Software Vs. Hardware RAID-1

[Guest]

I'm new to RAID and I am confused. I would like to use RAID-1. I think there is a Software RAID-1 capability included with Windows 2000 Pro. I have Windows 2000 Pro installed on my PC. My PC only has three PCI Slots and I have a use for them all. If there is in fact a Software RAID-1 capability built into Windows 2000 Pro, I am unable to find it. If I cann't find it, I'll be forced to use a Hardware RAID-1 solution which will rob me of one of my PCI Slots. Is there in fact a Software RAID-1 capability built into Windows 2000 Pro - OR - is there and Add-On that I can acquire that is robust

Best regards

Mike Lynch

 

[David]

Only Win2K Server and AServer have built in RAID capabilities I am afraid.

Dont know if there is a third party solution

 

[Craig]

Not included in pro version. I would never use software raid for a server
anyway. get a good raid controller.

I'm new to RAID and I am confused. I would like to use RAID-1. I think

there is a Software RAID-1 capability included with Windows 2000 Pro. I
have Windows 2000 Pro installed on my PC. My PC only has three PCI Slots
and I have a use for them all. If there is in fact a Software RAID-1
capability built into Windows 2000 Pro, I am unable to find it. If I cann't
find it, I'll be forced to use a Hardware RAID-1 solution which will rob me
of one of my PCI Slots. Is there in fact a Software RAID-1 capability built
into Windows 2000 Pro - OR - is there and Add-On that I can acquire that is
robust?

 

[Ricardo M. Urbano - W2K/NT4 MVP]

I'm new to RAID and I am confused. I would like to use RAID-1. I think there is a Software RAID-1 capability included with Windows 2000 Pro. I have Windows 2000 Pro installed on my PC. My PC only has three PCI Slots and I have a use for them all. If there is in fact a Software RAID-1 capability built into Windows 2000 Pro, I am unable to find it. If I cann't find it, I'll be forced to use a Hardware RAID-1 solution which will rob me of one of my PCI Slots. Is there in fact a Software RAID-1 capability built into Windows 2000 Pro - OR - is there and Add-On that I can acquire that is robust?

Best regards!

Mike Lynch

The workstation flavors of NTx do not come w/ the capability to
configure fault tolerant RAID arrays (1 and 5 specifically). It can
span volumes (essentially, striping w/o parity), but not mirror or
RAID5.

As the other mentioned, you've got to pony up for server flavors to get
fault tolerant software RAID.

That having been said, I would never trust my data to software RAID.

hth

 

[Blare Sutton]

Like the other two gents, don't go near software RAID with a ten foot pole.
Apart from reliability, it's much slower than hardware RAID.

 

[Major Malfunction]

Like the other two gents, don't go near software RAID with a ten foot pole.
Apart from reliability, it's much slower than hardware RAID.

I missed the beginning of the thread, but H/W RAID is the only way to fly!
Anytime you can relegate a task from your CPU to a specialized piece of H/W
go for it. S/W RAID sucks up CPU cycles that could be used for something
else, so in addition to being slow, it also adds drag to your background
processes. With IDE RAID cards and drives being affordable, vs SCSI pricing,
you can do it on a realistic budget too. I don't follow SATA as none of my
PCs use them, but I presume those prices are also more affordable than SCSI.