Master, Slave, RAID 0, Performance

[fatcatfan]

For this new system I'm ordering, the motherboard has 4 IDE channels. It also has IDE RAID. Assuming that all hard-drives are identical, will RAID 0 striped drives in master/slave configuration get the same performance as those drives each on separate channels?

I think not, but want some opinions (or even some cold hard facts .

Will the drives in master/slave configuration get any performance boost from RAID striping? I would think that having both drives on a single channel, they couldn't both use the channel at full speed simultaneously. But then I don't really know how IDE works.

Basically I'm trying to decide how many drives to get. Right now I'm looking at 3 Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM ATA133 drives, leaving the fourth IDE channel for the DVD drive and CD Burner I already have (I don't have a combo drive). But if there would still be some increased performance in the master/slave setup, I might get six 20GB or 30GB drives.

[Daveyd]

I have a RAID mobo also and am using ATA/133 RAID 0 (although technically not RAID). I have 2 Maxtor HDs set up as Master on each RAID channel and my burner as Master on the IDE Primary and my DVD ROM as Master on the secondary. I have a Promise RAID controller on the mobo. In terms of performance, you will see some read/write increase but nothing impressive, especially with the Promise onboard controller. But if you are a speed freak like me...go for it..

My System:
MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU
AMD XP 2200+
2 Maxtor 40GB ATA133 in RAID 0
MSI Geforce4 4600
SB Audigy X-Gamer Cambridge Soundworks Dolby Digital 5.1 Speakers
Sony Triniton 21" Monitor
Zeus modded case with Plexiglass window
Plextor 24x10x40
Pioneer 16x DVD ROM --slot feed

[Daveyd]

PS...

On you RAID channel you can put 4 drives..Master/Slave...Master/Slave...leaving your 2 IDE channels open for burners, dvd roms..etc

[fatcatfan]

okay, from what you've said it sounds like the RAID channel is separate from the IDE channels. I assumed that with controller onboard, you could would be using the standard IDE channels. Guess I need to look through the manual on the motherboard (Gigabyte GA-8IHXP).

-=[EDIT]=-
Okay, now I see. The manual didn't give much information, but it did indicate that IDE3 and 4 were the ATA133/RAID channels, and IDE1 and 2 are standard.

[chronic3010]

I have my system built like this...
Pentium 3 933mhz
448 mb Sdram
80 gb WD hard drive
30 gb Wd hard drive
Liteon Dvd
Pioneer A04
Raid Ultra ATA/133
Plextor 12x10x32
Hp 12x10x32
Windows XP Professional

[fatcatfan]

This is what I'm planning to buy now (I think)

Gigabyte GA-8IHXP
2.26GHz P4 533MHz FSB
2x256MB PC1066 RDRAM (512MB Total)
ATI AiW Radeon 8500DV
4 Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM ATA133
WinXP Prof

I can put those drives on the RAID channels, my old HD on the primary master for the boot drive, and the DVD/CD drives on the secondary IDE.

[patrickm]

PS...

On you RAID channel you can put 4 drives..Master/Slave...Master/Slave...leaving your 2 IDE channels open for burners, dvd roms..etc

i dont' think that's the best solution, you want to go with

IDE_0 Master- 40G system drive
IDE_0 Slave-
IDE_1 Master- CD-RW
IDE_1 Slave- DVD

RAID_A,master- 40G in RAID0 (stripe)
RAID_A,slave-
RAID_B,master- 40G in RAID0 (stripe)
RAID_B,slave-

putting odd numbers into the RAID is not smart, and if you do 4 drives on 2 channels with most controllers, you have to do RAID 0/1 and two are for mirroring. you can also do RAID 5 distributed, but the performance gain is limited by the number of channels. you only get better redundancy at a smaller penalty with disributed/parity than with mirroring, where redundancy costs you 1:1

Also, unless you do a lot of editing/disk search intense operations, get 5400RPM drives for the RAID. all you care about for capture is sustained Read/Write. the WD 60G ATA 100s are real good for this due to high platter density. and running 4x7200 is more $ and more heat. if anything, ditch one or two of the 40G (if you already have a ATA66 or faster system drive) and get a big, slower drive for storage (like an 80G or 100G). in this case, put it on the secondary IDE channel and move the DVD to the primary, since the dvd won't get used as much, and rarely writes to the system drive

[fatcatfan]

The drive I have now is a 20GB Maxtor UDMA drive. Been a while since I bought it (at that time the going price for 20GB was about 200 USD) so I don't remember much more than that without opening my case.

So it sounds like I should do this (I've not yet ordered the system)

IDE0 MASTER 20GB Maxtor (old drive) or maybe new one
IDE0 SLAVE DVD Drive

IDE1 MASTER 80-100GB Drive for storage
IDE1 SLAVE CD-RW

RAIDA MASTER 60GB 5400RPM Western Digital in RAID0
RAIDA SLAVE EMPTY

RAIDB MASTER 60GB 5400RPM Western Digital in RAID0
RAIDB SLAVE EMPTY

And that makes sense to me. Thanks for the help, all.

But I still haven't answered the root of my question - would slave drives in RAID 0 configuration contribute to the increased performance gained by strping? Sounds like it depends on the controller?

[sterno]

But I still haven't answered the root of my question - would slave drives in RAID 0 configuration contribute to the increased performance gained by strping?

Not really, as a general rule the controller will only be able to use one drive on each channel at a time. You'd probably have a minor gain in some situations and a minor loss in others.

The IDE-RAID controllers aimed at the low-end server and high-end workstation market generally tell you to put one drive on each channel. Most on-board controllers are there more for the ain't-it-cool marketing than to be part of a high-end system. They work just fine, but they're the equivalent of the $29 controllers you see every mail-order place selling. They only support levels 0, 1, and 0+1.

[fatcatfan]

okay, that's what I'd suspected. And I don't particularly need a parity failsafe. The data I'll be storing on these drive isn't exactly critical. So I don't need RAID 3/5.

Thanks again