I am picking up two hard drives for my Linux file, ftp, & web server. I was wondering if someone can tell me how easy it is to set up a RAID array in Linux? I don't have any hardware (RAID controller) yet but if you guys could tell me 1st if it's possible and 2nd, what controller will work great on my Linux box and support S-ATA.

Thanks for any info.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/index.php?cat=201

Those should be compatible. Try looking for the model that you like on newegg.com

I guess I am having a hard time finding anything specific to a RAID controller on that list. I am checking the most review links and many of them are for SCSI controllers.

Is there no plug & play raid controller that supports S-ATA devices? I can't stand using wrappers and I can't compile anything so that would not be recommended. I was just hoping for a simple solution for RAID.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=303&page=1

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=303&page=1

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=275&page=1

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=310&page=1

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=298&page=1

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat=298&page=1


There's plenty more. I just clicked on the ones with stuff like "SATA" or "Serial" or "SA", etc.

I do not recommend Silicon Image and Promise controllers because over a dozen users has problems with enabling and keeping DMA on. I suggest using another drive for just the OS and setting the other two hard drives in RAID 1. If you are worry about one of the reviewers said on newegg, you can include -n while running hdparm for the drives, but do it with caution.

For the price I think I will go with this one. Many seem way too expensive. If my motherboard comes with an onboard RAID controller that is integrated to the board, can I find out if this is Linux compatable. I will try and look up the specs on who makes the controller.

hmm...

Well, what's your board?

Usually, integrated RAID controllers are easier to get working than non-integrated. One thing to remember though, make sure you still have at least 1 drive not on raid so that you can put your /boot in a NON-raid partition, as this sometimes confuses the bootloader and boot kernels if it is on a RAID array.

That is where 90% of the problems of raid on linux come from.

I have been trying to look up my onboard RAID controller all day. Epox has the worst details on their site.

I am using an Epox EP-8RDA31PRO and I can't find any specs on the RAID controller.

So what you're saying that I need at least a minimum of 3 disks to create a array?

I should of said that the Linux software for any cards that uses Silicon Image chips is sloppy, so do not use them.

Your EPOX EP-8RDA3IPRO motherboard uses a Silicon Image chip. Users have trouble with Silicon Image controllers. A few days ago a poster had a problem with data corruption when using Silicon Image controller. For a file server, you do not want this to happen. I suggest Highpoint 1520, 1540, or 1640. Just use the kernel modules (drivers) not the ones comes from Highpoint.

You can use two (2) drives for an RAID array. This is the minimum to setup RAID. I suggest using RAID-1 (mirroring). I do not suggest using RAID-5 because it does penalizes the system when doing large file transactions. For web and ftp, it is better to use RAID-1.

http://www.prepressure.com/techno/raid.htm

there's a really good, simple definition of the different RAID levels

Thanks - found a nice 1640 online. I assume when you say "Just use the kernel modules (drivers)", that Linux / kernel will auto recognized the card with out any modification or "compiling".

You're setting up a raid array with only two drives for a web server? I recommend getting atleast three or four so You can use Raid 5. Five would the best. Ten would be awesome too ofcourse.