Raid
2. I want to setup RAID
on my computer, what do I need?
First of all you need to decide on what level
of raid you want.
Next you will need at least two hard disks dependant on
your choice of raid level, preferably identical in size
and performance. You can use either IDE or SCSI hard disks,
but IDE hard disks are substantially cheaper. If the hard
disks are not identical in size, the larger drive will be
limited to the size of the smaller drive (e.g., if a 10
GB and a 15GB drive are combined in a RAID array, only 10GB
of the 15GB drive will be used in the array).
You will need a hard disk controller capable of RAID, or
an operating system which supports RAID in software. Obviously,
hardware RAID offers many advantages -- it requires lower
computational overhead, and it will work with any operating
system. A RAID-capable card can cost less than £100.
Software RAID is available built-in to Windows NT Server
and Windows 2000 Server.
For budget priced hardware RAID, try PROMISE
for add on cards or alternatively a new motherboard featuring
an integrated RAID controller such as the Highpoint
HPT370
