> Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 07:44:47 -0500
> From: superbeast <superbeast at evilcricket.com>

> 1. I was thinking about going with 8 200gb SATA hdd. I guess I would get
> the 3Ware 8-port SATA controller and use hw raid 5. There are alot of
> arguments about using sw vs. hw raid, but I think I need the controller
> anyways just to support 8 drives in one box. Is that right?

Hardware RAID is good. Bootable. Reconstructs data while being used. No 
fuss.

> 2.I'm thinking about performing daily backups to the hdd rather than
> tape. The raid will protect them from hdd failure, and they only need 5
> days worth of backups. I think the only problem would be with a disaster
> situation. Any other thoughts?

If the system is critical, then you have to be able to bounce back from
any single failure within some short time, depending on your budget. That
single failure can be a hard drive, power supply, RAID controller or
storage box CPU, motherboard or tape drive. Have spares on hand. $2k
sitting on the shelf is good insurnace against a day of lost work to many
companies.

> 3. What kind of power supply(s) am I going to need in this machine in
> order to support 8 hdds? I want to buy this stuff from nanosystems, so
> if you know of a particular case that would suit this need I would like
> to know also.

Many server boxes can accept redundant power supplies. I like IBM hardware 
for servers, but it's not on a retail shelf.

> 4. It seems to me that I could build a decent file server with 1.2tb for
> between $3k and $4k. Am I missing something?

If write performance is important, consider RAID 3, which will be more
expensive.


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