new to raid - 2008 setup

[sbab]

Starting a new topic from old one: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1579782/

In it I was advised to configure my macpro to this;

In your case the 1st thing I would do would be to ditch the 120GB SSD and replace it with something closer to a 500GB model. I would partition that into two for the two OSX versions. I would then RAID0 the two 2TB drives to use as project and data drives. Further, I would purchase a 3TB or 4TB drive to use as a time machine backup and call the system complete.

As my storage demands increased I would replace the 2TBx2 RAID0 with a 3 or 4TBx2 RAID0.

I have avoided raid but after some sound advice I'm willing to give it another go. As with a 2008 mac pro I only have one pci slot to play with, at present its fitted with the H644.

The mac has a 6G card (atto h644) fitted and its routed to the backplanes of the 4 internal HD bays.It also has an external connection to a 4 bay enclosure (straight through type mini sas). So if I used a software raid controller it should be 6G the same as a 6G raid card?

To replace my SSD with 500gb model any ideas of what brand and type. This will have 2 OS's on it.

Software raid or a raid card, which way? I wouldn't have a clue here. I started to look for ideas then run into battery backup and how the card, if I got it right, should be powered 24/7 (servers). I think that puts it out of my league, any other options?

With the raid I would have only one raid setup (2x drives) with the one home folder, each of the OS's will refer to the same raid home folder. Is that right?

What HD's would I use for the raid, can I use the 2TB black caviars?

Backup, how do you backup raid? At present I use superduper that I can boot off. I've never used Time Machine.

John

 

[Tesselator]

I have avoided raid but after some sound advice I'm willing to give it another go. As with a 2008 mac pro I only have one pci slot to play with, at present its fitted with the H644.

The mac has a 6G card (atto h644) fitted and its routed to the backplanes of the 4 internal HD bays.It also has an external connection to a 4 bay enclosure (straight through type mini sas). So if I used a software raid controller it should be 6G the same as a 6G raid card?

Yes.

To replace my SSD with 500gb model any ideas of what brand and type. This will have 2 OS's on it.

Use this guide to determine: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/ssd-charts-2012/benchmarks,129.html

You wanna pick from among the top 3 or 4 in any or all of the tests which use random and small files for the tests. Select the compare button for all the 500-ish GB drives and check'em out.

Software raid or a raid card, which way? I wouldn't have a clue here. I started to look for ideas then run into battery backup and how the card, if I got it right, should be powered 24/7 (servers). I think that puts it out of my league, any other options?

Yeah, just software raid. At least I think you can use software RAID with your non-RAID ATTO H644 adapter.

With the raid I would have only one raid setup (2x drives) with the one home folder, each of the OS's will refer to the same raid home folder. Is that right?

Hmm, I think if you wish to use only one home folder for two different OS installations I would partition the SSD into three partitions. One the size of your Home Folder + expected growth, and the other two to split the remaining difference - for the two OS's. I guess the Home Folder partition would be massive by comparison - depending on how you use your Home Folder.

What HD's would I use for the raid, can I use the 2TB black caviars?

Sure. What all do you have tho? That sentence makes me think you have a selection to choose from.

Backup, how do you backup raid? At present I use superduper that I can boot off. I've never used Time Machine.

You can still use superduper if you like. The RAID volume appears like any other volume for most kinds of backup. Although you should probably get a 4TB BU Drive for two 2TB and the 500GB OS drives but you don't have to. The two 2TB drives make 4TB in RAID0 but one should always try not to use the last 40% of so of the drives. So in your mind you should treat that 4TB RAID stripe at being about 2.5TB. Assuming only about 300GB is consumed over the entire SSD that means you only need a 3TB drive - which will save you $50 to $75 if you think that's worth it.

TimeMachine will also let you recover to boot. Apple has done a few things right with TM and the recovery facilities that work with it. I know, shock right... Apple did something right. So to recover the boot they supply two ways (that I've used). One is via booting off an OSX Dongle installer (or CD) and the other is booting from the OSX Recovery Partition which OS X now creates during installation. Boot either way and then select recover from TimeMachine Drive and it all just works. Time machine also gives you the Roll Back function of it's timed backup iterations. It's pretty nifty... if you wanna see it in action you can search around for recorded demos like this one.

To connect the backup drive I personally am in love with Docks. I think they're probably all good but I read the testers over at Tom's Hardware saying the Thermaltake BlacX was good and that the USB3.0 version of it was great. <shrug> You'l be using eSATA tho so I'm not sure if one brand is better than another - and there are even multi-function ones if you wanna diversify your dollar load. Of course something like this or even a 2-drive version of the same would work just fine too if you like those better.

After it's connected, setup as a TimeMachine drive, and backup is complete you can turn it off anytime you like and it just won't do the timed backups while it's off. It'll start backing up again whenever it's turned on.

 

[sbab]

Thanks for all that info. I'll need some time to let it sink in.

In the mean time can anyone else add their thoughts as to how they would do it.

As for the HD's for the raid, I only have 2TB black caviars or 2TB Seagate Barracudas. The other HD's you thought I was referring to are the ones the raid card makers recommend.

 

[Tesselator]

As for the HD's for the raid, I only have 2TB black caviars or 2TB Seagate Barracudas. The other HD's you thought I was referring to are the ones the raid card makers recommend.

The ST2000DM001 drives are great for this IMO! The Black drives are slower I think - like, by kind of a lot IIRC. When you format your RAID make sure to select the largest Raid Block Size in whatever you create your partitions with DiskUtility, StellarPM, or the ATTO thinggy if it does that.