Adding to Raid setup

I did a search, but didn't come up with anything on this.
I currently have a Raid Striping setup with two drives. I picked up another two drives, and now want to change to Mirroring with Striping. When I press F10 for the Raid setup menu, and select the two new drives to go into the array, I get an invalid drive number error, or something like it.
I have not run Fdisk or anything on the new drives.
Is it possible to convert this Raid setup, or do I have to start over and build it new?

Look at the options in nvraidman, which runs in Windows. If your moving from striping to mirrored + striping it might just offer this option to convert, particularly if you have identical drives. Furthermore you should be able to hotwire the new drives in.
Post back and let us know what you do.
Regards
Mick

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Raid Setup Guide 865/875 LSR/FIS2R Rev 1.04

On-Board Raid Setup MSI 865PE/875P
Revision History
Revision 1.0 (January 2004)
- Original Raid Article
Revision 1.01 (February 2004)
- Reformatted text and fixed spelling/grammar
Revision 1.02 (October 2004)
- Added warnings to temporarily disconnect ALL drives including Zip drives during formatting Raid drives for WinXP.
Revision 1.03 (October 2005)
- Reformatted text and added links to download Promise/Intel Raid floppies if user is missing them.
Revision1.04 (February 2006)
- Minor BB reformatting
Intro
Equipment List For Tests
Description of Tests
Pre-Raid Setup Bios Tweaks
Raid Setup On Promise Controller
Raid Setup On Intel Controller
--->Intel- Migrating from single SATA to Full Raid Array
Intro
This guide is intended to help people configure their Bios and setup Windows for Raid using the Intel ICH5R controller and the Promise FastTrak 378 controller. Although all the tests were done using Raid-0 the methods described should be virtually identical to setting up Raid-1 provided the user is aware of the fundamental differences between the two. It should be useful for anyone with an MSI 865PE/875P chipset on motherboards with LSR and FIS2R suffixes. Before continuing, please read the FAQ thread posted by Maesus and the Raid manual(s) that came with your motherboard. There's also some good info regarding Raid Here and Here and Here
Keep in mind this guide is intended as a reference to help you. It is not a manual. I do not work for MSI and my equipment and time are limited. You will have different equipment and different versions of software.
All the data below is based on tests that I ran and I tried to avoid using any theory that I did not test. If you feel I’ve missed something obvious or if you have something you feel should be added to make this guide clearer or simpler, please PM me with your thoughts. If you have a specific problem that this guide does not help you with, post a detailed thread in the forum on the main page.
Equipment List For Tests
MSI 875P FIS2R Motherboard
Bios 1.8
Enermax EG365P-VE (350w) PSU
P4 2.6c CPU
Kingston KHX-3200A2 2x512MB Memory
Radeon 9800Pro AIW Video Card
WD 400JB 40GB/8MB cache IDE Hdd
2-Seagate 80GB 7200.7 SATA Hdd's
Liteon 52x32x52 CDRW
Floppy Drive
Tests
Generally, tests were as follows:
Configure 2 SATA on Promise controller(serial3&4) as Raid0 and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on Raid
Configure 2 SATA on Promise controller(serial3&4) as Raid0 and add Raid to an existing WindowsXP installation on IDE drive(IDE1)
Configure 2 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1&2) as Raid0 and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on Raid
Configure 2 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1&2) as Raid0 and add Raid to an existing WindowsXP installation on IDE drive(IDE1)
Configure 1 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1) and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on it. Then add 2nd SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial2) and migrate to Raid0 using Intel Application Accelerator-Raid edition.
IDE drive used in these tests was pre-installed with a fresh copy of WinXP Home SP1a using default settings and the following drivers all from MSI setup CD and Raid Floppy Disks that came with motherboard:
Intel INF files - version 1002
Gigabit Lan drivers - 7.0.37.0
SoundMax drivers - 5.12.1.3538
Catalyst 3.7 & Multimedia Center drivers from standard ATI CD came with video card.
Pre-Raid BIOS Tweaks
Before I continue, I'd like to point out a few changes from the defaults that I alway make to Bios before I attempt a WinXP install or hardware change. I can't guarantee that they all apply to you but none should make things worse. If anything differs from a setting that you feel is fixing another problem you're having, by all means leave at your prefferred setting. Anything related to performance and overclocking can be raised again AFTER the Raid is all setup and everything is running smoothly.
Standard Cmos Features
The only thing I change here is to enable "32bit transfer mode" whenever I connect new devices to the Intel IDE controller.
Note: Devices attached to the Promise controller and the Intel Raid(when it is enabled) will NOT appear in the standard Cmos page
Advanced Bios Features
Everything on defaults is usually fine except I always change the following for WinXP:
APIC ACPI SCI IRQ - Enabled
Boot Device select is also on this page and you'll be changing it after all the hardware is setup; more later.
Advanced Cipset Features
Confirm that the memory timing "by SPD" is enabled
PNP/PCI Configurations
Clear NVRam option I always set to "YES" before the first boot after making hardware changes. I'm not sure how important this is but I understand that's what you're supposed to do. I believe it forces the motherboard to detect hardware changes. It reverts to "NO" after the reboot.
PCI/IDE Busmaster set to "enabled" to speed things up outside of Windows.
Integrated Peripherals (Before Raid for most flexibilty)
Onboard Promise IDE - Disabled if you have nothing attached to IDE3 and Serial 3&4
ON-Chip IDE Configuration:
Native Mode (Supported by WinXP- Allows all devices connected to IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 to be detected)
SATA Only or PATA Only (select the one that you boot XP with)
Keep SATA Active - Yes (if option available)
Keep PATA Active - Yes (if option available)
PATA Channel selection - Both (if option available)
Configure SATA as Raid - No (if option available)
Leave other settings here at default
Note: Some older Bios versions may appear different than above
Frequency/Voltage Control
Dynamic Overclocking - Disabled
Performance Mode - Slow
Dram Frequency - Auto
Adjust CPU Bus - 201 (for "c" type cpu's)
DDR Voltage - 2.65 (minimum for Dual-Channel Mem stability)
AGP Voltage - 1.55
Note: some features above may not appear with your Bios
Note: performance & overclocking features can be increased again AFTER the Raid array has been setup and is stable with Windows.
Raid On Promise Controller
This procedure should work for anyone adding a Raid array to a system already having XP installed on another drive on the Intel controller or intending to install Windows XP on the new Raid array.
Note: IDE 3 and Serial 3&4 connectors are controlled by the Promise controller.
Note: It is possible to setup Raid arrays using 2 IDE drives on IDE3 or even 2 SATA & 2 IDE drives. I only tested 2 SATA drives on Serial 3&4 connectors.
Note: It is possible to setup Raid 0+1 using 2 IDE drives on IDE3 and 2 SATA drives on Serial 3&4. See HERE for a related thread.
Note: It is possible to setup SATA or IDE drives on the Promise controller as separate drives NOT using Raid but I did not test this. See your manual.
- Attach the SATA drives to Serial 3&4 connectors and ensure that both power and data cables are securely connected. Most SATA drives do NOT need any changes to default jumper positions if any(check Hdd installation instructions).
- Boot into Bios
Integrated Peripherals:
Set Onboard Promise IDE - As Raid
- Save and reboot computer
- Use control-F keys during the boot(when prompted-goes by quickly) to enter the Promise Raid Bios.
Note: You will only be able to enter the promise Bios if you have set the Promise controller to "As Raid" AND there are devices connected and detected by the Promise Bios.
- Use the menus to configure the Raid for your preferences.
Note: I can't say which settings you should use for creating the Raid. It depends on many things. Do some research.
- After saving the Raid array, reboot to Bios.(you should see the configured array for a second or two during the post and it should be "functional")
- In Advanced bios Features>>Boot Device Select:
Set the order you prefer to boot from
- If you already have XP installed on another drive and are just adding the Raid for an extra drive, Ensure that the list is still appropriate and includes your XP drive.
- If you will be installing XP on the new Raid, make sure the new Raid array is in the boot list and any other hard drives are NOT.
Note: Typically, I put the disk with XP first and use F11 key during post to boot from another device. This is not required though.
- Save bios
Important!: If you are installing XP on the new Raid array, you should now shutdown and either disconnect or disable any other drives connected until AFTER XP is installed. This includes USB/Zip drives.(See "Bugs" below).
If Installing XP On The New Raid Array(others skip to below):
- Boot from the Windows XP Setup CD and use F6 key when prompted(at the beginning).
- Follow prompts to load the WinXP Promise FastTrack 376/378 Controller from the floppy that came with motherboard(If Required Download Floppy Here). There are a number of different choices on the floppy. PICK THE RIGHT ONE.
Note: if using Win2K with the floppy, you can scroll down to get more driver options on this screen. It's not readily apparent on the screen.
- Continue setup and Windows should now show you the new Raid array as a single drive available to install to. If it shows other drives that you have connected, re-read the "important" note above and the related section on "Bugs" below.
- When XP setup makes its first re-boot, make sure the floppy has been removed or depending on your settings it may give you a scary moment. Yes I did this(tries to boot from floppy).
- After XP is up and running, you can re-connect/re-enable any drives you disconnected earlier. If they have been formatted, they should show up immediately and be assigned letters after your CD/DVD drives.
- You can also install the Promise Array Manager software(from MSI CD utilities tab or download) which adds some array management settings.
If XP Already Installed On Another Drive(and you're just adding the Raid as an extra storage disk):
- Boot into WindowsXP.
- As Windows starts, it should detect a new Raid device and offer to install drivers.
- Select Cancel. It will tell you that it was unable to install new device. If you want you can confirm the new device is present by checking Windows device Manager. It should show the new device with a yellow exclamation mark beside it since the drivers aren't installed yet.
- Download the appropriate drivers or use the MSI CD that came with motherboard.
Note: The MSI CD detects devices connected and shows available drivers/utilities depending on what it sees. You might not have seen the Promise drivers when using the CD before but now that you have a Raid array connected to it, the drivers will be availble from the MSI setup CD.
- Install the drivers and re-boot
- Device Manager should now show the Raid properly identified by XP.
- If the Raid array was not previously formatted, you can now use Windows Disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to Initialize and then format the Raid array.
- The Raid array should now show in Windows Explorer with it's own drive letter.
Bugs/Surprises
- Trying to install WinXP on the Promise Raid while my IDE drive was connected to the Intel IDE connector resulted in Windows installing boot files to the IDE drive and the rest on the Raid drives. This was especially bad since I had another installation of XP on the IDE drive which was overwritten. The work-around was to disable the IDE drive until AFTER XP was setup on the Raid array.
Update: There have been a few posts on the forum since I wrote this guide where people installing XP have had problems similar to the one above with USB/Zip drives connected so i am adding them to the list of drives to disconnect while installing XP.
- When setting "Boot Device Select", if I selected "NO" for "boot from other devices", the motherboard would ignore my selection and still boot from other devices if the ones in the list were unusable.
- Be gentle with SATA connectors on the motherboard. They can stand firm downward pressure but not a lot of side-to-side pressure.
Raid On Intel Controller
This procedure should work for anyone adding 2 SATA hard drives for a Raid array on a system already having XP installed on another drive or intending to install XP on the new Raid array.
Note: IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 connectors are controlled by the Intel ICH5R controller. Only Serial 1&2 can be configured for Raid arrays.
You can also install a single SATA drive and configure the system for Raid BEFORE installing XP on this drive if you intend to add another SATA drive later to form a Raid array. This method was also tested. I will refer to this for the rest of the thread as the Raid-Ready Method.
Note: If you install WinXP on a single SATA drive without enabling Raid and loading Raid drivers, you will NOT be able to migrate the XP disk to a Raid array at a later date. Reinstalling XP would be required.
Note: There is no performance advantage to having a single drive with Raid enabled. But doing so makes the disk Raid-ready and XP reinstall unnecessary.
- Attach the SATA drive(s) to Serial 1&2 connectors and ensure that both power and data cables are securely connected. Most SATA drives do NOT need any changes to default jumper positions if any(check Hdd installation instructions).
- Boot into Bios
- In "Integrated Peripherals>>On-Chip IDE Configuration" set:
Native Mode (Supported by WinXP- Allows all devices connected to IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 to be detected)
SATA Only (Even if you will be booting XP from a PATA drive)
Keep PATA Active - Yes
PATA Channel selection - Both
Configure SATA as Raid - Yes
Leave other settings here at default
Note: Some older Bios versions may appear different than above.
- Save Bios and reboot computer
- Use control-I keys during post(when prompted-goes by quickly) to enter the Intel Raid Bios Utility.
Note: If you are using the single SATA Raid-Ready Method, you can skip the steps involving the Intel Raid utility. Go to the step for setting Boot device select in main Bios.
Note: You will only be able to enter the Intel Raid Bios if you have set the "Configure SATA as Raid" option to "YES" AND there are devices connected and detected by the Intel Raid Bios.
- Use the menus to configure the Raid for your preferences.
Note: I can't say which settings you should use for creating the Raid. It depends on many things. The Intel utility does describe the different options well though.
- After saving the Raid array, reboot to Bios.(you should see the configured array for a second or two during the post and it should be "functional")
- In Advanced bios Features>>Boot Device Select:
Set the order you prefer to boot from;
If you already have XP installed on another drive and are just adding the Raid for an extra drive, Ensure that the list is still appropriate and includes your XP drive.
If you will be installing XP on the new Raid or using Raid-Ready Method, make sure the new Raid array or raid-ready drive is in the boot list and any other hard drives are NOT.
Note: Typically, I put the disk with XP first and use F11 key during post to boot from another device. This is not required though.
- Save bios
Important!: If you are installing XP on the new Raid array or using the Raid-Ready Method, you should now shutdown and either disconnect or disable any other hard drives connected until AFTER XP is installed. This includes Zip/USB drives. (See "Bugs" below).
If Installing XP On The New Raid Array Or Using Raid-Ready Method(others skip to below):
- Boot from the Windows XP Setup CD and use F6 key when prompted(at the beginning).
- Follow prompts to load the IAA Raid Driver for ICH5R (If Required Download Floppy Here) from the floppy that came with motherboard. I only had 1 driver to choose from on my floppy but if you have more, CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE!
- Continue and Windows Setup should now show you the new Raid array or Raid Ready drive as a single drive available to install to. If it shows other drives that you have connected, re-read the "important" note above and the related section on "Bugs" below.
- When XP setup makes its first re-boot, make sure the floppy has been removed or depending on your settings it may give you a scary moment. Yes I did this(tries to boot from floppy).
- After XP is up and running and INF files and other important drivers installed, you can re-connect/re-enable any hard drives you disconnected earlier. If they have been formatted, they should show up immediately and be assigned letters after your CD/DVD drives.
- You can also install the Intel IAA-Raid Program(from MSI CD utilities tab or download) which gives some info and adds the array management settings(Not many. Just the enable/disable cache setting and the migrate to raid option).
If XP Already Installed On Another Drive(and you're just adding the Raid as an extra storage disk):
- Boot into WindowsXP.
- As Windows starts, it should detect a new Raid device and offer to install drivers. Select Cancel. It will tell you that it was unable to install new device. If you want you can confirm the new device is present by checking Windows device Manager. It should show the new device with a yellow exclamation mark beside it since the drivers aren't installed yet.
- Download the appropriate drivers or use the MSI CD that came with motherboard.
Note: The MSI CD detects devices connected and shows available drivers/utilities depending on what it sees. You might not have seen the IAA Raid drivers when using the CD before but now that you have a Raid array connected to it, the drivers will be availble from the MSI setup CD.
- Install the drivers and re-boot
Note: If the IAA Raid program detects that the Raid controller is not enabled or no device is present, it will NOT allow you to install the drivers/utility.
- Using Windows Device Manager should now show the Raid device properly with no problems.
- If the Raid array has not been formatted, you can now use Windows Disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to Initialize and then format the Raid array.
- The new drive should now appear in Windows Explorer with it's own drive letter.
Bugs/Surprises
- Trying to install WinXP on the Promise Raid while my IDE drive was connected to the Intel IDE connector resulted in Windows installing boot files to the IDE drive and the rest on the Raid drives. This was especially bad since I had another installation of XP on the IDE drive which was overwritten. The work-around was to disable the IDE drive until AFTER XP was setup on the Raid array. It is safe to assume this can occur with the Intel controller as well since I believe the problem occurs because of how WinXP setup addresses the hard drives.
Update: There have been a few posts on the forum since I wrote this guide where people installing XP have had problems similar to the one above with USB/Zip drives connected so i am adding them to the list of drives to disconnect while installing XP.
- Be gentle with SATA connectors on the motherboard. They can stand firm downward pressure but not a lot of side-to-side pressure.
Migrating XP System Disk To Raid On Raid-Ready System
This part describes how to use the Intel Application Accelerator-Raid edition to migrate an existing WinXP system disk (1-SATA) to a 2-SATA Raid array.
This procedure is actually very well documented in the last part of the Intel SATA Raid manual that ships with the motherboard but I thought I’d add it to make this thread more complete.
Please note that to use this feature of the Intel raid software the disk you are migrating FROM must have been made Raid-Ready as described above. Basically, this means that Raid should have been enabled in the Bios and the drivers installed from floppy during the WinXP install.
Note: I tested this by migrating to a Raid0 array but Raid1 should work also if the latest Bios and version of Intel-Raid application used.
- Open the Intel Application Accelerator Raid utility.
- With the “Raid” tab window open, right-click on “Raid volume” and select “Create from Existing Disk” as seen below.
- Follow the next several steps to choose the type of Raid array and the strip size.
Note: 64kb strip size is good for general purpose and 128kb best for most desktops and work stations according to Intel. Anything smaller is for specialized purposes. You should research this a little because you can’t change it after easily.
- After configuring the array for your preferences, you will face a couple of warnings telling you that “All data will be deleted from the Raid-controlled drive(s) and is unrecoverable” and ask if you want to continue. Obviously all data(if any) on the new drive you’re adding will be lost but the OS and other data on the disk you’re migrating FROM will be striped to the new array and will remain intact.
Note: Any complex disk procedure such as this carries the risk of losing data. A backup of the disk is important BEFORE beginning the migration process. Don't say I didn't warn you.
- The migration process can take a long time. You should see the window below during the operation.
Note: With just a default WinXP installation, migrating to 2-80Gb drives took about an hour for me.
- After the migration is complete, you will be prompted to re-boot to complete the process.
- During the reboot, as the Intel Bios comes up for a couple of seconds(don’t blink) you will see the 2 drives configured as an array and they will be listed as “functional”.
- After the reboot, you should have a fully functional Raid array with 2 SATA drives and all data from the single drive will have been striped or mirrored into the second one. Check Windows Disk manager(Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to see the status of the new drive. See bugs/surprises below.
Bugs/Surprises
The only problem I had with this test came in the form of a small surprise after everything was completed and the computer had rebooted. Although the Intel Application Accelerator showed everything functioning normally, Windows explorer showed my Raid drive as 74Gb in size instead of the 150Gb or so that I expected. After checking Windows disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc), I found that the missing GB’s were in fact there but were unformatted. Unfortunately, Disk Manager does not seem to allow merging or extending partitions so I ended up using Partition Magic 8 to format the empty space and merge it with the rest of the partition. This seemed to work fine and I ended up with a single 150Gb drive showing up in Windows Explorer. I also briefly tested the performance to confirm that it was operating as a Raid array.
I know there is a utility for Win2K called DiskPart.exe that is run from command console to extend NTFS partitions but if anyone knows of an easier way or a FREE utility that will format/merge NTFS partitions that they have confirmed works, please PM me so that I can include a reference to it here.
All the data above is based on tests that I ran and I tried to avoid using any theory that I did not test. If you feel I’ve missed something obvious or if you have something you feel should be added to make this guide clearer or simpler, please PM me with your thoughts. If you have a specific problem that this guide does not help you with, post a detailed thread in the forum on the main page.
Vango44

Great work vango44!
Here are some RAID performance statistics I gathered while testing RAID on my system. The testing software was Winbench 99. The hard drives tested were new Seagate ST380013AS drives, formatted NTFS. Winbench was running on a third drive that is not included in the tests and should not affect the results.
The drives were reformatted between tests and chkdsk'ed to try and keep things "apples to apples".
No hardware or software changes other than the RAID setup/connections were made between tests.
Higher numbers mean better performance.
I also ran the same tests on the newish WD Raptor 10K drives:
I couldn't stand all the noise the Raptors made, so I returned them.
On my motherboard:
SATA 1 & 2 = Intel RAID controller
SATA 3 & 4 = Promise RAID controller
If the test title does not include "RAID", then it was a single drive test.
Unfortunately, I don't have a spreadsheet version of the above stats. Otherwise I'd create nice bar charts for us and it's would be easier to deduce performance.
Perhaps some kind reader will OCR the pictures, put them into Excel, and make some nice bar charts for us?
Hope the info helps.

Adding a raid to an 8-core

Hi everyone!
Was wondering if anyone could provide me with helpful links to info regarding adding a RAID to my 8-core. Right now all I have is the stock 250GB HD. Would like to start out and make a 2-drive raid with a couple of raptor 150s.
I have no idea how to do this. Could someone please point out the way for me? I would like to make the raid the boot drive (300gb) which I assume would be enough for a boot drive, or am I being too stingy? I was hoping for the speed increase the raptors seem to give.
I would also eventually like to add another 2 drive raid for storage/scratch/recording drive after I set up the boot drive and make sure it runs properly.
Also, any recommendations for a back-up drive?
Should I get a USB or firewire?
Any brands I should avoid?
Sams has a really cheap western digital WD My Book Hard Drive - 320GB for $119.88 - see link below:
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=362125
Will that do OK? Do you select a backup drive that is slightly higher in capacity than the drive you back up?
I know these are fundamental / rudimentary questions, but I am ignorant here, any help is greatly appreciated.
THANKS!!!
8-core Mac PRO Mac OS X (10.4.9) ATI Radeon X1900 XT - 23" cinema display
8-core Mac PRO Mac OS X (10.4.9) ATI Radeon X1900 XT - 23" cinema display

I was suggesting launching Disk Utility, then going to HELP menu, "Disk Utility Help" is the only option there, and enter "RAID" in the Help Viewer application. Which I think can pull stuff down from Apple off the net or finds the pdf help file or manual for the program (not sure where it comes from myself!)
Help Viewer -> search "RAID" -> How to Create a RAID is a good place to begin.
And yes, I find keeping my Raptor (even RAID) to minimum of files (OS and applications can be anywhere from 20GB up to 80GB).
Some things are a matter of trial and error, testing, and will change and evolve over time. that is for sure.
One of the easier ways to get into RAID is to test it out. Backup what you have and be sure you have everything. And then setup a RAID with 2-3 drives. Create two slices - meaning partition the drives first into equal sized areas, then combine "volume 1" from each and create a stripped volume. test it out. Do some work and copy some files.
You can get almost 200-235MB/sec with three WD RE2s using outer 1/3. Do you need to have speed and performance? a minimum for video editing? or quiet and multiple independent drives for audio? JBOD can work for some audio applications best.
The manual and demo for http://www.softraid.com is a good tutorial (quick start and manual, now supports 10.4.10 booting on mac Pro). It cost, $149, but it lets you do things like create and delete RAID and volumes without reformatting entire drives. And more reliable and robust (it alerts immediately if there is an I/O error) and much better mirroring. Apple RAID has evolved and changed over the years, even from two years ago when Tiger (10.4.0) came out, and which saw 10% boost over 10.3.9 "Panther." SoftRAID guide will help walk you through what to do, the how and why.
Some articles and reference resources on SATA and RAID:
MacGurus FAQ Help are threads, entries on RAID, SATA Drives, SATA Controllers and whatnot. RAID Reference
RAID Tutorial
RAID Terminology
Barefeats RAID (dated but handy)
Single vs RAID Boot Drive?
PCGuide (old): Why Use RAID?
PortMultiplicationGuide
storageaccelguide
[url=http://www.macgurus.com/forums/%3C?php%20echo%20'http://homepage.mac.com/bo ots911/.Public/PhotoshopAccelerationBasics2.3.pdf]Optimize Phososhop pdf [/url]
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106594
Mac Pro 2GHz 4GB 10K Raptor Cinema HD Mac OS X (10.4.10) WD RE RAID Aaxeon FW800 PCIe Sonnet Tempo APC RS1500 Vista
PS: I use to spend as much time around Mt Evans as possible, after work and on weekends decades ago!

Pros and cons to JBOD/N-RAID setup on MacBook Pro with two internal SSDs

First, to clarify, in this case, I mean the term "JBOD/N-RAID" to refer to a concatenated or spanning set of drives as supported by OS X and Disk Utility.
I've got an original Apple-installed 120GB 3G (3Gb/s) SSD which I'll be moving into the optical bay using an OWC "Data Doubler" and swapping a new 240GB OWC Mercury Electra 6G (6Gb/s) SSD into the main drive bay.
My goal is to avoid having two separate volumes.
Understand that a RAID 0 array would essentially only perform as well as the slowest drive in the array (the 3G SSD in this case), if it would even work at all given the two drives are not identical in make and capacity.
I've read that a JBOD/N-RAID array isn't subject to the "same make and capacity" constraints. But how does this setup perform?
Would the speed of the 6G be hobbled, slowed down to the 3G's speed (or worse?), if I were to set up the two SSDs as a JBOD/N-RAID array?
Is this even a recommended idea - that is, paying for the convenience of having one virtual volume by adding the complexity (and risks?) of a JBOD / N-RAID setup?

I am following your advice and attempting to install Bonjour. I wasn't sure where to install it so I am following the VMWare Knowledge Base #1003814: Sharing a printer with a Windows virtual machine using Apple Bonjour.
I have copied it below to refer to because I've run into a problem.
I have completed steps 1 a-d.
The Problem: Step 1 e. Click Printers. Printers is not shown under Removable Devices. When I try to Add Device (Printers) it says "New Devices cannot be added until the Virtual Machine is Shut Down and then Resumed." I have shut down the Virtual Machine alone, I've shut down AMware Fusion and I've shut down both Windows and Mac. Nothing has changed when I try and add Printers so I can do Step e.
I sure hope someone can help.
To configure a printer connected to your Mac for use with the Bonjour utility and a virtual machine in Fusion:
Configure your virtual machine for Bridged Networking and disable ThinPrint:
Click Virtual Machine > Settings.
Click Network (Adapter).
Enable Bridged Mode. In Fusion 5.x, select Autodetect under Bridge networking.
Click Show All.
Click Printers.
Set printer sharing to Off.
Click Close.
Reboot the virtual machine.
Install Bonjour for Windows. Download and install Bonjour for Windows in the virtual machine. Bonjour is available from Apple at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL999.
Note: The preceding link was correct as of January 20, 2010. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
Share the printer in Mac OS:
Open System Preferences.
Click Print and Fax.
Select the printer you want to share, and select Share this printer.
To configure the printer in the guest operating system with the Bonjour Utility:
Double-click the Bonjour Printer Wizard.
Click Next.
Under Shared printers select the printer you want to use.
Click Next.
Click Finish.

Reformatting external drive to Mac OS Extended but maintaining RAID setup

Hi again,
I am considering taking the leap finance-wise and purchasing [this external drive|http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WDH2Q20000N-Studio-Interface/dp/B00 16P7H3Q/ref=cmcr_pr_producttop]. It comes pre-formatted to HFS+ or something, so I guess I will need to reformat it to Mac OS Extended to use it with FCE.
So here are the questions:
*1. Would it make more sense to use it in RAID 0 mode for faster speed, or RAID 1 mode to keep a safer backup of my files?*
*2. Would reformatting it to Mac OS Extended for use with FCE still allow it to use normal RAID abilities?*
I realize this is not the right forum for posting this, but I thought someone here might be knowledgable about backup in general and how to best format an external drive for use with FCE, while maintaining the ability to have a "mirrored" RAID setup. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Sasha
Message was edited by: skalicki`

So just one more question because I'm pretty new to this whole RAID thing:
Say I formatted the drive to RAID 1 so in theory I have 1TB of space that is "mirrored" over to the other external drive.
*When I ingest my footage, will copies be stored to both drives, so if one fails, I will still have my media?*
I gathered this was the idea but didn't know how it works with FCE.

Multiple RAID setups in one Xserve?

Hi hope you can help me, we are a small architecture practice in the market for a new server and we are considering an Xserve and Xserve RAID system. I would quite like to set up the Xserve unit to use two of the drives in RAID 1 to mirror the operating system. My question is it possible and/or wise to have multiple RAID sets in the Xserve RAID unit? For example using four of the bays for 4x500Gb in RAID 1 (1Tb storage) for projects, and then using another 2 bays for 2x250Gb in RAID 1 as well for say Mail, maybe even another 2 bays for holding user home accounts. I understand that with share points this isn't strictly necessary but it seems to make sense to keep functions separate across hard drives for quick replacements. Or is this a lot to ask of a single RAID controller?
Also how easy is to add storage to an existing RAID set-up without destroying the data?; say we wanted to increase the 1Tb project storage to 2Tb easily.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Andrew,
I think you are over complicating you setup.
If you do multiple RAID sets the you are really anti-optimiziung. If you asked "How can I get the least performance and lowest capacity out of a RAID?" then I would suggest three mirrored disks w/ spare per controller.
You would have far better performance and capacity if you were to put two drives in the Xserve to mirror, then set up your RAID as RAID 5 across 6 disks with 1 spare (default config).
With Disk Utility you can build multiple file systems on the RAID, so you could slice it up, but again that could be wasting space.
When you get the RAID setup as one file system do not share the root. Set up sub dirs to share:
/Volumes/Raid1 --your RAID root, aka mount point.
/Volumes/Raid1/Mail -- mail
/Volumes/Raid1/Users -- Home dirs
/Volumes/Raid1/Projects -- your production storage
/Volumes/Raid1/Backup -- Save disk images of your server and workstations here.
And yes, changing the size of a file system means wiping it out and restoring from backup.
Also consider the 750GB drives, it's a lot more storage for not that much more money.
Reese

Adding new easy setup

I have downloaded some easy setups for FCP from the internet. The site said to add it to the folder
Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > Final Cut Pro System Support > Custom Settings
I am looking on my computer and I don't seem to have this file structure. Of course I have the regular stuff but I don't have Final Cut Pro System Support or Custom Settings folders. I tryed making those folders and then adding the easy setups there but FCP didn't seem to see them. I've searched around and haven't been able to find any more help.
I'm running Studio 3 on OSX 10.6

Either you're looking in the wrong place or your application has not been correctly installed.
Can't add an image but the file path is correct.
I don't know what the regular stuff is by your must have FCP System Support in that folder.

Udev/dmraid not picking up all partitions of a fake RAID setup! [EDIT]

Hey all. I've been having a problem with my RAID setup in Arch. At first Arch wasn't picking up a partition on one of my arrays, (a single large NTFS partition on a 2TB array between two 1TB drives) but after re-creating the RAID array in the Intel Storage Manager I have a different problem. Arch now find the single large partition, but now /dev/mapper isn't populated with the other two partitions on the other array that my operating systems are on (Arch and Windows), when it used to just fine! The only thing I changed was re-creating the partition table on the other array, so I don't know what's going on.
Upon trying to boot, GRUB comes back with the error described on the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … oot_device
However I can't boot into the fallback image either! This means that I can't apply the fix as described in the wiki.
I'm starting to think there is a limitation in Arch where it can only handle a certain number of mapper devices (seems to be 3), or maybe it only detects the partitions on the first detected array? Now that I recreated the partition table on the larger array, it seems like that's the array that's detected first in both a GParted live session and Arch. But in a live GParted session, /dev/mapper was fully populated with all of my disks and partitions... so why is it that Arch can only find the partitions on one of the RAID arrays?
If you guys need any additional information just let me know... I really want to get my Arch setup up and working so I don't have to use Windows all that often (only games that don't work well in Wine).
EDIT: Changed post and title to reflect new problem after recreating the 2TB array
Last edited by pad76 (2011-08-11 13:15:36)

Does anyone know if I can damage my arch install by using mkinitcpio through a Debian live-cd? I'm going to try and use one to remake my initrd by chrooting using this guide: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … oot_device
Basically the commands I'm looking to execute would be this:
# mount /dev/mapper/isw_ArchRaidPartition /mnt/
# mount -o bind /dev /mnt/dev
# mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
# mount -t sysfs none /mnt/sys
# chroot /mnt /bin/bash
(edit mkinitcpio.conf according to wiki, inserting the "sleep" hook)
# mkinitcpio -p 3.0-arch
So my question is would using the commands from a debian live distro work? I have to use debain since arch live-installs don't detect my arch raid partition, like how I described above. I also can't boot into fallback.

Udev/dmraid not picking up all partitions of a fake RAID setup!

Hey all. I've been having a problem with my RAID setup in Arch. At first Arch wasn't picking up a partition on one of my arrays, (a single large NTFS partition on a 2TB array between two 1TB drives) but after re-creating the RAID array in the Intel Storage Manager I have a different problem. Arch now find the single large partition, but now /dev/mapper isn't populated with the other two partitions on the other array that my operating systems are on (Arch and Windows), when it used to just fine! The only thing I changed was re-creating the partition table on the other array, so I don't know what's going on.
Upon trying to boot, GRUB comes back with the error described on the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … oot_device
However I can't boot into the fallback image either! This means that I can't apply the fix as described in the wiki.
I'm starting to think there is a limitation in Arch where it can only handle a certain number of mapper devices (seems to be 3), or maybe it only detects the partitions on the first detected array? Now that I recreated the partition table on the larger array, it seems like that's the array that's detected first in both a GParted live session and Arch. But in a live GParted session, /dev/mapper was fully populated with all of my disks and partitions... so why is it that Arch can only find the partitions on one of the RAID arrays?
If you guys need any additional information just let me know... I really want to get my Arch setup up and working so I don't have to use Windows all that often (only games that don't work well in Wine).

Please do not crosspost. Follow forum rules.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=124247
Closing..

Unable to create partition after RAID setup failure

SL - Tried to create RAID 1 with two external 250G drives. The RAID setup failed indicating improper format pair. So....I attempted to re-create the partition on one of the drives with proper settings.
It will not partition at all. It returns a POSIX error: unable to allocate memory.
I've tried the following:
Using startup disk
Partitioning using WindowsXP (which worked....only for Windows)
Tried erasing
Tried to partition with each partition type.
Nothing works! However, when I restart SL, it pops open a window indicating the drive needs to be 'initialized'. I click 'initialize' button, but that doesn't help.

Do the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Are you trying to create a RAID using partitions on hard drives or using the entire drive?

What RAID setups work for each setup?

Can anyone point me to a source that can give me detailed information about what RAID setups are best for each situation. Our current situation is that we have:
2x Xserve RAID running on Xsan with two Xserve G5 servers, one for media and the other for Metadata.
We are thinking about using one whole RAID (2x LUN) for Media, and 1 LUN of the other RAID for metadata, and then the second LUN of the second RAID for switchable media (backup on HD's). So what RAID is best for media and what is best for metadata? Is it possible to set a whole RAID with two LUNs as RAID 0 or would it need to be seperate?
If someone has some info about what RAID setups work best I would be happy to hear about it!
We will be connecting 3x FCP machines through fiber, but other workstations will be connected through a deticated ethernet switch with 1Gb connection to the Xsan but 100Mb connection to the Switch.
Best regards,
Orvar Halldorsson
Sagafilm

You can also try the Xsan Tuning Guide. It recommends that the Meta info be striped as raid 1. When you are in RAID admin and click on create array it will tell you which raids are good for speed and which ones are good for protection. Here is the link as well
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Xsan1.1TuningGuide.pdf
There is also an app you can download to test the bandwidth of the volumes.

Building an editing raid setup with an areca 1220 (8 port)

and here's goes yet another "what should i do raid-wise" question:
gonna build another editing station using some extra parts i have laying around. board is an asus x58 with a intel 980, video will be a nvidia 470. i found my old areca 1220 which i know is a little long in the tooth but would be nice to get some more use out of.
doing a little research i found some articles on what kind of speeds im looking at with it. its obviously not quite what a shiny new card would give me but im hoping with a faster pc and faster drives (articles are from 2007) it'll give decent performance for what i need.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/RAID-SCALING-CHARTS,1635-7.html   (raid 0)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/RAID-SCALING-CHARTS,1662.html (raid 5,6)
ill buy all new drives for this machine (os, media, etc...). i know harm likes his raid 3 thing and im hoping he pops in with his expertise. so my question is how should i go about my complete disk setup from scratch here? type of disks? how many? which raid setup?
My budget is $1000 for the disks. also i mostly edit hd from my mark iii. im using the ml raw hack for about half my shots (and growing). pp cs6, ae cs6, cinema 4d r14 are my progs, though im a cc subscriber and will be integrating the new cc progs into my workflow over the next month or 2 as they work out the bugs/kinks. TIA

With 8 ports available your choices are somewhat limited, but then your budget for the drives is adequate.
You did not mention how much storage space you need, so I will assume 6 or 12 TB net space is enough for your purposes.
If 6 TB is enough, you could look at Seagate Constellation ES 1 TB disks and keep the rest of your budget for the future, if you need 12 TB you could look at HGST Ultrastar or Seagate Constellation 2 TB disks. I would only suggest enterprise drives.
With 8 ports I would configure them as 7 x raid3 or raid5 plus one hot-spare, giving you a net capacity of 6 disks, protection against failure of two disks and a sustained transfer rate of around 0.85 x (N - 1) x T = 0.85 x (7 - 1) x 150 = 765 MB/s. My preference is raid3, but you already know that.
The advantage of this setup is you have double protection in case of disk failure, you have a very high transfer rate and it is easy to administer. Using two arrays reduces performance, reduces protection and is somewhat more cumbersome to administer.

How to enter ICH5R RAID SETUP MENU?

It is said USE "CTRL+I" enter ICH5R RAID SETUP MENU,but when my computer boot up , there only show press "CTRL+F" for promise 378 raid setup,not "CTRL+I"
even you press "CTRL+I" for many times,when computer is power on,it is nothing happen. If you don't install S-ATA harddisk ,you may not enter ICH5R RAID SETUP MENU? isn't it?
I can use "CTRL+F" enter promise 378 raid setup menu,and how can I enter ICH5R RAID SETUP MENU as the explanatory book said??

In BIOS set S-ATA as RAID, after that you will be able to enter the ICH5R-BIOS with ctrl+I. It appears after the promise BIOS.

What RAID Setup do you use for your Macbook Pro Scratch Drive?

Is there any benefit to using an Express-ESata Raid Enclosure vs a single esata drive as the scratch drive?
If so, is there any benefit to using a 4 drive Raid 0 vs a 2 drive raid 0?
What Raid setups are any of you all using with your MacBook Pro's? Is there a significant performance difference between using a E-Sata drive and a FW800 drive. Is RAID the right way to go?
Sorry I'm not making a lot of sense right now, but I've searched through 20 or so pages of the forum and didn't see that anyone had addressed this question yet.

OK, just to give you a frame of reference, I just performed the following tests -
I hooked up my Sony AVCHD camera to my Mac Book Pro 2.4 ghz with 4 GB ram - (pretty close configuration to yours) - and imported a 26 second clip into FCP 7 with the following drive configurations:
Capture to internal Mac Drive, no externals: 26 Second clip takes 44 seconds
Capture to external WD USB2 drive: 26 Second clip takes 44 Seconds
Capture to external CalDigit 2 Sata Drive Array, Raid 0, via Firewire 800: 26 Second clip takes 42 seconds
OK, so now I move the camera over to my Mac Pro 8-Core, 2 x 3.2 Ghz Quad Core Xeon with 14 gigs of ram, and capture *to the same external CalDigit 2 Sata Drive Array,* Raid 0, via Firewire 800: 26 Second clip takes 11 seconds
My conclusion would be the drives and drive throughput is not as consequential as the CPU horsepower in doing the conversion from AVCHD to Pro Res. However, there are many very knowledgeable people who look at these threads, and I would be interested to hear what they have to say.
Hope this helps.
Message was edited by: Meg The Dog to correct typo

Need a help on AHCI & RAID setup during Win 7 installation

Hello,
Sorry for a newbie question, but I need to reinstall Win 7 Professional with my new rig.
I would appreciate your help.
What are the procedures for the windows installation?
I would like to set up AHCI and RAID controller, as someone had suggested that Intel recommends RAID setup even for non-RAID configurations.
Here's the spec of my rig:
Motherboard: P67A-GD65 (B3)
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600k
CPU Fan: CoolMaster V8 (180W)
RAM: G.Skil F3-17000CL9D (4GBx2)
GPUs: Palit GTX 560Ti (x2, no SLI)
SSD: Crucial C300 (64GB)
Hard Drive: WD 1002FAEX (1TB)
Optical Drive: Lite-on BR Burner
Case: Corsair 650D with stock case fans
PSU: Corsair TX750W
Thanks in advance

The board should comes with a Manuel for you to refer on the installation of different drivers for the controllers.

Adding to Raid setup

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