VNC so I let it slide. I estimated that it would take ~12 - 15 hours (~3 hours is what it took to format one of the drives by themself). Here is is 24 hours alter and I'm at 26% done. Questions follow:

1. Is that normal? Seems a little excessive to me. Processor usage is 20 - 30 %, page usage is minimal. I don't remember what the RAID 5 array in my Dell power edge 2400ish (maybe 2450 or 2500) server took to format (343 GB), but it wasn't that crazy. It does have a server frame and a server RAID controller though.

2. For 1 - 5 users, is that processor gonna have enough ass to handle the parity calculations? I have a dual Athlon system I'd like to migrate the array too as soon as I can it back up and running. It's really just me and the primary purpose is to store all that data for live access, with backups taking care of the really important stuff. Unfortunately, the dualie isnt running and won't boot, so it's out of the picture for now.

3. To make up for the paltry write speeds (I saw that I can expect 20 - 30 mb/s), can I use another drive as a buffer? If I wanted to place files on the RAID array, is there someway I can automate the process such that I dump them in a special folder on one drive and then the OS moves them to the array automagically, at its own pace? What about a whole machine as an intermediary? Or does that get into SAN?

4. The 3x drives on the promise add-in card all show up as removable in the safely remove program of windows. I found this program that seems to fit the bill of redefining the environment such that my problem goes away: http://safelyremove.com/index.html If it works I'll use it all over the place, and then in this case hide those drives. My concern is that when I go to eject a USB stick I accidentally kill my RAID 5 array. Does windows ever let go of the array? Would it be possible for me to bork it like that? It's too close for comfort for me for 4 TB of data.

5. What are some good back up software solutions? I own multiple sites and will use those for off site backups, but I don't know where to look for software. BTW free is much appreciated, open source is cool too.

6. is encrypting anything on the array a potential for disaster? Not the whole drive, but maybe just some folders. Using either the built in encryption, or a 3rd party app like truecrypt.

7. I have named the server Alveolate Hollow, but that doesn't jell well. Any better ideas? I think I'll start naming my machines from Ancient Greek mythology, or as some sort of word function based on what they do (Alveolate Hollow didn't turn out as cool as I had hoped though).



Comments, suggestions, and answers are welcome!


In the ~30 min it took to write this up, I am now at 27% done formatting. lmao...