Raid 5

[kbrady1979]

I am getting ready to update my system by replacing my 2x2TB HDD with 3x4TB HDD in a RAID 5 array. I was wondering if anybody is using 4TB drives in RAID and roughly how long it takes to build the array initially. I am reinstalling Windows and will be doing this upgrade in stages, and was just curious as to how long it will take. Also, I like to validate drives before using them with a Full Erase and Long Duration Read test.....which all 3 passed. Is there a program or test that will validate the RAID array after it is built? I'm not worried about how long the test will take, because I feel it is important to make sure there were no issues during the building process. Also, I tested 3 drives and each drive required 11.5 hours to complete the full read and write test, so I'm not afraid to take the time to validate everything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Hardware raid or software raid in win7?

 

[kbrady1979]

Software RAID, using the 3 Intel SATA ports on my motherboard.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Software RAID, using the 3 Intel SATA ports on my motherboard.

The Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate editions of Windows 7 officially support the following dynamic disk modes:

• Simple
• Spanned
• Striped (RAID-0)
• Mirrored (RAID-1)

These are the officially supported modes. It has been possible in previous Windows releases to enable unsupported modes through DLL modifications and/or registry changes, and this will probably be the case in Windows 7 as well. At your own risk, of course.
RAID-5 dynamic disks are only available in Windows Server editions.
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So I think you're talking about hardware RAID5(?) A special bios setting and controller(?)

 

[kbrady1979]

Yes, RAID via my Motherboards BIOS, using the Intel SATA ports. "Intel" RAID for lack of a better term. Sorry for the confusion, I've had a lack of decent sleep for a week lol.

 

[Kaktussoft]

You did test the disks already... so they are fine. Also cables and sata ports are fine. After building RAID5 is complete it should say it was succesful. You can see the raid5 state in intell software as well. Where are you afraid of?

 

[bobkn]

I hope that RAID 5 setup works to your liking.

When I tried an Intel-controller based RAID 10 setup a few years ago, I found that it re-verified the array after every Windows bluescreen. The machine was usable while that lasted. That took hours, even though the individual drives were 500GB. HD access was slow during that.

IMHO, not worth the trouble. Perhaps you need a single drive with 8TB capacity (what you'd get with three 4TB drives in RAID 5), but I don't.

 

[LMiller7]

Why do you want to use RAID at all?
RAID (except RAID 0) was designed to allow access to your data in the event of a drive failure. Drive replacement can be deferred to a more convenient time. This is a big deal on a busy server but usually much less on a desktop.

But be sure to understand that no form of RAID ever devised is a replacement for maintaining backups. It is not to maintain the safety of your data. RAID offers protection only in the event of a drive failure, and even that cannot be relied on.

Just be sure you are implementing RAID for the right reasons.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Why do you want to use RAID at all?
RAID (except RAID 0) was designed to allow access to your data in the event of a drive failure. Drive replacement can be deferred to a more convenient time. This is a big deal on a busy server but usually much less on a desktop.

But be sure to understand that no form of RAID ever devised is a replacement for maintaining backups. It is not to maintain the safety of your data. RAID offers protection only in the event of a drive failure, and even that cannot be relied on.

Just be sure you are implementing RAID for the right reasons.

X2. Home users rarely need RAID.

 

[kbrady1979]

I know the difference between backups and redundancy. I will eventually expand this array to 4x4TB drives in RAID5, I just happen to have 3 of them now. My OS will not be on those drives as they are just for storage. Yes, I could have them installed as individual drives and spread the data over them individually, but if one of them goes down, the data is lost more than likely. I am not afraid of setting up a RAID array, what I was wanting to know was if anybody had any clue how long it took to originally build the array because I have to set aside time for it when I decide to go ahead with it. Also, I was wondering if anybody knew of a program or test to validate the array after it was built. If I had a proper NAS, it would run in RAID as well. My hardware supports RAID 0, 1, 5, & 10, and will be on a UPS, so I don't expect it to have a problem with it.

Also, I already have 5TB of data, so it's not like I am going totally overboard lol.

Thanks for all the concern, normally I would advise against a RAID array, but in my case I think it's the better option.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Yes, I could have them installed as individual drives and spread the data over them individually, but if one of them goes down, the data is lost more than likely...

That is why you need frequent backups. RAIDs with parity are to ensure continuous operation without loss of data if a drive in the RAID should fail while in use. For most home users, a shutdown due to a disk failure would just be an inconvenience as long as the data is properly backed up. RAID will not protect your data if your HDDs all fail due to a virus, PSU failure, fire, theft, user error (we all have our Murphy moments), etc. For that kind of protection, redundant backups kept both onsite (but not connected to the computer) and offsite are essential. Backing up a RAID requires the backup be on a single volume which requires a RAID box of some sort. It is much simpler and less expensive to backup individual HDDs than RAIDed ones.

 

[Kaktussoft]

I will eventually expand this array to 4x4TB drives in RAID5, I just happen to have 3 of them now

You can't expand a raid5 array! You have to:

1. Backup
2. Destroy raid5 array
3. Make raid5 array again