SSD Cache and RAID issue

[MuffinKilla]

Hi,

I'm having an interesting problem with a new build and I wonder if anyone has seen anything like it.

Setup is a Gigabyte Z68 motherboard, an OCZ Vertex 3 SATA 6Gbps SSD, an old WD 250GB hard drive, then two WD drives, 2TB each.

I used this system for a while without the 2TB drives with the SSD as a cache for the 250GB system drive, everything worked great, fast boot times, etc. Recently, I tried to add the 2 2TB drives in RAID1 for more storage. When I added them and set them up, the system would occasionally hang and become unresponsive. It didn't crash or freeze, just hang for anywhere between 5 secs and 5 mins. When I turned off the SSD caching, this problem went away, but if I turn it back on, it comes back. If I remove the 2TB drives and turn the cache drive on, no problem.

I'm guessing this is a question of too much overhead between having a cache drive and a separate, 2TB RAID1 array. Has anyone else had similar problems with SSD caching and/or large capacity RAID arrays with Intel RST on Z68?

Thanks.

 

[kbp]

Not sure you can cache a RAID1 array. Will look into it thou.

 

[MuffinKilla]

To clarify, the cache is for the OS drive, which is separate from the raid array. The SSD is a cache for the 250GB OS drive and there is a separate RAID1 array with a pair of 2TB drives for storage.

 

[kbp]

When you get to the RST / Accceleration page, what options does it give you? (what drive to use and what drive to accelerate)

 

[nanaki333]

were you having any problems with the drives 2TB drives before? i'd do a full scan of them to check their health. are these green drives? also, are you plugging them in to the intel ports or the marvel ports? the ssd cache shouldn't make a difference, but maybe try the other chipset to see if it's any different. you won't lose any performance for mechanical drives using the marvel ports.