Have you always wanted a RAID setup, but were weary of spending over $500 on a Drobo or $50 to $200 on a RAID card with less than perfect reviews? I have pieced together the perfect solution, using whatever hardware is available, a copy of Windows XP Pro and the ability to copy some commands to the command line (Note: the command line isn’t needed unless RAID 1 or 5 is going to be used ). There are many advantages to using software RAID over hardware RAID. The first advantage is that drives can have different interfaces. For example, a USB, IDE and SATA drive could be made into a RAID array as long as they are the same size. The second advantage, is that software RAID is cheaper than hardware RAID seeing as there is no need for a RAID card or external RAID solution, such as a DROBO. Additionally, using Windows XP as the software for the RAID users will be able to access the RAID array from Mac OS X, Linux, or another Windows machine via a local network. Also, with a little bit of free software users can be notified by email when a drive fails. The last advantage of a software RAID is the ability to move the RAID array to different hardware. With the failure of a hardware RAID controller users often have to find identical hardware to recover the data from their array. With software RAID a user only needs to move the array to hardware that has Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installed to recover their array. Now on to the details of the actually building the array.
Step #1 Pick the type of RAID?
The first step is to decide what type of RAID will be needed. This can be done by looking at my article describing the different types of RAID that are available in Windows XP Pro. Note, if RAID 1 or 5 is chosen there will need to be some modified files installed. Once the type of RAID is decided upon, it’s time to move onto the hardware.
(more…)
Over the last couple of months I’ve been using a hack to allow software RAID 5 on Windows XP. This hack has worked great for the few months I’ve used it, but I have found a two key features missing from Windows XP’s implementation of software RAID. The first missing feature is the ability to add a hard drive to an existing RAID 5 array. The second missing feature is the ability to make different RAID setups appear as one drive. For example, let’s say I have three 500gb hard drives in a RAID 5 and two 250gb hard drives in a RAID 1. I would like the ability to make these two different arrays function as one big drive. After a little bit of research, I’ve found that Linux is the solution to my problem. Also, I’ve found that Linux has support for software RAID 6 and RAID 10, a nice bonus if users are looking for increased fault tolerance or increased speed. Although RAID on Linux was a little bit tough to set up, because I’m not used to Linux and because Linux developers aren’t the best with GUI’s, I eventually worked it out.
Step #1 Pick the desired RAID and get the needed hardware.
The first step is to decide on the type of RAID. Go to my article on simple RAID level explanations to find out the differences between the different levels or RAID. Once the desired RAID level is picked, it’s time to move onto hardware. The amount and size of hard drives needed to achieve the desired setup needs to be figured out. When deciding how many hard drives will be needed keep in mind that one hard drive of 10gb or more will be needed to accommodate the OS. Also, linux should run on almost any motherboard, CPU and Video Card combination.
(more…)
Looking to share your Windows files with Mac OS X or Linux? With a local area network (a router) and a few minutes to spare this can be easily accomplished.
Note: If more advanced sharing is needed, such as different permissions for individual users, follow this article from Microsoft on how to disable simple file sharing. In my case all I’m sharing is movies, songs, and other media. Plus, my network is isolated to my house, so there is no need to worry about different privileges for users.
Step #1
The first step is to go to the Start Menu or the Desktop and double click My Computer. Once in “My Computer” navigate to the folder that is to be shared and right click . If sharing a whole drive simply right click on the drive. After right clicking on the folder or drive select properties.
(more…)
