Barry, Christopher on 4 Aug 2006 14:36:43 -0000


[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

RE: [PLUG] SCSI RAID Drive array (Internal vs External)


> -----Original Message-----
> From: plug-bounces@lists.phillylinux.org 
> [mailto:plug-bounces@lists.phillylinux.org] On Behalf Of Steve Morgan
> Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 10:26 AM
> To: Philadelphia Linux User's Group Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [PLUG] SCSI RAID Drive array (Internal vs External)
> 
> I do not believe you need to worry about the speed of the 
> data transfer between internal versus external devices.  In 
> my opinion, the transfer of data between the host card and 
> the harddrives should be the same whether they are internally 
> or externally connected.  The host card is rated for a 
> certain speed and it delivers it to all connections. 
> 
> It would depend on the type of external box you buy for the 
> disks.  Do also take into consideration whether your host 
> card's external interface is Differential or Single-ended 
> SCSI.  I have two types of external enclosures in my 
> apartment.  One type of box just holds a bunch of disks and 
> conencts them all and dumps them onto the SCSI chain.  These 
> harddrives are seen to the host controller as Just a Bunch of 
> Disks (JBOD).  The operating system will see each individual 
> harddrive and will work with it as it pleases.  This external 
> box connects to the host via Single-ended.  The other type of 
> box I have connects to the host via Differential SCSI and 
> does all of the RAID interally, meaning you configure all the 
> drives in whatever configuration(s) you wish on the device 
> itself and the host computer will see those as such.  A 
> simple configuration I have setup is all 12 drvies are set up 
> using RAID 0 striping.  This presents to the host computer as 
> a single large drive.  All of the RAID logic is being done on 
> the external box itself with dedicated hardware, whereas with 
> a JBOD setup all the RAID logic would be software based with 
> the operating system. 
> 
> Depending on how you operate your RAID, whether it is 
> software based with the operating system or hardware based 
> with a dedicated external box or a SCSI controller with RAID 
> capabilities, it will dictate what kind of setup you will end 
> up with.  I amdit I am not the best SCSI expert on this list, 
> but if I need to clarify anything for you please feel free to 
> respond on or off list.  I invite others to offer their 
> opinions and to correct me on my information should it be wrong. 
> 
> 
> Steve Morgan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 8/4/06, George Gallen <ggallen@slackinc.com> wrote:
> 
> 	Since we are planning for a new system, I'm considering 
> making our 
> 	data drives (which are currently internal SCSI RAID 
> card - 0+1) an external 
> 	drive bay, so if we had to switch to a another system 
> down the road, moving 
> 	the data would be as simple as disconnect and reconnect. 
> 
> 	Is there any drawback to hooking up the drives to the 
> external port of a 
> 	SCSI controller, vs the internal port? Speed differences? 
> 
> 	We currently have a 10 drive RAID 0+1,  5 (18gb) drives 
> striped and mirrored. 
> 	This is for a database server, it was suggested by IBM 
> that we stripe out the 
> 	drives to make for faster reads. 
> 
> 	If we go external, does the server still handle the 
> RAIDing, or does the drive 
> 	bay enclosure handle the RAIDing, and it just appears 
> as one SCSI device to 
> 	the server? 
> 
> 	George 
> 
> 	George Gallen 
> 	Senior Programmer/Analyst 
> 	Accounting/Data Division 
> 	ggallen@slackinc.com 
> 	ph:856.848.1000 Ext 220 
> 
> 	SLACK Incorporated - Delivering the best in health care 
> information and education worldwide. 
> 	http://www.slackinc.com 
> 
> 
> 
> 	
> ______________________________________________________________
> _____________
> 	Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --         
> http://www.phillylinux.org <http://www.phillylinux.org> 
> 	Announcements - 
> http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce 
> 	General Discussion  --   
> http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> 	
> 	
> 	
> 
> 
> 

Cable quality and length will affect performance.

-C


"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; give him a freshly-charged
Electric Eel and chances are he won't bother you for anything ever again."
              -- Tanuki  
___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug