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Hard disk crash
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
larsr wrote:
...

RAID1 works in a way where two same-size disks mirror data off each other, ie. they contain exactly the same data. The mirroring is done by writing a copy of the data on both drives simultaneously. When one of the disks crash, I can replace the disk with another one, wait for the data to be mirrored from the intact disk to the other, and then just continue working...



What happen in the case where the RAID controller dies? Do you just replace the bad RAID controller with a good one(say one from a different brand) and life is good again?


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
cheve wrote:

What happen in the case where the RAID controller dies? Do you just replace the bad RAID controller with a good one(say one from a different brand) and life is good again?


Well, that would be the part where I emphasize the word "cheap". A dead RAID controller on an external USB drive is, well, a dead RAID controller. Not much you can do and you probably can't get spare parts from the OEM, though this I am not sure of.

With enterprise-class blade chassises you have a separate RAID controller interface card, and then just lots of drive bays in which you can hotswap the broken disk(s), but that will empty your wallet plus generate a lot of noise in your bedroom or wherever you choose to run it - and you still can't be 100% sure.

Nothing is more sure than nothing is sure, but even if a desktop RAID drive doesn't cost more than 250€ (which is approximately the amount I paid for mine) and isn't anywhere as reliable as an enterprise-class rackmount blade chassis - I choose not to live in denial and I believe that WD, for example, want to maintain their reputation and not sell shit that hasn't been tested rigorously..


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
for the computer illiterate could you provide a link for what a raid looks like,I have a WD passport that is currently storing my photos and have them burnt to disc.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mo-Fo wrote:
for the computer illiterate could you provide a link for what a raid looks like,I have a WD passport that is currently storing my photos and have them burnt to disc.


My WD Mybook Mirror Edition looks like this (click on the picture for a detailed product page)




And how it really works, looks like this:


Does that look like understandable? :)


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very Happy Very Happy Crystal clear! Thank you.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I know it sounds complicated, but it really isn't. That picture wasn't the best/most logical example I could find, but I really do hope it gave you some sense of what's going on :-)


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
larsr wrote:


Well, that would be the part where I emphasize the word "cheap". A dead RAID controller on an external USB drive is, well, a dead RAID controller. Not much you can do and you probably can't get spare parts from the OEM, though this I am not sure of....


so it sounds to me, you can't use a RAID controller from a different manuf/brand to just plug in the old drives(ie. the USB drives themself as in the sample you given above).

I was thinking to roll my own RAID setup; since my motherboard has built in RAID support. My concern is if my motherboard dies than what happen to my data sitting on the drives. I was under the impression that I just need to move the drives to a different RAID controller/motherboard and then life is good(well at least in terms of recovering the data). Have I misunderstood something here?


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cheve wrote:

I was under the impression that I just need to move the drives to a different RAID controller/motherboard and then life is good(well at least in terms of recovering the data). Have I misunderstood something here?


Well, this all depends on the setup you have. For example, the RAID controller in my chassis doesn't allow other than WD disks inside it. In a similar fashion, if my controller died, I probably could get away by connecting them to another RAID controller, but it would probably need to be a WD controleld. Again, I am not 100-proof on this and this could well depend on how picky the OEM was and what disks/controller are used.

The shop I bought my RAID array from didn't know jack shit about the product ("we just sell it"), so I had to dig user experiences from Google.

If any of you are going to invest in an RAID disk and you are worried, I strongly suggest you contact the manufacturer and ask them before buying anything!
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