Home Forums > Software Platforms > FreeBSD and FreeNAS. Do I need the controller for a native install? Sequential performance of 5x8 vs 8x5 in a Raid-Z can. If you have a hardware RAID controller it will be more stable than a software RAID setup and less prone to failure. That's not entirely true. FreeNAS uses ZFS' software RAID system and it is superior to pretty much any hardware RAID on the market. As far as stability and speed.
Most cheap PCI raid cards cannot do this but Intel's can. 2) Intel's Matrix Raid allows you to create 2 different Raid arrays using one set of drives so you can create your Raid 1 for data protection and then create a Raid 0 if certain programs can take advantage of higher speeds. NO hardware Raid controller can do this. Sep 10, 2012 Sep 9, 2012 at 17:51 UTC Niagara Technology Group (NTG) is an IT service provider. 2) Don't use the raid functions of external controller but use the ZFS software raid that is available in FreeNAS against disks connected to the raid controller (JBOD). I’ve always tried to.
![Raid Raid](/uploads/1/2/4/7/124728305/994225630.jpg)
Can you not simply source the hard drives needed locally and at the same time maybe get 2TB which disks will allow Raid-10 with hardware controller at the capacity you need. (Not sure you said what hardware/number of disk slots.) This would be my strongest recommandation.
Otherwise, I might lean towards just reconfiguring to Raid-5 assuming you have a solid backup configuration. I think that is an acceptable short term compromise. A 2.5TB array is a pretty small amount of data so backup windows should be short and total disks needed is low
Would not use the ZFS option as you are not familiar with it and increases the chance of issues because it's an unknown configuration in your own test/production environment.
I would consider taking disks from elsewhere if they are suitable for the work load (not desktop green drives etc) only if they could allow me to use raid-10. I would do this if all of the above was not possible for some reason and it was a last resort.
Active9 years, 11 months ago
I'm looking to build a RAID Array for storage of media (Audio, Video), file server for both CIFS/NFS and as a repository for backups. Performance isn't a huge concern but reliability is as this is designed to be a archive. I'm currently looking at either a 3Ware or a Areca RAID controller to do Raid5/6 using FreeNAS with the ZFS filesystem.
Reading reviews on NewEgg.com about different SATA Drives, I've not found a drive that gets enough positive reviews to make me comfortable choosing it for my project.
Drives I'm looking at:
Seagate Barracuda ES.2 1TB - 5yr Warranty - ST31000340NS -$159
Samsung Spinpoint F1 RAID 1TB - 7yr Warranty - HE103UJ - $149
Western Digital RE3 1TB - 3yr Warranty - WD1002FBYS - $159
Seagate Barracuda ES.2 1TB - 5yr Warranty - ST31000340NS -$159
Samsung Spinpoint F1 RAID 1TB - 7yr Warranty - HE103UJ - $149
Western Digital RE3 1TB - 3yr Warranty - WD1002FBYS - $159
Each of these drives sell for ~$160 which is about double for a standard 1TB SATA drive but each of the manufactures recommend uses this drives instead of their lower cost siblings due to using them in a RAID array.
Can anyone comment on the drives listed or can give me a strong recommendation on which drives to choose?
Any recommendations on the RAID controller card?
user21019
closed as off topic by sysadmin1138♦Jan 5 '12 at 3:23
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Vista Software Raid
4 Answers
I've used 3Ware and Areca. Both are solid but I've only used more recent models. I personally own a 3Ware 9650SE-4LPML and it's been great. No problems, no hiccups. The array just hums along.
As far as SATA drives, I'm a bit biased as I only use Seagate ES.2 for my permanent storage (documents, databases, projects, etc.) - stuff I care about more. I use WD 10EADS for more variable type files such as audio/video and specifically for the power savings (albeit it isn't too much).
You didn't specify how many disks so I'll assume 4 as it offers numerous options (RAID 0+1,1, 5+ hotspare, 6, etc) I'd go for a good controller from a reputable vendor. Some posts on SF tend to recommend linux software RAID (which is what FreeNAS uses) as being comparable to hardware RAID. If you're like me, I'd take hardware RAID any day. I don't care about paying more. Data to me is more important than the machines itself. Maybe other people can comment on linux RAID more than I can, but when push comes to shove I tend to go for hardware solutions when it comes to storage.
Software Raid Linux
I'm looking to build a RAID Array for storage of media (Audio, Video), file server for both CIFS/NFS and as a repository for backups. Performance isn't a huge concern but reliability is as this is designed to be a archive
![Wolverine enemy of the state costume Wolverine enemy of the state costume](/uploads/1/2/4/7/124728305/125565672.jpg)
Since performance isn't quite an issue for you, I'd say go with WD 10EADS (1TB) or WD 20EADS (2TB). I'd say for cost, go for the 1TB. They're energy efficient (in comparison to every other drive), fairly quiet, perform just as well as my ES.2 drives and are at a great price these days (~$75-$83). The price barrier from 1TB ($80) to 1.5TB ($125) to 2TB ($200+) is very large these days.
The Seagate ES.2 drives (personally) work great for me with no problems and perform very well. Lots of reviews on Newegg aren't all positive so I can't speak to everyone else's experience but I've used them for over a 1.5 years and have yet to have a problem. However, the ES.2 series is significantly more expensive than other drives with the same storage capacity so I added the WD10EADS for large but non-permanent type data. Recording TV shows and media mostly.
I can't say as to how large a chassis your RAID array will be hosted in, but my best guess for you without all the information would be to get a good (doesn't have to be the most expensive) RAID controller (3Ware, Areca, LSI, Adaptec) probably something on the lower ends of each manufacturer and buy large, cheaper disks. Controller prices fall very slowly over time. Hard drive prices seem to drop more frequently every year based on the market offerings. When 2.5TB or 3TB drives hit the market, the 1.5TB - 2TB drive prices will fall - dramatically. All the drives below will also fall (marginally) in price. If you can afford an 8-port SATA controller you can buy up more cheap drives now or leave some ports open for when prices fall and 2TB disks will be much more affordable.
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I've used lots of both the WD and Seagate drives you mention and have found nothing to complain about whatsoever, I'm not damning the Samsung ones though, I've just not used them. Oh and I love Adaptec controllers - I'm sure there are cheaper and more functional ones out there but they're the 'old reliable' ones I choose. Best of luck.
Chopper3Chopper395.5k99 gold badges101101 silver badges228228 bronze badges
The price of a drive does not necessarily correlate to reliability. In the consumer market, price and reliability are not really related at all. Unless you like spending more money on your drives, just get one of the cheaper options. Heck, at the prices listed, you could probably get twice the number of drives for the same cost and have spares on hand. You are using RAID to solve the redundancy issue, so get the drives that will meet your performance needs (which appear to be minimal) and be done with it. If you are really concerned, buy a couple extras so that 4 years from now when the model is discontinued, you have a spare if one goes bad. If I were you, I'd buy the cheapest 1TB drives I could find on newegg..drives just don't fail that often, and even if it does, you are building a RAID array to solve for that problem.
Aaron BrownAaron Brown1,47711 gold badge1010 silver badges2121 bronze badges
I can speak to the drives. These are all RAID type drives, which among with better build qaulity link text means that the drive time out to retry reading bad blocks is about 15 seconds, versus up to 2 minutes for a regular desktop drive. This can cause a drive in a RAID config to lockup the whole RAID for up to minutes. And some RAID controllers could fail the whole RAID.
I've also spoken to our Western Digital rep and he confirmed all of that, in addition to saying that they don't expect desktop drives when used in a RAID or 24x7 to survive for more than 18 months; the desktop drives are just meant to last less.
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