Is RAID 1 enough?

[Sternkreuzer]

I am considering putting RAID 1 on the new machine I am building, with XP
Pro.

Reading the documentation on the Intel motherboard it seems one needs to do
the <F6> tinkering with the BIOS at the very beginning of the installation of
XP Pro.

I like the RAID 1 concept, but what happens if the motherboard fails? Is
there a danger of losing all the data on the mirrored disks after replacing
the motherboard? It seems one would have to go through the <F6> procedure
again so the motherboard accepts a RAID configuration. Does that force a
Clean Install??

 

[agreenbhm]

RAID is REDUNDANT DRIVES, it's not a backup method, it's not a data
security method, it's not about data, it's about having a second (in the
case of RAID-1) drive to continue operations of the other drive fails.

RAID should NEVER be considered a backup method for data.

If your RAID Controller Fails - such as a mother board, there is a good
chance that your RAID will be lost.

--
- Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.
- Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling a
  drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"
(e-mail address removed) (remove 999 for proper email address)

If the RAID controller fails, wouldn't he be able to easily replace
the controller without any data loss?

 

[3c273]

No RAID configuration is a replacement for doing regular backups. I don't
have any experience with on-board RAID but I had a discontinued RAID card
fail and had to replace it with a newer model. This required a fresh install
followed by a restore of all data from backup. I would imagine if your MB
dies after its production life is over, you will have issues unless you can
find a used replacement. Long story short, don't depend on RAID as an
alternative to backups.
Louis

 

[Jeff Barnett]

I am considering putting RAID 1 on the new machine I am building, with XP
Pro.

Reading the documentation on the Intel motherboard it seems one needs to do
the <F6> tinkering with the BIOS at the very beginning of the installation of
XP Pro.

I like the RAID 1 concept, but what happens if the motherboard fails? Is
there a danger of losing all the data on the mirrored disks after replacing
the motherboard? It seems one would have to go through the <F6> procedure
again so the motherboard accepts a RAID configuration. Does that force a
Clean Install??

My experience is as follows: if the Intel motherboard fails and you
replace it with the same model, the raid will recover and be usable. I
have replaced my motherboard and the RAID survived. (Note, I had both a
RAID 0 for as the boot disk and a RAID 1 as a data disk and both survived.)

The answer to a question you didn't ask: Yes, it is necessary to backup
a RAID 1 just like any other disk.

-- Jeff Barnett