raid HDD req. question

[CrashOveride]

ok, i know u need 2 but do they have to be the same size? brand? model? i am curios... i always though they had to be the same sazea nd brand but then i met someone who said they had 2 HDD that did not meat those qualifications but where in raid... though im not sure that they are in raid they may be if you do not need the same HDD to do it.:D :eh?: :D

[ronin1967]

they don't have to be the same size or model, but performance and/or raid size could suffer.

Raid array=number of drives * size of the smallest drive

[HardwareJedi]

Raid can be used with dissimilar drive sizes. You just loose some of the space available on the larger drive.

check the reference section at storagereview.com

www.storagereview.com/guide2000/ref/hdd/perf/raid/levels/comp.html

Everything you'll ever want to know about RAID

[CrashOveride]

so.. if i used a 40G drive in raid with an 80G then it would only be 80 G total? (in raid 0):D :eh?: :D

[ronin1967]

that is correct, you would lose the extra 40, that is why most people go with the same size drives

[CrashOveride]

hm.. looks like im nin the maket for a new 80G HDD then =D:D :eh?: :D

dose raid 1 incresse speed over normal? i do knwo that 0 is fastest... but dose raid 1 have any advantage over normal beside backiung up data?

[ronin1967]

Raid 0 is for speed, but has no data protection you lose one drive all the data is lost, Raid 1 is for mirroring, no speed benefits just an exact duplicate of your drive...

[CrashOveride]

ok... do raid 0 configs fail mroe often than jsut a normal HDD?:D :eh?: :D

[Arkaine23]

raid 0: if we assume there's a 1/1000 chance of hdd failure on any given day, then having 2 drives ala raid 0 would mean there are 2x 1/1000 odds that either drive might fail in a given day. Sure it means there's more risk... but not a whole lot more.

[CrashOveride]

ok... any one here know y there is more risk?:D :eh?: :D

[Arkaine23]

Its just like having say 5 hdd's in your rig (no raid). Aren't the chances higher that one of them will fail than they would be if you only had one hdd in the system? The chances of failure in 2 drive raid 0 array are in fact identical to the chances of having 2 hdds not in raid. Only if you have raid, all the data goes, whereas if you had just 2 drives not in raid, one drive and its data would survive.

[CrashOveride]

well then... i may jsut sart saveing or another dive...:D :eh?: :D

thnks for all the info:D