[K12OSN] Slight OT: Hard vs Soft Raid

[Dan Young]

Joe OBrien wrote:
> I have a moderate load samba server with Dual 600MHz with 2G ram and 3
> SCSI Ultra-160 Drives.  I have the choice of running Software-Raid at
> Ultra-160 (160MB/s) speed or running Hardware-Raid using a Perc-2/DC
> controller at Ultra2 Wide SCSI (80MB/s).  I'm aware of some of the
> dis/advantages of both.
> 
> Which is going to give the best performance and any suggestions on how
> to test this?

I once overheard this bit of conversation:

Q: Who makes the fastest RAID controllers?
A: Intel.

The upshot is that software RAID is quite fast. Benchmark with Bonnie++,
IOzone, or Postmark. The first two are available in Fedora Extras.

-- 
Dan Young <dyoung at mesd.k12.or.us>
Multnomah ESD - Technology Services
503-257-1562