SCSI or SATA

[imported_oldie123]

I am working for a small company. We currently have 10 desktops and need a server.

I am currently putting together a server with Dual Xeon 2.8Ghz processors, 1GB RAM. The main problem is deciding whether to go for a SATA or SCSI drive. I want 2 drives with raid 1 config.

The server will be used mostly as a webserver and a file server. The Databases's we have are MS Access DB.

The SATA drives will be 2x160GB SATA, 7200 RPM Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst Cache?. The controller will be the motherboard builtin controller

The SCSI drives would be 2x73GB Ultra 320 SCSI, 1 inch (10,000 rpm). The controller would be the U320 SCSI Controller Card .


Going for SCSI would cost us $449 extra. The downside is also the 73GB space.

Considering the above which drives would you recommend: SCSI OR SATA.

 

[imported_Endosmok]

For such a small office environment I would stick with the cheaper SATA setup.

Or if you can wait a month or two, SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) controllers will be available. In this case, you can use Serial Attached SCSI drives, SATA 1, or SATA2 hard drives in a mixed environment. SATA2 I believe includes NCQ (Native Command Queing) which was one of the benefits to using SCSI drives in the past.

 

[Zepper]

I think I agree. I generally prefer SCSI for reliability but the costs can be pretty daunting. You can use a normal SCSI adapter (LSI 160 - $40.) with available Software to do RAID - you don't need to buy a hardware RAID card. (But a two-channel SCSI card or two separate one-channel cards might offer a bit higher performance - two LSI U160 cards would be cheaper than most two-channel SCSI cards - stupid, eh?) That should save a big chunk O' change... In either case, be sure to use true ECC memory on your mobo.

Software Mirroring

Software RAID in Linux

.bh.

Here, have a :beer: !

Here are some good SCSI vendors:

hypermicro.com (may offer free ground shipping if you mention www.storagereview.com - check the SR site for the latest offer)
centrix-intl.com
pc-pitstop.com (offers PayPal as a payment option)
scsi4me.com (ditto)
etech4sale.com
and I can usually find stuff (like drives, cables and adapters) for low bucks on eBay.

.bh.