RE: Using WindowsXP to Make RAID 5 Happen

["Phil Harris" <phil@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tell you more?

OK ...

... You *WILL* lose your data if you try RAID5 on firewire ... Simple as
that.

As Li (of Laser fame) will attest I have been plugging away at getting a
media server up and running using a rather silly number of firewire drives
(currently 20) originally with Windows and then with Linux.

I did try using RAID5 across the firewire drives but one of the things that
happen with firewire drives is that they disconnect and reconnect pretty
much at will and as soon as a drive disconnects then it makes the array
inconsistent and so it starts to rebuild. Then if another drive disconnects
whilst rebuiilding then it's bye-bye data. And I don't mean disconnect as
i=
n
"unplug" - it seems that they software disconnect and reconnect
quite
frequently.

Thankfully what you will probably find is that simply formatting your
firewire-RAID5 array will be enough to send it into spasms and that should
convince you not to risk any data to it.

I have also tried using Linux and UnionFS (Li and his nephew have spent
man=
y
many many frustrating hours trying to support my feeble efforts) to do the
same - and whilst UnionFS is a superb tool - Linux firewire support is
stil=
l
very very flaky and - really - should be considered unusable for anything
"serious". (I have been getting *MAJOR* corruption of the
firewire drives -
usually fixable by fsck but not always.)

Phil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx]=20
> On Behalf Of john nye
> Sent: 04 August 2005 22:37
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Using WindowsXP to Make RAID 5 Happen
>=20
> Yep, that got my attention Phil.
> I've got an enclosure containing 4 x 160GB, connected by=20
> firewire. Tell me more.
>=20
> John
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Phil Harris" <phil@xxxxxxx>
> To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 9:10 PM
> Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Using WindowsXP to Make RAID 5 Happen
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Just whatever you do for Gods sake don't try doing it across=20
> firewire or USB drives!
>=20
> Take my word for it - you don't want to try it...
>=20
> Phil
>=20
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx=20
> [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On
Behalf=20
> > Of john nye
> > Sent: 04 August 2005 17:09
> > To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Using WindowsXP to Make RAID 5 Happen
> >
> > I did the hack on my media server - been running for a few=20
> months now=20
> > without a problem.
> >
> >
> > John
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mark McCall" <lists@xxxxxxx>
> > To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 2:01 PM
> > Subject: [ukha_d] Using WindowsXP to Make RAID 5 Happen
> >
> >
> > > http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/20041119/index.html
> > >
> > > M.
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor=20
> > --------------------~--> <font face=3Darial
size=3D-1><a
> > href=3D"http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=3D12hmlla6o/M=3D320369.6903864.7
> 846594.2920218/D=3Dgroups/S=3D1705041992:TM/Y=3DYAHOO/EXP=3D>
> 1123178757/A=3D2896112/R=3D0/SIG=3D1107idj9u/*http://www.thanksandgiving.=
com
> > ">Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St.
Jude=20
> Children=BFs=20
> > Research Hospital</a>.</font>
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------~->
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor=20
> --------------------~--> <font face=3Darial
size=3D-1><a=20
> href=3D"http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=3D12htva6ep/M=3D362339.6886523.7
841161.2920218/D=3Dgroups/S=3D1705041992:TM/Y=3DYAHOO/EXP=3D1123198418/A=3D=
2894633/R=3D0
/SIG=3D> 10pkrq6ru/*http://www.drugfree.org";>Drug
Abuse Can Be=20
> Prevented "One of the most effective drug prevention=20
> organizations" (NY Times)</a>.</font>=20
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> ------~->=20
>=20
>=20=20
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20