Raid block size ?

i just purchased two firewire 800
500gb external hard drives.
i want to use them as a raid set up for recording audio, (vocals,guitars etc)
or keeping my komplete ultimate 9 sound library on it.
either way, i have no idea what raid block size to use ?
hope everyone is having a great new year ;-)

Hello d rock,
When creating a RAID array, you'll typically want your block size to match (as closely as reasonable) the size of the files being stored on the array.
...specify an optimal storage block size for the data stored on the set. Set the block size to match the size of data stored on the set. For example, a database might store small units of data, so a small block size might be best. A video processing application might require fast throughput of large amounts of data, so a larger block size might be best.
Disk Utility 12.x: Create a RAID set
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5834
Cheers,
Allen

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Best Raid Block Size for video editing

I cannot seem to get my head round about which Raid Block Size I should set my Striped Raid 50 configuration to.
There seems to be very little info about this, but what info there is seems to imply that it could seriously affect the performace of the Raid.
I have initialized two Raid array's to Raid 5 and was about to stripe them together using Disk Utility, when I decided to click on options in the bottom left of the Disk Utility window. This is where you can set the Raid Block Size.
The default is 32K, but it states that there could be 'performance benefits' if this setting is changed to better match my configuration.
What exactly does this mean?
I want do read multiple dv streams from my Raid 50 - Any ideas which Block Size I should allocate??
Should I just leave it as the default 32K??
Any help will be appreciated
Cheers
Adam

My main concern is really to have as many editors as possible reading DV footage from the Raid simultaneously (up to 5 at once).
I understand that we may struggle at times, but Xsan isn't an option and I just need to get the best out of a limited budget!
Chers
Adam

What should the "raid block size" be

I just installed 3, 750 sata barracuda's in my 1 hour old 8 core mac. I am stripping them together with the OS to raid o.
It is asking me what "raid block size" to use:
16k
32k
64k
128k
256k
The help menu suggests that for the most thruput, a higher number might be best...
I will be using this raid for DV & HD video with Final cut studio 2 & AFX cs3.
Not sure which value to use.
Thanks,
Steve

I would not include the OS with your HD & DV storage RAID.
And Apple RAID keeps improving so that you can use smaller default for non-video or audio applications as in CS3 scratch disks.
Booting from RAID has limitations and problems, and I would prefer a dedicated fast drive instead, and isolate the system activity as well which also helps.

Mac Pro RAID block size recommendations for working with audio in Logic Pro

I have recently ordered a Mac Pro and plan to do a RAID configuration across 3 HDD's
The RAID type i am going to do is a RAID 0 striped.
The computer is going to be used primarily for audio post production and working with 20+ 24-Bit audio files at any one time within a Logic project.
I want to know what is the best block size i should use when configuring the RAID.
I understand that using a higher block size is best for working with large files but do i need to do this in my case or will the default 32k block size be enough?
Thanks in advance

Use 64k. Things like databases like having 32k blocks because of all the small files. Audio files are pretty small even at 24-bit 192KHz. Go to 128k if all you are doing is streaming and no samples. But 20+ 24-bit is really not too large anyway considering most modern HDD's can stream 100MB/s off one spindle. You'll probably be fine regardless of the block size you choose. But most audio pro's choose 64k.

RAID block size for final cut pro x

Just got one of the new late 2012 27" iMacs and a 6 TB LaCie Thunderbolt drive. Can finally edit the video I took last spring. I'll be using Final Cut Pro X, and doing a lot of multicam stuff with 4 or 5 views and a separate audio track. The LaCie came formatted as a mirrored RAID. I'm going to change that to 0 (Striped RAID set), but am wondering what block size to set. The default is 32k, but I have read that this ought to be increased to the max (256k) for video editing. I have also read it should NOT be increased. And the posts I have read have all been at least 3 years old. So let me ask you all--what block size would you recommend for my situation?
Thanks in advance!

Hi Eddie...
This depends on what kind of source footage you are editing....
For compressed Video, Audio and Uncompressed audio 128k
I have only had BAD results with 256k. 64 is also weird. Whereas 32 is fine.
All my RAIDs have 128k for audio/video editing
you can go further if you editing Image Sequences.. but according to my own findings and I have been dealing with raid since years.... 128k does the job the best.
Rule of thumb.... The smaller the file sizes you are putting the RAID the smaller the block size. And vice versa.
I.e. You would cripple the raid performance if storing a database on it, having a block size of 256. In case of servers and OS 32k would be a good choice, perhaps even 16k if supported.

Best RAID block size for media drive?

What block size give you best performance when it comes to pushing data?
For a striped RAID setup.
32 is standard but since most of the media files are big and consistent would a higher value like 128 or even 256 KB be better?

"fools step in where angels fear to tred"
Well I'm not volunteering to be one of those.
Jerry, if your fiber channel raid is giving you the throughput that you need, don't be concerned.
(I had a quick look through your manual and I'm also confused. But I can't afford that kind of setup so...?)
I have a simple two 250GB LaCie d2 raid 0 set via SoftRaid and firewire 800 using the G5 port and a LaCie card firewire 800 for dual channel setup.
This houses my media for FCP.
My stripe size is set to 128K simply because that's what the SoftRaid manual recommended for video applications.
This two drive setup is fine for multiple SD streams of DV, but can only manage a single 8 bit uncompressed HD 1080i stream without dropped frames.

RAID Block size for video

Can anyone share their experience on what block size in a RAID tends to be better for video, or what size you are using? (i.e. 128K, 256K, 512K)

Thanks for the reply Harm. I later noticed that the Areca Controller grays out the block size if RAID 3 is selected.

HT2559 Help with setting raid block size after the fact

I screwed up and created my raid 1 with block size set at 32. I need 256....it won't let me change it? What do I do? Do I delete and re-configure it?

thanks for the reply. I am editing huge photo files (HDR Pano's) off the drive. Doesn't that mean I need 256? Anyway, when I go to erase it, it says "Deleting a mirrored RAID set changes each of its slices into a partition that contains a complete copy of the data from the deleted RAID set". Is that a problem?

RAID: striping and block size

I just finished the setup of a RAID striped array of 2 500MB disks, my question is about the RAID block size, is there a noticeable difference in performance by choosing a larger block size than the 32KB default?, I chose 64kb but will 128kb make any noticeable difference?

Are you in the right place? The reason I ask is that you can only ever have one disk inside an MBP.
However, if you're talking about an external drive(s) then it would depend on what you are doing with the drive. For a boot/Photoshop/general drive I would recommedn 32K else a maximum 64K. Otherwise, if you are doing large sequential transfers such as video then a larger block size will help.

Best Block Size in Raid for Photo files

I am setting up my two drive striped RAID 0 and came to a screeching halt at the raid block size.
This RASID is strictly for photo scans and PS CS2 photo files, mostly high res, some medium JPEGs.
Adobe says PS CS2's default block size in 64K, if I can believe the technical support guy, who said it off the top of his head, after not understanding what I was talking about.
Apple Tech support first knew nothing about it. Then, after checking all over for quite some time, said 32K is adequate for what I am doing but 64K is alright. In other words, he said nothing.
What would be the best block size for my purpose and why.
One scan file size that I just checked is 135.2MB, another 134.6 MB and that is typical. JPEGs are, of course, smaller, ca 284 KB. Photos with the Canon EOS-1Ds Mk II run 9mb up to 200mb after processing. No other tyhpes of files will be on this drive.
What would be the ideal block size and why?
Thanks much,
Mark

The default 32K is for small random I/O pattern of a server. Use 128/256K for audio and video files. And 64K for workstation use.
the larger block size gives the best performance for sequential I/O. Someone mentioned an AMUG review of CS2 tests that showed that 64K.
Because this is probably a scratch volume, you could always test for yourself, and rebuild the RAID later and try a different scheme. Sometimes that is the best way to match your drives, your workflow, and system. There are a couple CS2 scripts and benchmark utilities to help get an idea of how long each step or operation takes.

RAID blocking issues with the new d2 quadra

I just bought 2 of the newest 500GB d2 quadras and I attempted to set up a level 1 RAID with them daisy chained to my imac via firewire 800 and using disk utility. When I went to set the RAID Block size to 256k and create the RAID I got the screen of death. I then restarted and it did it again on start up. I unplugged the drives and started the computer back up and tested each one individually. I reformatted and tried again, same thing happened.
I took them into the apple store and it happened again on their computers. We tested other Block configurations (32k, 64k, 128k) and they all worked except 256k. The genius's didn't know what the problem could be. A Leopard issue, hard drive issue, or what else.....
Is anyone else having this issue? Should I be worried that there is an issue with one of the drives I am trying to RAID and return and get a new drive, or should I just set the block to 128k and not worry. I am pro photographer and am going to be storing and accessing RAW files in large amounts on these drives. What are the benefits and drawbacks for 128k formatting and 256k formatting?
Any advice would be great! Thanks!

marisaholmes, welcome to the Apple Boards,
This board is for the discussion of a specific piece of Apple Hardware called the Xserve RAID. I think there is probably a more appropriate board for this question where you are more likely to find an answer.
Sorry, hope this helps,
=Tod

Raid storage usage and block size

We have two XServe RAID units Raid 5 and we are adding a new 16 bay ACNC raid with 16 1.5TB drives in Raid 6 + Hot Spare. I initialized the Raid 6 with 128K block size. The total data moving from the older raid volumes is around 5.7TB, but on the new Raid it is taking around 7.4TB of space. Is this due to the 128K block size? This is a prepress server so most of the files are quite large, but there may be lots of small files as well.

Hi
RAID 0 does indeed offer best performance, however if any one drive of the striped set fails you will lose all your data. If you have not considered a backup strategy now would be the time to do so. For redundancy RAID 1 Mirror might be a better option as this will offer a safety net in case of a single drive failure. A RAID is not a backup and you should always consider a workable backup strategy.
Purchase another 2x1TB drives and you could consider a RAID 10? Two Stripes mirrored.
Not all your files will be large ones as I'm guessing you'll be using this workstation for the usual mundane matters such as email etc? Selecting a larger block size with small file sizes usually decreases performance. You have to consider all applications and file sizes, in which case the best block size would be 32k.
My 2p
Tony

Mirrored RAID: MediaKit reports block size error

I am trying to create a 2nd set up backup drives for my photos. I have two new iomega 2TB drives, which look essentially identical to drives I'm currently using as my primary backups as a mirrored RAID set.
I can start the process with freshly erased and reformatted drives (with the default mac format, extended, journaled, unencrypted, not case-sensitive). And after a minute or three, I see
"MediaKit reports block size error, usually caused by not being a multiple of 512."
The RAID options are Mirrored RAID, Mac extended journaled, and options settings are default.
I see several series of posts with complaints about encrypting RAIDs and disk block sizes, but not unencrypted errors. I actually started out trying to do this with the 2006 MBP running 10.6.8 and got a different error: "POSIX reports: the operation couldn't be completed. Operation not permitted." I wasn't sure whether the 2TB RAID I already have was set up iwth the older or newer computer--it was definitely before I put Lion on this one--so I tried this one and now have a different error.
Any idea what the problem might be?

Update: I spent some time on the phone with an Apple support RAID expert, and couldn't figure out what the error was; we couldn't bypass it by playing with partitions on the drives, or any of another couple of manuevers that I've already forgotten. He noted that his own searches were showing a lot of mentions of similar problems but only with Iomega drives, and he was finding the same links I found earlier about problems creating encrypted drives. Now trying to decide if it's worth throwing more good money after bad for a call with Iomega support, and waiting to see if the iomega forum is at all helpful.

RAID, ASM, and Block Size

* This was posted in the "Installation" Thread, but I copied it here to see if I can get more responses, Thank you.*
Hello,
I am about to set up a new Oracle 10.2 Database server. In the past, I used RAID5 since 1) it was a fairly small database 2) there were not alot of writes 3) high availability 4) wasted less space compared to other RAID techniques.
However, even though our database is still small (around 100GB), we are noticing that when we update our data, the time it takes is starting to grow to a point whereby the update that used to take about an hour, now takes 10-12 hours or more. One thing we noticed that if we created another tablespace which had a block size of 16KB versus our normal tablespace which had a block size of 8KB, we almost cut the update time in half.
So, we decided that we should really start from scratch on a new server and tune it optimally. Here are some questions I have:
1) Our server is a DELL PowerEdge 2850 with 4x146GB Hard Drives (584GB total). What is the best way to set up the disks? Should I use RAID 1+0 for everything? Should I use ASM? If I use ASM, how is the RAID configured? Do I use RAID0 for ASM since ASM handles mirroring and striping? How should I setup the directory structure? How about partitioning?
2) I am installing this on Linux and when I tried on my old system to use 32K block size, it said I could only use 16K due to my OS. Is there a way to use a 32K block size with Linux? Should I use a 32K block size?
Thanks!

Hi
RAID 0 does indeed offer best performance, however if any one drive of the striped set fails you will lose all your data. If you have not considered a backup strategy now would be the time to do so. For redundancy RAID 1 Mirror might be a better option as this will offer a safety net in case of a single drive failure. A RAID is not a backup and you should always consider a workable backup strategy.
Purchase another 2x1TB drives and you could consider a RAID 10? Two Stripes mirrored.
Not all your files will be large ones as I'm guessing you'll be using this workstation for the usual mundane matters such as email etc? Selecting a larger block size with small file sizes usually decreases performance. You have to consider all applications and file sizes, in which case the best block size would be 32k.
My 2p
Tony

Install Recommendations (RAID, ASM, Block Size etc)

Hello,
I am about to set up a new Oracle 10.2 Database server. In the past, I used RAID5 since 1) it was a fairly small database 2) there were not alot of writes 3) high availability 4) wasted less space compared to other RAID techniques.
However, even though our database is still small (around 100GB), we are noticing that when we update our data, the time it takes is starting to grow to a point whereby the update that used to take about an hour, now takes 10-12 hours or more. One thing we noticed that if we created another tablespace which had a block size of 16KB versus our normal tablespace which had a block size of 8KB, we almost cut the update time in half.
So, we decided that we should really start from scratch on a new server and tune it optimally. Here are some questions I have:
1) Our server is a DELL PowerEdge 2850 with 4x146GB Hard Drives (584GB total). What is the best way to set up the disks? Should I use RAID 1+0 for everything? Should I use ASM? If I use ASM, how is the RAID configured? Do I use RAID0 for ASM since ASM handles mirroring and striping? How should I setup the directory structure? How about partitioning?
2) I am installing this on Linux and when I tried on my old system to use 32K block size, it said I could only use 16K due to my OS. Is there a way to use a 32K block size with Linux? Should I use a 32K block size?
Thanks!

The way I usually handle databases of that size if you don't feel like migrating to ASM redundancy is to use RAID-10. RAID5 is HORRIBLY slow (your redo logs will hate you) and if your controller is any good, a RAID-10 will be the same speed as a RAID-0 on reads, and almost as fast on writes. Also, when you create your array, make the stripe blocks as close to 1MB as you can. Modern disks can usually cache 1MB pretty easily, and that will speed the performance of your array by a lot.
I just never got into ASM, not sure why. But I'd say build your array as a RAID-10 (you have the capacity) and you'll notice a huge difference.
16k block size should be good enough. If you have recordsets that are that large, you might want to consider tweaking your multiblock read count.
~Jer

Raid block size ?

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