> -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Knecht [mailto:markknecht@xxxxxxxxx] > Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 9:51 AM > To: Leslie Rhorer > Cc: Mdadm > Subject: Re: RAID Configuration For New Home Server > > On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 10:19 PM, Leslie Rhorer <lrhorer@xxxxxxxxxxx> > wrote: > >> >> problem. This method does require that I update the two backups by > >> >> hand once in awhile. That's OK by me. > >> > > >> > Define, "once in awhile [sic]". > >> > >> Every 2-3 months I make sure each drive is up to date. > > > > I was having to update one server or the other every week or so, > > sometimes more than once a week. I could have written scripts to do it, > or > > used rsync, I suppose, but I opted for RAID1. > > > > I can see that. My point of view was (I think) more in line with the > OP's title of this thread, being a home server. I have only 1 home > server. I suspect he does also as it's his first time doing RAID, as > it was for me. Mine are home servers. I don't run Linux on any of my servers at work. To be sure, there is always a first time for everything and everyone, and the novice may indeed (quite rightly) choose a different approach than a more seasoned individual. Many times a choice may be between easier / simpler setup and more protracted maintenance. Indeed, even though I was not new to *nix, when I first built my (personal) servers, I opted for a non-RAID boot. It's only over time - about 3 years - I grew tired of updating the contents of my offline drives. That, and I had several unused old 500G PATA drives laying around, so I figured I would create RAID systems for booting, rather than simple partitions. To be sure, I won't think any less of the OP should he decide to opt for a non-RAID boot solution. I just think it is good he has the full perspective of all his options before he makes a choice. > Ah, OK. Well again, as I don't use an initrd or even know what it is I > have a lot of learning to do in that area. I've just never bothered. An initial RAM Disk boots the basic operating system very quickly and compactly. Embedded systems and live CDs, as well as most installation CDs employ a RAM disk permanently. Most hard drive based systems overwrite the RAM disk with a partition on the hard drive. > I've run Linux as a desktop system for about 13 or 14 years now. Maybe > some other distros used initrd by default but Gentoo, which I've run > since about 2000 or so, doesn't require it. For desktop systems based > on lowest common denominator PC hardware it's never seemed to provide > any real advantage. Certainly it does for bigger servers where you > guys buy fancy hard drive controllers and the like. The initrd sees its greatest advantage on resource-thin systems. Since the image is compressed, it is small and loads very quickly even from a slow drive. Floppy based boots are really only practical using an initrd. They also have the advantage of not being directly editable, which reduces the goof factor, and since the image is read-only, limits the exposure to boot failure after a dirty shut-down. -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-raid" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
