Is possible to easily setup Raid-1 on this system ?

Hi,
I am buying Dell T5500 workstation from Dell with 500 GB HDD.
They want extra $250.00 if I select Raid-1 which requires only one extra 500 GB HDD because that motherboard has built in Raid Controller if I am correct. In the quote they sent me it says following :

“ Integrated Intel® SATA 3.0Gb/s controller with support for RAID “

In the specs of the motherboard it says following :

Drive Controllers• The T5500 uses an integrated SATA 3.0Gb/s host controller (part of the Intel chipset) and the optional PCI-e SAS 6/ir controller supports SAS drives with host based RAID 0 or 1.

The optional PERC 6/i PCI-e SAS/SATA hardware RAID card supports RAID 0, 1, 5 (RAID 5 in mini-tower orientation only). Single RAID 0 GPT DATA volumes greater than 2TB are available as factory installed option with the integrated controller and optional PERC 6/i RAID adapter under Windows XP64, Windows Vista 32Bit/ 64Bit operating systems.

Network Controller• Integrated Broadcom® 5754 Gigabit Ethernet controller
2nd Gigabit port is available with the optional PCI-e Broadcom Gigabit controller card

Questions :

(1) Is there a built in Raid Controller OR it requires something else besides second 500 GB HDD to setup Raid-1 ?
(2) Are they asking too much for Raid- 1 & should I pay extra $ 250.00 for Raid-1 ?
(3)I am not a techy at all so how hard would it be to setup Raid-1 on my own or with the help of you guys & what else would I need besides an extra 500 GB HDD ?
(4) This motherboard has 4 PCIe x16 slots. If I go with Raid-1, would it take up one of those 4 slots ? I need all those 4 slots for Video Cards.
(5) Do I need 10/100/1000 Ethernet card for connecting to Internet or home network OR Integrated 5754 Gigabit Ethernet controller does the job ?
(6) I have never used Raid-1 so Is it possible to disable Raid-1 if for some reason I don't like it ib future ?

Thank You

 

Hi georgetok and I'll see if I can help you out.


Questions :

(1) Is there a built in Raid Controller OR it requires something else besides second 500 GB HDD to setup Raid-1 ?

As listed in your Drive Controllers* you have an integrated SATA 3.0Gb/s host contoller that is part of the motherboards capability. The optional PCI-e SAS 6/ir controller is an add-in card that would take a PCIe slot. So yes you do have a built in controller. Depending on the mission critical nature of your work, the hardware RAID (via the add in card) would be my choice rather than the software RAID the built in controller accomplishes. However, what are you trying to accomplish with this RAID 1 set up? RAID 1 is a mirroring procedure where both drives are identical in the information they have on them as a fail safe for hard drive failure.


(2) Are they asking too much for Raid- 1 & should I pay extra $ 250.00 for Raid-1 ?

That's pretty pricey but Dell is probably looking to make a buck on a non-standard procedure since profit levels are down on PCs in general. There would be an extra step involved in setting up the RAID and verifying the functionality by a tech as opposed to a complete assembly line production of the PC.


(3)I am not a techy at all so how hard would it be to setup Raid-1 on my own or with the help of you guys & what else would I need besides an extra 500 GB HDD ?

If you go with the built in controller, all you need is the extra hard drive. I have set up a hardware RAID and that involved booting into the controller during the main boot up and specifying the drives as an array and adding the drives to that array. A software set up should be fairly similar with some extra steps in the boot up procedure when initially setting up the RAID. After it has been set up there should be no interaction from you unless a hard drive fails which will be detected at boot up.


(4) This motherboard has 4 PCIe x16 slots. If I go with Raid-1, would it take up one of those 4 slots ? I need all those 4 slots for Video Cards.

Not if you go with the built in controller.

(5) Do I need 10/100/1000 Ethernet card for connecting to Internet or home network OR Integrated 5754 Gigabit Ethernet controller does the job ?

The integrated ethernet contoller is fine for your connection.

(6) I have never used Raid-1 so Is it possible to disable Raid-1 if for some reason I don't like it ib future ?

You can break the array when you choose. If you have no need of the RAID 1 (mirroring) then I would not set it up in the first place.
It depends on how much value you put on the data you are saving to your hard drive. Once the RAID is set up, you will not know it is there unless you have a hard drive failure. It is an insurance policy for your data.


In another matter, if THIS is the workstation you are looking at, I would be concerned at the 2 PCIe slots that accommodate half length video cards. Have you accounted for this in your choice of video cards?

Hope all this helps.

 

Hi lbmest,

First I am very grateful for your detailed help and precious time you have taken.

Here is what I am trying to achieve.

My data is critical & one HD failure long time ago was very painful. So being non techy, I bought 7 HDDs & clone my HDD every night with Acronis true Image Home.

It takes few steps before I go to bed & every morning I have an extra HDD in case something happens.

I thought Raid-1 will do same with an advantage of not missing any data because it copies in real time & will save some work.

I tried Acronis Non Stop back up & it caused many problems.

So any new suggestions where I have an identical drive ready 24x7 would be nice. I hate those images though.

T5500 :

I did some research on that mono & it says it has four full length PCIe x16 slots. I will be using 3 ATI FirePro 2460 cards & each Card drives 4 Monitors.

Here is Mobo details :

http://supportapj.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/wsT5500/en/SM/a_sysbd.htm

But looking at the chassis in the link you sent me makes me nervous because I don’t see any space for 4 full length cards.

What do you think ?

Thanks

 

You are correct in that the RAID 1 gives that advantage. I would still do an image at least once a week to an external hard drive as insurance. If you are using win 7 you could set up a scheduled back up or system image for a Friday night and leave the comp on for that night to accomplish that. (Belt and suspenders approach for data insurance.)

I would talk to Dell directly either by phone or chat to be positive that the system can handle and fit in what you are trying to accomplish.

 

I was thinking that Dell has 21 money back so would go ahead & try it. It will also give me an idea if that Xeon E5645 will be enough.

Thank You again & really appreciate your help.