[Scottish] Hardware question - slightly linux related :)

[Phillip Bennett]

Hi guys,

I am looking at replacing one of my Linux servers here at the moment and 
wanted to ask people about their experiences with hardware configuration..

Basically, it will have about a terrabyte or so of space available in the 
form of a RAID array, (probably RAID5) and I was wondering if anyone would 
be able to tell me the pros/cons of having all this available in just ONE 
array, as opposed to having two or more smaller arrays.  Are there 
performance advantages that people know about?  I realiase that with two 
smaller arrays, there is less risk to data, but more cost for disks, but 
could this be offset by buying larger (750G) drives?

I'd be interested to know what people think and why.

For those wondering, it'll be a PowerEdge 2950 with all disks internal, as 
opposed to an external array.  Will this make a difference?  Is there 
another brand that people would recommend for this type of thing.

Thanks in advance,
Phil.