raid 5 my file server

I built myself a virtual Solaris Server with a two disk ZFS mirror.

I configured Windows XP (with a hack) to run software RAID 5, which is cheaper than hardware RAID, easier to move to a new system (just plug them in and select them all in Device Manager and reenable), and the speed is plenty for my uses – CPU usage is <3% with an Intel Quad Core 6600.

Next steps are to create an automated zip, encrypt, and offsite backup to a hosted FTP server 5 states away..

After loosing about 6 months of digital photos (including my son’s first birthday) I swore it would never happen again. I’ve now got 3×250GB SATA drives for data storage in RAID-5 (Software RAID under Linux) and even the fileserver’s root drive is a RAID-1 set run off my MB’s built in controller.

Never having to worry about data loss again is a great feeling. Now to set up tape back up for double-secret redundancy. :)

Going with RAID 1 now instead…reliabilty over capacity

I now have four 300Gb drives and a 3Ware 8506-4LP card in my new Linux server.

All the parts cost just a smidge over a grand from Newegg—With over half of that being the card + hard drives, along with the cheapest processor/motherboard/videocard/etc.

I’ve been using a reByte IDE-flash card on my file server since January 2004. The computer is a tower Gateway 350 mhz Pentium II my father had purchased in 1999 as a desktop box. He had replaced that computer with a P4.

When I first built the reByte server, I used 2×120 gb Western Digital IDE drives, set up as RAID-1.

Last month I checked NewEgg, and they had some 250GB WD IDE RAID edition drives at a reasonable price.

reByte is based on Red Hat Linux, and bundles several tools with an easy installation. Here’s an overview:

1. Recognizes most wired NICs
2. Samba server
3. WebDAV server
4. ftp server
5. Remote access capabilities
6. Software RAID-1 and RAID-5 support for HDD < 137 GB
7. Runs with 128 MB system RAM
8. Default set of user accounts and shared folders
9. Web-based configuration of network settings, user accounts and hardware
10. No keyboard or monitor needed after initial setup
11. Automated backup to another reByte server, even off-site

1. A web server
2. A mail server
3. A firewall
4. A router

ClarkConnect and other Linux distros that can support features, but they can be tricky to set up, at least in comparison to reByte.

I also like to keep my network security separate from my servers. You can put a reByte box behind a router, and then open one or two ports to allow remote access if you wish.

I also ordered 3 250 gb drives and a Promise Ultra100 TX2 IDE controller card. reByte supports large drives by using this card and its 133 sibling.

I now have 440 gb of storage at home on a Linux file server that any computer on my LAN can access.

I’ve just set up a new departmental server at work— A Linux box with SATA RAID-5.

Some lessons-learned if you’re thinking of doing this:

1. The 3Ware 8504 is perfect for Linux. Gentoo’s LiveCD recognised it on boot-up, so I didn’t have to lift a finger to configure it!
2. We used 4×160Gb drives. Two for storage, one for parity, and one for live failover, giving us a little room to breathe should something go awry.
3. Get a good hot-swappable enclosure. We got one that fits in 3 5.25 external bays and it should make life a lot simpler if we do have a drive failure.

I’m currently running software RAID1 under slackware linux/2.6.9; will probably do RAID5 some day for random kicks and thrills and an added bit of learning goodness.

I’d picked out my Raid card (The 3Ware 8504-LP, which handles 4 Serial ATA drives in RAID-5, and recognized as being very Linux-friendly), but now I’ve had to pay for car repairs, so can’t afford to sort out the server. Curse you fickle fate for toying with me this way!

hope that unslung with linksys’ nsl250 can do this soon