My computer tech background is quite limited, yet somehow I've been given the task of expanding our little non-profit's server storage capacity. . . go figure! Hence I'm turning to the pros, all of you, for help (thank-you in advance for your wisdom and guidance!).
I've searched through many threads, yet I am still a bit uncertain in a number of areas when contemplating our approach to expanding the storage capacity on the company server (and yes, I still feel rather clueless to the differences between different RAID configurations).
Here we go. . .
Some helpful specs:
Model Name: Power Mac G5
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz
OS System Version: Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 (9L30)
OS DRIVE
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Model: WDC WD1600JD-41HBC0
SERVER DATA DRIVE
Capacity: 931.51 GB
Model: ST31000333AS
Every night, through Superduper, the server is backed-up to a partitioned external 2TB HD, so that if the whole thing goes down we are able to use the external as a bootable drive.
I'd like to take the Sonnet G5 Jive approach to expanding storage capacity, and I wanted to be sure that I was taking all the right precautions. . .
1) I'm trying to determine what new drive(s) to purchase, from which to build the internal RAID. If we are to have the current 1TB server data drive included in the RAID, does that mean we need to purchase that identical model drive? All drives in a RAID need to be identical (right down to the specific model), correct? I've read that with the G5 Jive, enterprise HDs are recommended over commercial HDs. . . what is the difference between an enterprise and commercial HD? I'm assuming the current ST31000333AS 1TB in use is a commercial HD. Does that mean, for greater security, we will have to scrap the ST31000333AS 1TB and build the RAID with a whole new set of identical enterprise drives?
2) Which Serial ATA host adapter would work, given our system. . . the Sonnet Tempo SATA E4i or the Tempo SATA 4Xi, or something else? I'm honestly not sure what type of PCI slots this tower has. I ran a system profile check and best I can tell they are NOT PCIe. Hence, we would want to go with the Tempo SATA 4Xi, correct?
3) The big one. . . What might you recommend for a RAID configuration? For now, I foresee that we would configure it from 2 1TB HDs (keep the OS drive separate), seeing that we are currently backing up to a 2TB external drive. As I mentioned above, even after a good bit of research, I'm still quite baffled by what would be the best approach (0, 1, 5, 10).
Down the road we may ultimately have to go with an Xserve, and "who-knows-what" for back-up, yet for now I'm hoping the Jive will get us down that road.
Thanks so much for the help! I hope I've included all necessary specs here, if not, let me know.
I've searched through many threads, yet I am still a bit uncertain in a number of areas when contemplating our approach to expanding the storage capacity on the company server (and yes, I still feel rather clueless to the differences between different RAID configurations).
Here we go. . .
Some helpful specs:
Model Name: Power Mac G5
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz
OS System Version: Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 (9L30)
OS DRIVE
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Model: WDC WD1600JD-41HBC0
SERVER DATA DRIVE
Capacity: 931.51 GB
Model: ST31000333AS
Every night, through Superduper, the server is backed-up to a partitioned external 2TB HD, so that if the whole thing goes down we are able to use the external as a bootable drive.
I'd like to take the Sonnet G5 Jive approach to expanding storage capacity, and I wanted to be sure that I was taking all the right precautions. . .
1) I'm trying to determine what new drive(s) to purchase, from which to build the internal RAID. If we are to have the current 1TB server data drive included in the RAID, does that mean we need to purchase that identical model drive? All drives in a RAID need to be identical (right down to the specific model), correct? I've read that with the G5 Jive, enterprise HDs are recommended over commercial HDs. . . what is the difference between an enterprise and commercial HD? I'm assuming the current ST31000333AS 1TB in use is a commercial HD. Does that mean, for greater security, we will have to scrap the ST31000333AS 1TB and build the RAID with a whole new set of identical enterprise drives?
2) Which Serial ATA host adapter would work, given our system. . . the Sonnet Tempo SATA E4i or the Tempo SATA 4Xi, or something else? I'm honestly not sure what type of PCI slots this tower has. I ran a system profile check and best I can tell they are NOT PCIe. Hence, we would want to go with the Tempo SATA 4Xi, correct?
3) The big one. . . What might you recommend for a RAID configuration? For now, I foresee that we would configure it from 2 1TB HDs (keep the OS drive separate), seeing that we are currently backing up to a 2TB external drive. As I mentioned above, even after a good bit of research, I'm still quite baffled by what would be the best approach (0, 1, 5, 10).
Down the road we may ultimately have to go with an Xserve, and "who-knows-what" for back-up, yet for now I'm hoping the Jive will get us down that road.
Thanks so much for the help! I hope I've included all necessary specs here, if not, let me know.
