[Klug-general] Software Vs Hardware Raid

[Peter Childs]

I am trying to get the pros and cons straight in my mind.

Software Raid

Easy to configure
Cheap Just put more drivers in your machine

Hardware Raid

Can be faster than software raid but with most modern process you will
not notice the difference
Some Hardware Raid is better than others (Easier to configure, Speed etc)
Needs to be battery backed to really be worth it
Just works even under Windows
Limit on Raid Options with some Raid Cards

>From what I've read unless you using a Raid card with a Battery Backed
Write cache (these are very expensive) you are acutally better of
using Software Raid Drivers esspecally with a modern multicore
processor.

I have used Hardware Raid with PATA drivers and yes its not bad
(3Ware) but since SATA is Hot Swappable as standard it should not be a
problem especially as most high end boards have 5 SATA sockets and
more can be added relatively cheaply.

Does anyone want to argue?

Peter.