Best budget RAID controller? Software vs hardware RAID?

Hi all!

So I have a mATX build in a small desktop case I use as a HTPC next to my TV. My media selection is starting to get rather large and I want to setup a RAID 5. I realize this is not a backup but it will give me a bit of a chance if one drive goes down. I've searched through the posts and haven't quite found a topic that answers my questions.

1. I've read that a hardware RAID controller is a better option for RAID (admittedly I don't know why). Is there a good "budget" RAID controller that will setup a RAID 5 for four or more HDDs? Most posts I've seen are suggesting cards that cost several hundred dollars but I don't believe a basic RAID setup would need something like that. My only performance requirement is to be able to play a movie or music.

2. Do I need to have all the HDDs from the beginning or can I add more as I go? I have one WD Red 3TB HDD and was going to get 2 more but I might need more later.

3. If at a later date I choose to change the motherboard, can I just take the RAID controller with the HDDs and put it into a new board and the RAID setup unchanged?

4. I've seen some cards have SATA ports and others have SAS ports which split into 4 SATA cords. Is there a benefit to either? I thought I read there must be a software RAID using an SAS controller. Is that correct?

My rig specs if these will be needed to help:

MoBo: MSI A75M-E35 mATX (onboard video)
CPU: AMD A6 5400K
RAM: 2x2GB G. Skill DDR3
PSU: Antec Earthwatts 380w (Is this enough??)
SSD for OS: old 60GB OCZ Vertex
OS: Win 7 64bit
HDDs: WD Red 3TB, WD Blue 500GB

Thanks for any and all help. It's much appreciated.

There are no budget RAID5 controllers worth to mention. If you want good RAID5 then all will recommend expensive controller just because of how RAID5 is acting, it requires additional faster processor and cache.
If you want it cheaper then best in this case will be to get motherboard with integrated RAID which with faster CPU ( at least i3 ) should handle RAID5 without bigger problems and will be still cheaper than cheaper RAID5 PCIe cards.

You can also grab something like SAS 6G LSI based controllers ( IBM M1015 or similar ) which cost about $50-100 and are not supporting RAID5 ( at least it's not worth to buy additional module ). Then you can set RAID10 which is faster and easier to recover in case of controller fail but will cost more $/1GB. Still it will be cheaper than to buy RAID5 SAS controller.

Ok. I was wondering if there was even going to be an option for a budget card. So my next question is can I use a SAS 6G LSI based controller and a software to get RAID 5? I'm not against going to a RAID 10 option but just checking my options.

If I use a software RAID, can this be transferred to a new PC if needed? I assume the software is through the OS, what if I do a clean install of the OS periodically? Will it destroy the RAID setup?

Thanks!

My first suggestion is to skip RAID5 and go to RAID6. It allows for two drives of redundancy when one fails. The reasoning is that there is a not-uncommon issue when a RAID is being rebuilt with larger hard drives that another drive could fail, thus costing you your entire array. RAID6 just helps prevent that a bit better.

There's a few ways you can do your RAID setup if you go software plus one of the M1015 (or similar) raid cards. If you wanted everything to continue to run in Windows you can use the RAID card to hold onto the drives and use software like FlexRAID to create/maintain the array and keep everything setup. I went this route for a couple of years before I ended up just building my own openmediavault box with some old low-wattage parts, one of the LSI controllers and a 6 4TB drives. And host my media there while I have a low-wattage pc connected to my TV to stream any media I own over my network.

This might be naïve but is there a way of doing a software RAID through BIOS? And RAID 6 requires 4 HDDs to start correct?

Ebay Dell Perc 5i or 6... difference raid 5/6... Both are good.. plus you have a battery back up. i picked one up and some sas -> sata connectors for about 30 bucks.

There is a way to do a software RAID through BIOS. The main issue you may run into is if your board dies or you want to move to a new system it may not port over, especially if it has a different RAID controller built in.

I would actually assume RAID6 minimum is 3 drives 1+2 parity. To answer your separate question about adding drives later, it depends on the raid software. Things like FreeNAS support it, but only if you add in the same size that you currently have (so if you currently have 4x2TB drives, you have to add 4x2TB drives more to add to it --- someone correct me if I'm wrong here, it's how I understood it in the past).

Also, I wouldn't install your OS to this array, would leave that on an SSD/etc.

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TransformedBG said:

Ebay Dell Perc 5i or 6... difference raid 5/6... Both are good.. plus you have a battery back up. i picked one up and some sas -> sata connectors for about 30 bucks.

Click to expand...

I may be mis-remembering, but aren't those limited at 2TB?

I am going to keep the OS on the SSD but I tend to reinstall a clean version once a year. If the RAID software is through Windows won't that mess up the RAID? Sorry, this is confusing me a bit.

I've seen the Dell Perc 5i but everything I've read says only 2TB drives. I guess there are some things you can try to get it to read 3TB but some have luck and others don't.

So there is no way of starting a 3 HDDs (3TB) RAID 6 and expanding one or two HDDs as needed? Would I be able to do this if I setup a Hardware RAID 6?

Edit: Another question, creating a RAID setup will erase all the data stored on the HDDs, correct? I can't take two full 3TB HDDs and add two empty 3TB HDDs and create a RAID 6? I assume this is true but I am checking.

Janus67 said:

I may be mis-remembering, but aren't those limited at 2TB?

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Yes. You need to get to the H700 or H800 controllers on the hardware side to get above 2TB support. H200 does now, but it's really not hardware RAID.

i have to agree. RAID 6 is the best storage option for non-enterprise equipment. Rebuild failures are just too dangerous.

GMdoubleG said:

I am going to keep the OS on the SSD but I tend to reinstall a clean version once a year. If the RAID software is through Windows won't that mess up the RAID? Sorry, this is confusing me a bit.

I've seen the Dell Perc 5i but everything I've read says only 2TB drives. I guess there are some things you can try to get it to read 3TB but some have luck and others don't.

So there is no way of starting a 3 HDDs (3TB) RAID 6 and expanding one or two HDDs as needed? Would I be able to do this if I setup a Hardware RAID 6?

Edit: Another question, creating a RAID setup will erase all the data stored on the HDDs, correct? I can't take two full 3TB HDDs and add two empty 3TB HDDs and create a RAID 6? I assume this is true but I am checking.

Click to expand...

Online expansion depends on the controller, some have it, others do not. Better controllers allow this.

Creating and initializing an array will erase everything. I am not aware of any that allow on the fly creation while preserving data and even in a manufacturer had a controller that allows this, I would cringe at doing this with live data. The primary issue that you run into is that the drives will be striped while creating the array. This will overwrite your data.

So looking at the Dell 512MB PERC H700 seems to do RAID 6 but everything I've seen says only supported with Dell Servers.

Is this a marketing thing or will I have issues trying to use it on a MSI board? And does anyone have any personal experience with them?

Does hot swappable mean I can add HDDs as needed or does it mean when one fails I just put another one in to replace it? My ultimate issue is I don't have the budget right now to get a controller and several more HDDs to future proof my system.

Janus67 said:

I may be mis-remembering, but aren't those limited at 2TB?

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are you talking raid size or drive size? i ha 5 2 TB drives in raid 5 ... 8TB.... if i remmber i could put 3 TB drives max ib the i5,

I've used them on a variety of platforms. the controller BIOS is pretty well documented and straightforward. You can do similar RAID configurations on most modern cards, this was just an example. I have a bunch due to low cost and reliability, but they do not perform as well as the Areca's I use in other servers(much more expensive).

Hot swappable s more a server chassis feature and intended for servers with backplanes that allow the function. This enable people with the right hardware to swap in a drive online, normally to replace a failed drive that has been rebuilt onto an existing hot spare.

As to the budget, I understand and it's probably better to save up for a period of time. If anything drive costs are still coming down and controllers drop as more capable units come available.

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TransformedBG said:

are you talking raid size or drive size? i ha 5 2 TB drives in raid 5 ... 8TB.... if i remmber i could put 3 TB drives max ib the i5,

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Just the individual drive size. Dell may have released a newer firmware, but I don't remember hearing of it.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I'm getting a clearer picture.

What do people think about the Synology NAS setups? I'm thinking that might be a safe way to have a RAID with me having a tendency to mess with my HTPC OS all the time. Maybe the DS414J...

I've heard nothing but good things about the synology boxes