This is an interesting question, while I am not positive I do not believe the controller will support more then one two drive RAID arrays – at least we have not tested the system to support more then one RAID array.
There are RAID controllers that do support multiple arrays so you may want to try first just to see if the onboard RAID controller will allow you to setup multiple arrays, but you will most likely need to install a separate RAID controller that supports this.
Please keep in mind the added risk of data lose involved with each RAID 0 array. Also setting up a RAID 1 array will not appreciably slow down the system, as there is very little overhead involved in a RAID 1 array.
Stephen, thanks. I think I will try to set up the second array, knowing that it may not work. (Almost) a Terrabyte of in-case storage is excitatory! And thanks to your post, at least now I am going in with an idea of what to expect. Have the harddrives, but am waiting for another set of drive rails. After I get them, school begins. Will repost what I learn.
I'm sure you are right about the RAID 1 being almost as fast as a RAID 0 in most instances, and it is surely better in regard to data recovery. The redundancy is certainly a safety net. But I'm wondering if I can't get by working without a net, for instance when editing video (that is already backed up as raw footage on DV tape), then picking and choosing what I want to backup to disk when parts of the project are completed. And I'm thinking having my backup drive(s) configured as a RAID 0 should also make access much quicker when pulling up saved projects.
....Was just wondering, if I add a PCI SATA card and attach a two drive RAID 0 to it as secondary, will my secondary RAID 0 operate at the same bandwidth as the primary RAID 0 attached to the onboard controller? I assume the PCI connection is the determining factor, but I do not know what the PCI bandwith is on an 8400.
I'm guessing the answer will be that the PCI bus will handle any data flow that SATA I-150 7400 RPM HDD's can produce, but maybe not the soon available SATA II-300's?
With four drives you can set up RAID-O in a RAID Volume 1 and a RAID Volume 2. This would involve a reinstall of the OS after breaking the original RAID Array to build the new 4 drive 2 Volume setup. An additional gig of ram would be advisable to handle the raw video input. The only concern I would have would be the power supplies ability to handle the extra drives; you should research that. Your alternate would be the installation of the drives in a non RAID array and leaving the original array intact to process the data then move it to storage drives.
While I am not sure about the SATA II drives, the PCI bus will handle the transfer rate of a SATA I RAID 0 array; there should be little, if any difference then the onboard controller. The 32-bit PCI bus has a throughput of about 133 MBps; since SATA I drives don’t really hit their theoretic max throughput of 150 MBps, this should not be a problem.
se7en5ive2, Am I reading it right that (in my case) I would have a C: drive of 320 GBs (2 160 GB HDDs) and a D: drive of 600 GBs (2 300 GB HDDs)? If this be true, then wouldn't my OS be installed on the C: drive where it currently resides? And does that mean that the current RAID 0 setup has to be broken in order to recognize and install the second RAID 0? I'm wondering what will happen if I simply add the two new 300 GB HDDs and boot up the computer, go into bios and enable drives on SATA 2 and SATA 3? Any ideas?
You are correct in the aspect that it would culminate in a C & D drive system. I don't believe you can just add the second array, which would be the Volume 2 D drive. A clean install and rebuilding of the array through the enabling of the raid array would allow you to partition the drives or leave them in the maximum sizes. You have 4 SATA 150 connections on your mobo that can be utilized to a 4 drive array. I've found that setting up RAID-O can be a hit or miss situation and usually results in starting with a fresh array. You can try what you propose, but I'd back up the important data to an external source before attempting it. I still question the ability of the power supply in your 8400 to handle your needs; I don't believe the 350 Watt psu in the 8400 will be able to handle the load. At Boot you should have two screens before the XP screen, the second one allows you to enter the raid configuration utility. This screen will show the two drives in the raid array and will show the two new drives as non raid drives. In the utility you will have the choice to build a new array and it will show all four drives available, choose the two 300 Gb drives for the new array and don't touch the original Volume 1 array. If you do not feel comfortable setting the array at this point you can choose to exit with out making any changes. Under your systems downloads at the Dell Support site, there is a Windows version software that can be used to create an array from Windows.
Let us know what you decide and which way you go about it,
O.K....here's the thing. After finally getting all the little odds and ends (drive rails, power connector adapters, extra SATA cables, etc.) on hand, I scrubbed, masked, pinched nurse on a cheek for luck, but didn't get lucky, so I proceeded. Initially failed to plug in power cable, but lights on back of computer told me I had a hardware problem. No more than two minutes of surgery later I was back in front of the computer ready to power up again.
F2'd into the BIOS and set the two new HDDs to "on". Rebooted and missed the small window allowing me to "Control I" into the RAID BIOS setup. Kept rebooting and stabbing until I finally nailed it. Once inside, I agreed that it should be allowed to create a new RAID array. I was confident that my old one was not being affected because the size numbers were obviously relevant to only the 2 new 300 GB HDDs, (559 total GBs for a RAID 0 setup). I was offered the option of setting up as a RAID 1, but declined.
Exited, continued to boot into Windows XP. Rebooted again for good measure. Checked Windows Explorer and could only find a C: drive...and it was the original 298 GB size. Frantically searched for my lost 1/2 Terrabyte!! Went into Control Panel and then Administative Tools. Looked at storage and found my second RAID array, but with no drive letter. Right clicked it and chose, "initialize this drive". Rebooted and STILL NO DRIVE LETTER!!! I was getting worrieder and worrieder. Went back into admin tools and right clicked the block again where the drive was shoun. Must have clicked in a different box, because this time, it gave me the option to reformat the drive and to even pick the drive letter. I chose E, in honor of my nurse, Elvira. Maybe doing that for her will help me get lucky.
DELL-Stephen S
2 Intern
•
1.4K Posts
0
June 1st, 2005 18:00
cecilbdelon
11 Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 04:00
I'm sure you are right about the RAID 1 being almost as fast as a RAID 0 in most instances, and it is surely better in regard to data recovery. The redundancy is certainly a safety net. But I'm wondering if I can't get by working without a net, for instance when editing video (that is already backed up as raw footage on DV tape), then picking and choosing what I want to backup to disk when parts of the project are completed. And I'm thinking having my backup drive(s) configured as a RAID 0 should also make access much quicker when pulling up saved projects.
....Was just wondering, if I add a PCI SATA card and attach a two drive RAID 0 to it as secondary, will my secondary RAID 0 operate at the same bandwidth as the primary RAID 0 attached to the onboard controller? I assume the PCI connection is the determining factor, but I do not know what the PCI bandwith is on an 8400.
I'm guessing the answer will be that the PCI bus will handle any data flow that SATA I-150 7400 RPM HDD's can produce, but maybe not the soon available SATA II-300's?
se7en5ive2
584 Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 13:00
With four drives you can set up RAID-O in a RAID Volume 1 and a RAID Volume 2. This would involve a reinstall of the OS after breaking the original RAID Array to build the new 4 drive 2 Volume setup. An additional gig of ram would be advisable to handle the raw video input. The only concern I would have would be the power supplies ability to handle the extra drives; you should research that. Your alternate would be the installation of the drives in a non RAID array and leaving the original array intact to process the data then move it to storage drives.
7
DELL-Stephen S
2 Intern
•
1.4K Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 13:00
cecilbdelon
11 Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 16:00
se7en5ive2
584 Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 17:00
You are correct in the aspect that it would culminate in a C & D drive system. I don't believe you can just add the second array, which would be the Volume 2 D drive. A clean install and rebuilding of the array through the enabling of the raid array would allow you to partition the drives or leave them in the maximum sizes. You have 4 SATA 150 connections on your mobo that can be utilized to a 4 drive array. I've found that setting up RAID-O can be a hit or miss situation and usually results in starting with a fresh array. You can try what you propose, but I'd back up the important data to an external source before attempting it. I still question the ability of the power supply in your 8400 to handle your needs; I don't believe the 350 Watt psu in the 8400 will be able to handle the load. At Boot you should have two screens before the XP screen, the second one allows you to enter the raid configuration utility. This screen will show the two drives in the raid array and will show the two new drives as non raid drives. In the utility you will have the choice to build a new array and it will show all four drives available, choose the two 300 Gb drives for the new array and don't touch the original Volume 1 array. If you do not feel comfortable setting the array at this point you can choose to exit with out making any changes. Under your systems downloads at the Dell Support site, there is a Windows version software that can be used to create an array from Windows.
Let us know what you decide and which way you go about it,
7
cecilbdelon
11 Posts
0
June 2nd, 2005 23:00
cecilbdelon
11 Posts
0
June 8th, 2005 18:00
F2'd into the BIOS and set the two new HDDs to "on". Rebooted and missed the small window allowing me to "Control I" into the RAID BIOS setup. Kept rebooting and stabbing until I finally nailed it. Once inside, I agreed that it should be allowed to create a new RAID array. I was confident that my old one was not being affected because the size numbers were obviously relevant to only the 2 new 300 GB HDDs, (559 total GBs for a RAID 0 setup). I was offered the option of setting up as a RAID 1, but declined.
Exited, continued to boot into Windows XP. Rebooted again for good measure. Checked Windows Explorer and could only find a C: drive...and it was the original 298 GB size. Frantically searched for my lost 1/2 Terrabyte!! Went into Control Panel and then Administative Tools. Looked at storage and found my second RAID array, but with no drive letter. Right clicked it and chose, "initialize this drive". Rebooted and STILL NO DRIVE LETTER!!! I was getting worrieder and worrieder. Went back into admin tools and right clicked the block again where the drive was shoun. Must have clicked in a different box, because this time, it gave me the option to reformat the drive and to even pick the drive letter. I chose E, in honor of my nurse, Elvira. Maybe doing that for her will help me get lucky.
Oh... rebooted and the drive now shous up as E: