Linux Users: Harddrive Choice?

[GTaudiophile]

I am looking to re-build my at-home file & web server. Currently, I run Gentoo on an old PII-450 system with a 40GB Western Digital harddrive with 256MB of PC100 RAM. When my current primary rig goes to my father, I will use his current rig as my new server. It's a PIII-866 machine with 512MB of RAM on an ASUS CUSL2 motherboard. I will most likely install Debian on it and run SAMBA and APACHE as I am running now. As a web server, it's not meant to do much. It will primarily be a file server, storing all of my mp3s, Top Gear vids, photos, etc.

Now, assuming I was building today, should I install one 400GB drive (Seagate) or two cheaper 250GB drivers via RAID 0? Speed is not so much the issue as plain storage capacity.

 

[piasabird]

2 hard drives is just twice the chance of a hard drive failure if you use RAID. Depends if you are comfortable with RAID. The biggest problem with onboard RAID is that if the motherboard dies, the drives might be unreadable with another motherboard.

Some people have been buying the Asus Terminator C3 barebones and using it as a server. It is a 800 Mhz Mini-ITX that comes with a case, motherboard, processor, CDROM, and Floppy Built in. Just add Hard Drive and Memory and the OS of your choice. It uses the Asus version of a Mini-ITX, or close to it. Asus uses soundstorm for the sound instead of the Via Sound solution. So the motherboard is actually a little better in a way. It was selling for like $112.00 plus shipping.

My take on this is a new cheap computer will last longer than an old recycled computer.

 

[Zepper]

I'd probably use two 250GB drives. Probably be cheaper. I'd also use JABOD rather than RAID if I had to have the drive space in one volume. Otherwise just put each drive on its own IDE channel and be happy - the performance loss won't be much.

.bh.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I'd probably use two 250GB drives. Probably be cheaper. I'd also use JABOD rather than RAID if I had to have the drive space in one volume. Otherwise just put each drive on its own IDE channel and be happy - the performance loss won't be much.

.bh.

JABOD?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Zepper
I'd probably use two 250GB drives. Probably be cheaper. I'd also use JABOD rather than RAID if I had to have the drive space in one volume. Otherwise just put each drive on its own IDE channel and be happy - the performance loss won't be much.

.bh.

JABOD?

Usually "JBOD" -- Just (a) Bunch Of Disks. Like RAID0, but not striped (so you can use differently-sized drives and not lose any capacity).

 

[n0cmonkey]

I'd get to two 250s and put them in different mountpoints. HUGE partitions can be a pita. Raid 0 is for chumps.