[plug] RAID 5

[Hook]

Kevin Shackleton wrote:
> The local radio station is looking at replacing their file server.  It
> almost solely serves wave files to the AM and FM station PC-based
> playlists.  At the moment it's an AMD 233 with a very curious collection
> of two 4.3 and three 9 GB narrow SCSI drives driven by two Adaptec
> 2940AU cards.  I think there are 2 mirrored pairs, although one pair is
> on the same chain and the other pair are on different chains.  The whole
> thing is running Novell.
>
> 1) Is Linux RAID 5 in software a suitable choice, given that the demand
> is fairly low (2 44 kbps streams) but the demand for reliability is very
> high.  The alternative would be a RAID 5 in SCSI card firmware.

The best RAID cards are Mylex, but they'll cost an arm and a leg (I believe
that the 2000, which is the only one currently available, is in the order of
$4000, and takes a good while to set up). Personally I wouldn't use software
raid for anything "mission critical".  YMMV however.

> 2) Any suggestions for hardware and supplier for a HDD cabinet -
> preferred rack mount, hot swappable, 6 or more drive capacity.

Got one sat on my desk ATM, maybe Compucon, I'll look tomorrow.

Paul