Raptor RAID 10 or SAS RAID 1?

[imipenem]

I'm building a new server for our ERP software and I'm considering going with a 15K SAS based RAID. I plan to base the system on the hardware below:
- Dual Xeon E5405 CPUs
- Tyan Tempest i5100W
- 12GB DDR2-667

My question is which would perform better: a 15K SAS RAID 1 or a 10K Raptor based RAID 10? IF my budget would allow it, would a 15K SAS RAID 10 be worth it?

Thanks

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: imipenem

IF my budget would allow it, would a 15K SAS RAID 10 be worth it?

Thanks

What do you mean if your budget would allow it? The money you save in going with SAS drives for RAID 10 would nearly pay for a card depending on how many drives you picked up.

You can get 300GB SAS drives for $200 and up, and the 300GB Vraptor is more. I haven't seen any vraptors in production, even though they are marketed that way.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: mooseracing
You can get 300GB SAS drives for $200 and up, and the 300GB Vraptor is more. I haven't seen any vraptors in production, even though they are marketed that way.

Where are you getting 300 GB SAS drives for $200? This is a serious request. I have a client who needs to buy some and I'm seeing prices more like $600+ on Dell's and CDW's sites.

 

[imipenem]

I'd like to know where those drives are too - I've found 150GB SAS drives range from $255-$300 each.

 

[MerlinRML]

Originally posted by: imipenem
My question is which would perform better: a 15K SAS RAID 1 or a 10K Raptor based RAID 10? IF my budget would allow it, would a 15K SAS RAID 10 be worth it?

It depends on the type of I/O that your ERP will generate. If you're looking at lots of small random I/O, then SAS drives are what you want. They're still better than the raptors in multi-user environments and random I/O. If you've got a single user or sequential access, go with the raptors. They're faster for large sequential I/O, and for a single user they should be ok.

Without understanding what software or kind of load, it's hard to make a recommendation. Although, I do tend to recommend pre-built servers with a support contract for anyone who even whispers the acronym ERP.

 

[imipenem]

I could not find any Dual Socket 54XX Xeon servers on Dell's page, plus with SAS & 16GB ram I bet the price would be around $5000. An HP with Dual 5150 Xeons and 3 72GB SAS drives is $6680. I could build one for half that...

So far I've built a majority of our servers (Primary DC, DNC Server, Citrix Server, & Mail server). I've had great up times and better performance than two of our Dell servers. But I guess it is still a gamble to build your own servers.....

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: mooseracing
You can get 300GB SAS drives for $200 and up, and the 300GB Vraptor is more. I haven't seen any vraptors in production, even though they are marketed that way.

Where are you getting 300 GB SAS drives for $200? This is a serious request. I have a client who needs to buy some and I'm seeing prices more like $600+ on Dell's and CDW's sites.

They are 10k SAS drives...off Pricewatch. the 15k's jump up to 340 or so.

 

[MerlinRML]

Originally posted by: imipenem
I could not find any Dual Socket 54XX Xeon servers on Dell's page, plus with SAS & 16GB ram I bet the price would be around $5000. An HP with Dual 5150 Xeons and 3 72GB SAS drives is $6680. I could build one for half that...

Dell has the 2950 rackmount or 2900 tower, and HP has the DL380 G5 rackmount, and I'm not sure which their tower model is. Just in case you want to take a look at what they offer 🙂

So far I've built a majority of our servers (Primary DC, DNC Server, Citrix Server, & Mail server). I've had great up times and better performance than two of our Dell servers. But I guess it is still a gamble to build your own servers.....

I didn't mean to turn this into a prebuilt vs custom argument and derail your thread, but I managed to do that anyway. Sorry. I won't continue down this path unless you wish to discuss it further.

I don't recommend HP or Dell because they perform better, because you can't do it yourself, and certainly not because they're cheaper. I recommend them because of the management features they offer out of the box (a lot of which can be done through careful planning and 3rd party software), and the level of support they can provide. It's not about uptime, it's about how you deal with downtime (there's a reason they call a warranty insurance). HP and Dell can have a spare part and technician to me in 4 hours if I need. That alone is why I recommend them over homebuilt.

If you've been having good luck with your built servers, all the best of luck to you. Keep doing what you're doing. And if you're feeling overly generous, share some of your tips for how to do it well with the rest of us.

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: MerlinRML

Originally posted by: imipenem
I could not find any Dual Socket 54XX Xeon servers on Dell's page, plus with SAS & 16GB ram I bet the price would be around $5000. An HP with Dual 5150 Xeons and 3 72GB SAS drives is $6680. I could build one for half that...

Dell has the 2950 rackmount or 2900 tower, and HP has the DL380 G5 rackmount, and I'm not sure which their tower model is. Just in case you want to take a look at what they offer 🙂

We're running 3 2950's with Dual Quad core 2.33 Xeons, decent machines. I won't do any manufacture bashing but like he said, you can beat the warranty. I have no where around me I can get spare server parts within a day. So i buy it for that reason. I've been trying to convinve them to buy me a spare server to test with and have as backup parts but it hasnt' gone through yet.

 

[imipenem]

Merlin, thanks for the replies. I've been very lucky I guess. I work for my family's business - (Engineering/Manufacturing of mechanical components/assemblies). It is impossible to get funds for tech purchases. I am usually not allowed to buy warranties/service plans due to cost. So since I cannot buy the insurance, I see little benefit from using Dell, HP, etc. Maybe it will bite us, but I doubt it would do much good. Maybe if we got bitten 6 times...