I wish to build an 8×1.5tb file server for home use.
I was looking at putting these 8 HDDs into RAID 5 or 6.
However most botherboards only come with 6 sata ports so I will obviously need to get an extra controller.
I have a lot of experience building PCs but never built a RAID.
Looking through the other questions on SU I have found a few raid controllers recommended.
Looking up the price that is around the $600 mark for a 4 port 3ware RAID controller.
However a simply 4 port sata PCIe card is around $140.
What I am wondering is, can I simply buy a cheaper PCIe card to give me more sata ports and then run all 8 drives in a software RAID? Performance isn't an issue, just redundancy (I have a lot of data).
If I get a 3ware hardware RAID controller, I will still need to plug 4 drives into the motherboard, will I still get all the benefits the 3ware controller offers? Will I need 2 of these controllers?
Or should I perhaps forget the whole thing and get a prebuilt server from Dell or HP?
Best Answer
You may want to consider an external solution like DroboPro.