RAID software or hardware?

[AlanQ]

I'm in the process of setting up my new PC from PC Specialist.

When we request RAID for a pair of disks, do we get hardware raid or software raid?

I have installed Ubuntu, and `gparted` is showing `/dev/sda` *and* `/dev/sdb` .

 

[SpyderTracks]

Can you post your full specs from the order page leaving out your windows key?

RAID is rarely recommended these days, it's very outdated technology and rarely makes sense anymore over more modern redundancy methods.

 

[AlanQ]

"*RAID is rarely recommended these days, it's very outdated technology and rarely makes sense anymore over more modern redundancy methods.*" -- now s/he tells me What should I have done instead?

Full spec:

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (WHITE)
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Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16 Core CPU (4.3GHz-5.7GHz/80MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870 EAGLE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX LCD RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Miscellaneous
PCSpecialist 2023 Holo Sticker Sheet
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Packaging
PCS Trade Pack - New 2023

 

[SpyderTracks]

It’s not very clear what you were looking to achieve with that RAID config?

 

[AlanQ]

I was going to use it for storage of very important data.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I was going to use it for storage of very important data.

So why RAID then?

 

[AlanQ]

RAID 1 mirrors the disks: if one disk fails, I have time to replace it, and my data is safe.

 

[SpyderTracks]

RAID 1 mirrors the disks: if one disk fails, I have time to replace it, and my data is safe.

So purely for redudnacy then?

A modern solution would be a: have an enterprise grade NAS drive in the build itself (WD Red Pro or Seagate Ironwolf Pro). This limits failure rates significantly plus has far higher endurance. I would contact PCS and see if they’ll let you swap those drives for Ironwolfs

Then have your redundancy set up on a proper NAS drive on the network. That can then be accessed anywhere on the network or internet if required.

 

[ubuysa]

Backup - daily and automatically. That's what I do. It's all about risk, and the risk of a drive failure these days is very small. RAID was never a home technology, it was designed for server farms. It was never designed for NVMe drives either - they are hardly inexpensive.