[NTLUG:Discuss] Linux Hardware RAID 1 card recommendation?

[Richard Geoffrion]

Stuart Johnston wrote:
> Fred Hensley wrote:
>   
>> While loading Ubuntu server 7.10, I attempted to setup software raid 1
>> configuration for these drives (which I do regularly), but learned after
>> the fact that this particular server doesn't support software raid...
>>     
>
> Huh?  How does a server not support software raid?  Isn't the point of 
> software raid that is isn't dependent on the hardware?
>
>   
{smile}  That was my response too.    Can you use partition type  'FD' 
and a command like
'mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1'
to create your raid devices outside the install then have the install 
use your manually created
raid devices?

I wonder if the decision by the installation routine to not allow 
software RAID1 was because the two drives were on the same physical 
controller?  While there is a performance hit for mirroring two drives 
on the same physical 'channel' (as opposed to duplexing -- mirroring two 
drives on different physical channels) I would still rather have the 
slight performance hit with the redundancy over no redundancy at all.   
SCSI can handle a software raid-1 mirror though.

Now... I would advise against software raid-5 except for educational 
purposes...

-- 
Richard