What's the point of RAID?

[XtremeGamer99]

For normal home use, is there any advantage to using RAID?

I was planning to create a RAID 0 as soon as I got an extra identical HDD. But now I'm reconsidering it, because I don't want to lose all the data I already have on my first HDD. I'm also planning to install Linux very soon, and I don't want to deal with driver problems and support (Linux supports my motherboards RAID software, but still -- I've heard that it's such a pain).

So is there really any point in using it?

 

[freestyler105]

The point of RAID 0 is increased performance. RAID 0 is striped, so it can read and write to 2 disks at once, making it theoretically twice as fast. Obviously, it's not really twice as fast in reality, but there is a pretty good speed increase. The main disadvantage is that if one drive fails, you lose all your data.

The other main type of RAID is RAID 1. This is mirrored (both hard drives have the same data). As you can probably guess, you have increased read speeds, but decreased write speeds this way. The main advantage to RAID 1 is that if one drive fails, you have a backup of all your data on the other drive.

 

[_-..zKiLLA..-_]

wow that makes sense... i've always wondered what RAID was.. thanks freestyler

 

[freestyler105]

No problem...there are actually more versions of RAID, those are the 2 most popular ones. You can read up more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

 

[an0nym0us1]

Redundant Array of Independant Disks... how raid is configured determines what it's primary function is (performance vs data integrity.) most people do not need RAID arrays on their home machines, it's much easier to back up all of your stuff on an external HDD or a secondary internal HDD. as far as performance on a RAID 0 array goes, it all depends on what HDD's you use and how fast your computer is to where it would have a HDD lag.

 

[_-..zKiLLA..-_]

No problem...there are actually more versions of RAID, those are the 2 most popular ones. You can read up more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Thanks... Anonymous check ur PM's

 

[XtremeGamer99]

The point of RAID 0 is increased performance. RAID 0 is striped, so it can read and write to 2 disks at once, making it theoretically twice as fast. Obviously, it's not really twice as fast in reality, but there is a pretty good speed increase. The main disadvantage is that if one drive fails, you lose all your data.

The other main type of RAID is RAID 1. This is mirrored (both hard drives have the same data). As you can probably guess, you have increased read speeds, but decreased write speeds this way. The main advantage to RAID 1 is that if one drive fails, you have a backup of all your data on the other drive.

I know what the different types are. But thanks for pointing out the performance point.

And this isn't really a 'normal' home use: I'm using my rig mainly for gaming on Windows, but a lot of my time will be normal use on Linux. I've always wanted to configure my computer in a RAID fashion, but now that I can, the drawbacks are coming into light -- such as Linux compatibility.

Might as well post the question here then: Will Linux support my motherboard's RAID controller (ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP)? It uses Intel P35 / ICH9R. I've tried searching Google, but I don't know how to word my search, so...

Also, will the performance increase be noticeable? I have 2GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66GHz, and two Hitachi Deskstar's. =)