Some elementary Matrix Raid questions

[Arklite]

When I say elementary I mean it, so make sure you have no liquids in your mouth while reading!

1. I understand the idea behind the matrix raid is to use it primarily for your OS. Are there any other key files to put in here? Is it advisable to never put anything else there?
2. Can two operating systems be placed on a single matrix raid drive? I am currently using XP, but X years from now I might use Vista. Are there any complications I should be aware of here?
3. In connection with number 2, how many GB should I carve out for the Matrix Raid? I will be using two WD 640GB hard drives.
4. Any other pointers? I have read through the stickies and feel confident I can follow the directions. Aside from figuring out how to change my default install/download drive to something other C: I feel I can get the job done. Any other tips for a first time builder?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[jason4207]

When I say elementary I mean it, so make sure you have no liquids in your mouth while reading!

1. I understand the idea behind the matrix raid is to use it primarily for your OS. Are there any other key files to put in here? Is it advisable to never put anything else there?

It is not primarily for OS. The idea behind Matrix is you can have multiple types of RAID on only 2 or more disks. Example: 2 x 640GB drives in Matrix RAID0/1. You make a ~150GB RAID0 (75GB from each drive) for speed (OS, games, and programs) and put the rest in RAID1 for Data. This gives you some redundancy for your data in case of a HDD failure. If you have a HDD failure your data (RAID1) should be recoverable, but your RAID0 will be gone. Backing up an image of your RAID0 array to the RAID1 array is one way to overcome this limitation.

2. Can two operating systems be placed on a single matrix raid drive? I am currently using XP, but X years from now I might use Vista. Are there any complications I should be aware of here?

Yes. I have 4 x 640GB drives in RAID10. I partitioned this 1.2TB space into a 150GB partition for XP, another 150GB partition for Vista, and I left the rest in a third partition for data.

3. In connection with number 2, how many GB should I carve out for the Matrix Raid? I will be using two WD 640GB hard drives.

It depends on how much stuff you like to have installed at once. You can get by w/ pretty small partitions for OS, but if you like to have a lot of big games installed at the same time you'll want more space. The 640 drives have ~600GB of space listed in the Matrix BIOS. For 2 drives w/ the 2 OS option I'd say 100GB RAID0 for XP, 100GB RAID0 for Vista, and put the remaining 1000GB in RAID1 for 500GB of storage space.

4. Any other pointers? I have read through the stickies and feel confident I can follow the directions. Aside from figuring out how to change my default install/download drive to something other C: I feel I can get the job done. Any other tips for a first time builder?

You shouldn't have to change the default install drive the way I've layed it out. Install XP first, and Vista 2nd. If you label your partitions you'll know which partition to select when installing Windows. When XP boots it will see it's drive as C:, and make the other drives other letters. When Vista boots it will see it's drive as C: and do similar.

Thanks in advance for the help.


I'm currently in the process of disassembling my Matrix RAID, and moving all my storage to a file server. I'm just going to use 1 V-raptor as my main OS drive, and keep all my data on the server.

Matrix can be fun, but it also a headache if something goes wrong.

[Arklite]

Thanks for the help.

Another question is if you can replace the 500GB Raid 1 for a raid 0 1TB. My data integrity isn't a huge concern, and frankly I am willing to take my chances to double my available storage. I guess it is possible in asking this that I am missing the entire point of the matrix raid, but as I understand it it is basically like partitioning for an OS, only with two drives and some extra space for frequently used files. If part of the main appeal is the data redundancy, perhaps I am better off just slicing off some GB in a partition for the OS.

[jason4207]

Well you could just RAID0 the whole space, and then partition the whole 1.2TB however you like. You don't need the extra abilities of Matrix to do that, though.

But do you really want 1TB of storage, and not have it backed up in any way? That's a lot to lose.


You might also be able to RAID0 a slice for your OS drives, and then just don't do any kind of RAID on the remaining space. Then you would just have to format that extra space, and you would have 1TB of storage available, but it would be 500GB on 1 drive, and 500GB on another. That way if the array fails you could still get at all your data, and if 1 drive starts to go bad you could probably still recover most if not all of the data on that drive. If 1 drive fails completely you would at least still have all the data on the other disk.

[Arklite]

The final possibility seems to be my best option. The only question then becomes in how what I should do varies from the step by step instructions in the sticky. I would imagine that once I assign the RAID 0, I simply skip setting up RAID 5 and continue.

So...
Follow steps 1-17 (skip RAID 5 part)
Follow steps 22-30 (format all drives)
Follow steps 31-end (enabling write-cache for RAID 0, and adding both hard drives through disk management local

Anything else I am missing or that needs to be changed? If you don't know I suppose I can just try it, and in a worst case scenario I can reformat the whole thing with the only repercussion being a loss of time.

[jason4207]

Give it a try. It should work.

[tuskenraider]

You might also be able to RAID0 a slice for your OS drives, and then just don't do any kind of RAID on the remaining space. You can't do that, you have to create another array to get access to the rest of the space.

[jason4207]

You can't do that, you have to create another array to get access to the rest of the space.

Oh well. It seemed like it might work. Is JBOD an option (I don't remember seeing it)?

Another option if you have some spare cash....RAID0 the whole thing, and then do regular back-ups to an external 1TB HDD.

[Arklite]

So, follow the direction for the matrix raid sticky, but use RAID 0 a second time instead of RAID 5. Follow the rest of the directions to the end. That should work, correct?

Actually, my one question there would be on write-caching. In the above situation, would it make sense to enable write-caching for both RAID 0 drives? Or just the OS, or not all? It sounds like enabling cache write is a bad idea without a RAID 5 or similar setup in place.

Thinking on it, would having two RAID 0's in this case even make a noticeable difference? I don't pretend to understand how the matrix raid functions on the micro level, but if the RAID 00 setup doesn't take much advantage of the matrix setup, I might be better off just partitioning one of my drives and calling it a day. Especially so if RAID000 is completely ineffective, since I might want to carve out two 100GB slices for XP and Vista.

[jason4207]

So, follow the direction for the matrix raid sticky, but use RAID 0 a second time instead of RAID 5. Follow the rest of the directions to the end. That should work, correct?

Actually, my one question there would be on write-caching. In the above situation, would it make sense to enable write-caching for both RAID 0 drives? Or just the OS, or not all? It sounds like enabling cache write is a bad idea without a RAID 5 or similar setup in place.

Thinking on it, would having two RAID 0's in this case even make a noticeable difference? I don't pretend to understand how the matrix raid functions on the micro level, but if the RAID 00 setup doesn't take much advantage of the matrix setup, I might be better off just partitioning one of my drives and calling it a day. Especially so if RAID000 is completely ineffective, since I might want to carve out two 100GB slices for XP and Vista.

No need to create 2 RAID0 arrays. Just create 1, and then partition it however you like during the Windows install. You will get all the speed advantages of slicing out the fastest portion of the disks for the OS's. What you don't get is any redundancy. That's the 'advantage' of the Matrix...speed and redundancy at the same time on the same set of disks.

Enabling write-back cache really helps HDD benchmarks w/ RAID0. I'm not sure of real-world, and I don't remember if it helps w/ RAID5 or not.

[Arklite]

As a final point of clarification then, is the "matrix" setup explained in the sticky needed if I just do a RAID 0 with two partitions? Or is the whole matrix manager and related steps only used if you are using redundant drives?

[jason4207]

No, you still use the Matrix manager, you are just not taking advantage of all the features.