Raid 1 Setup Question

mdbarber

As long as you consider the possibility of the raid controller failing as well then 3 drives using RAID 3 will give you increased performance and extra protection from drive failure.
Entering the bios off the raid controller simply allot the 3 drives to raid 3 and install your OS, if it is not a true hardware raid controller then u may need to have the software drivers ready for the install, on a floppy for XP or flash drive for vista

TheJay

Thank you, I'll see what options appear in the BIOS.

Will all the data on the two other drives that are currently in use be okay? I just need to format the drive that will contain the Windows installation, right?

TheJay

Hmmm, what other options are available?

maniclaughter

Agreed your motherboard will support raid 1 although you would need an expensive raid controler to use any other raid configuration. Assuming you want to make use of raid your best option would be to wipe two drives and then raid 1 them. Use the raid array for your operating system and files, and the unraided drive as a backup drive. I would also suggest that you create a partition on the raid array for storing data and a separate one for your operating system. That way you can quikly and easily reinstall your OS without having to move a large amount of data around.

don9999

My input...for what it's worth.....
I have been modifying my hard drive structure and backup routine over many years, but have now settled on what I feel is the best solution (for me anyway).

When considering backing up, people usually talk about considerations such as 'what you can afford to lose', 'time to backup/recover', 'hardware costs' etc...
For me....I want to backup ALL my data (not applications that can be re-installed), backing up shouldn't take long and takes place in the background anyway, recovery rarely take long - and hopefully will only need to take place once in a blue moon anyway, and costs are either cheap (Hard disks are now very cheap) or free as in your case when you have spare disks anyway.

'My' key issue is determining 'points of failure' and ensuring I can deal with it.
Hence my backup strategy involves storing at least TWO copies of all my important data, in seperate places.

RAID 5 is a common solution, but I'm not convinced it is suitable for a home situation. Yes, if one disk fails, you can in theory recover by installing a new hard disk. But......first you have to find a suitable new disk! And as per this and other threads, some people have difficulty with their hardware. In 'my' view the benefits of RAID 5 are best used in a corporate environment where they are used for 'short-term' backup saftey, with the whole contents being backed up daily elsewhere anyway.

What about RAID1 - mirroring. Again, similar to RAID 5, in that you have two copies of data, BUT.....does NOT help if there is a hardware issue eg. the RAID controller, OR...IMPORTANTLY....if there is a loss of the PC altogether due to fire or theft!

So....to my solution.....

I have TWO disk 'arrays' in my desktop and one off-line disk 'array'. When I say 'array' this could be a single hard drive, or multiple hard drives in RAID 0 configuration. I DO use RAID 0 - striping, as 'I' DO find significant speed benefits. Some people apparently don't but I do. (I 'used' to have 2 x 500Gb Samsung Spinpoint HDDs in RAID 0, to contain all my data. These have been recently removed and replaced with a single Samsung 1Tb F1 drive, but I will soon add an additional 1Tb drive, and set up another 2x1Tb RAID 0 array).

The second 'array' inside my desktop is a single 500Gb Samsung Spinpoint HDD. (Again it used to be 2x250Gb drives in RAID 0, but currently only one drive).

So.....how I operate....

My 1Tb array is split into several partitions - everyone has their own favourite layout. Mine is
* C drive for Windows
* D drive for Data
* E drive for General workspace
* F drive for applications
* G drive for downloads
* H for swap file

These are also ordered on the Hard drives as H, then C, then F, then E, then D, then G, so that the earlier partitions are on the fastest parts of the drive.
With this layout, after a fresh format and install of Windows, I take a Disk image of drives C and F. I then install key applications and take another Disk image of C and F. If at any time in the future, I feel that my system has become corrupted, or too slow, or whatever, I simply re-install the disk copies to C and F - which takes about 10 minutes! C and F are never backed up again, since I can always go back to the fresh images and re-install any new applications.

E is never backed up as it only contains temporary data or projects I am working on. Likewise G is never backed up.

D contains ALL my important data. It is backed up religiously. If I want anything secured, I will store it on my D drive, so that it gets backed up.

I use Acronis TrueImage for my Backups. I have scheduled a monthly full backup of the D drive (plus the Documents and Settings on the C drive, so that I save things like Favourites etc.), and then a daily incremental backup of the same. All backups are stored on the second internal disk array (currently the single 500Gb Samsung). Backups all take place automatically behind the scenes.

So, at this point, I have TWO copies of all my important data, on separate disk arrays. If either array failed, I have the data on the second. And recovery is extremely quick! If I accidentally over-write some key file on my D drive, I can recover the previous version within minutes from the second array.

But what if the PC was lost, due to fire or theft?

That's where my off-line backup regime comes into play.
'Periodically' I will copy the backups on the second disk array, to an offline hard disk (with appropriate security and encryption). This off-line hard disk is stored at my parent's house, a few streets away. I say 'periodically' as I have no strict regime. Typically, I do this off-line backup approx. every month.

Yes, I DO appreciate this point-of-failure. If my PC is lost, then I stand to lose my data since my last off-line backup - perhaps up to a month's worth of data changes. Hence I am considering the use of internet backup facilities - though they are still quite expensive and slow.

Perhaps overboard, I'm not sure.
But.....I have THREE copies of all my key data (albeit the third copy can be up to a month out of date). But I am very confident that I will not lose any of my key data, including my photo library, home video library etc. etc...

Comments welcomed. Am always looking to improve my procedures if possible.

Cheers,
Don

TheJay

Sounds pretty good, although a little confusing.

Still unsure what I should do really!

don9999

Summarising my essay......
Have two hard disks in your desktop, and one hard disk off-line.
Use your largest internal hard disk to host all your applications and data.
Set up a backup schedule to regularly backup your data from the larger to the smaller internal hard disk.
Periodically backup your smaller internal hard disk to your external hard disk.
Hence, three copies of your important data - should be able to recover from any point of failure.