Noam AA Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 hey there so i really want to iprove speed on my hdd, and i was thinking about raid, but i have ich9 and don't have any controller which can support doing it, so i found out there pci/e cards for it, but it's hard to tell from searching if anyone really work with osx, at least for raid setup. so is there any way to do it? if so which card should i buy? i'm running 10.6.7 thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.14r2 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=94679 http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66345 plus Google as usual... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Vermelho Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi Pi, long time no read. OP: You can also set up a software RAID via Apple Disk Utillity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noam AA Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi Pi, long time no read. OP: You can also set up a software RAID via Apple Disk Utillity. hey there! thanks for helping with those links, one thing is i don't have any 4X,8X pci-e, only x1 pci-e, so those card can help me much, i found out there is RocketRaid 2300 or 2640 which can be helpful for me, but will it work? now for another kind of question, sorry from dumbness on setting up raid, always heard about it but it's my first time doing it. so i know there are software and hardware raid, and i don't really want to relay on a software raid and my question is, beside driver for the card to work, what are the procedures i need to do in order to set the raid with the mac do i set it up with the hardware controller and then install a fresh system? or install a fresh system and then do all the raid setup? is there anything i need to do during installation? cause the SL installation on my system is without booting from cd, but from a working osx through OSInstall.mpkg, so i only have access to disk utility through a working osx or leopard installation cd sorry again for dumbness on this subject, i was searching around and found and read some things, but it's a bit confusing when it comes to hardware and success so i would rather ask,(better safe then sorry ) and just clear the confusing a bit. thanks for all helpers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mm67 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Sil3132 based cards work on OS X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.14r2 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 ...it comes to hardware and success so i would rather ask,(better safe then sorry )Good point! Well, it can be done in few ways, it depends on the current situation you have and the objectives (goals) you'd like to achieve. Basically (at least I do that way) you have to: install the RAID card to an empty slot (PCI or PCI-X/E) connect disks you are willing to use in RAID to the RAID card create a RAID set (0, 1, 10, or whatever your card supports), usually you can create a RAID set prior to booting to an OS or in some cases in OS (those you should have a separate HDD ("outside" the RAID volume) with an OS installed) boot from an installation media and install OS to RAID volume (if the install disk have no specific driver for the card, you will have either to sleapstream it to an install disk or load separately) OR boot to an existing OS on a separate drive, install needed drivers (if needed) and install the OS to the RAID volume (then install needed drivers to a newly installed OS on the RAID - or it will not work) There are few guides how to install OS X to RAID volumes - just search the forum. Some warnings: In some cases a RAID volume can be unsafe and can lead (worst case scenario with stripe type RAID) to a complete data loss if one of the disks dies. Not always a RAID gives a significant increase in performance (SSD disk can be a better solution). RAIDs are IMO more useful then dealing with backups (a mirror type RAID; I use one for Windows backups). A hardware RAID card (not the host controller card) are far more superior then any software RAID. A software RAID can only be used by the same OS it was created in (Windows will not "see" OS X software RAID and vice versa). It is not always possible to migrate directly a non RAID disk to RAID volume (but you can always clone an existing disk to the RAID volume with Gparted Life CD or similar tool). P.S. Gringo Vermelho Hi, been very busy lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noam AA Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 WOOW!!! thanks man you did wrote EVERYTHING i had question for. just for record, i'm planning on raid 5 or raid 10, didn't got my mind straight on this one, but either way, the first goal is to make a big change on write and read speeds, but without effecting (or risking) any information. so which route you think will be best for my needs? im working with music software like logic and CUBASE,and this is the last thing standing between me and perfection on this system rig (which is kinda old, but like a horse for me till at least one more year) anyhow, thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.14r2 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 so which route you think will be best for my needs?It depends on how many disks you have for the RAID volume: If you have at least 3 disks than IMO 5 If you have 4 or more then 10 10 is the safest choice. The most reliable of the two. It may be more enterprise oriented solution though (read not for home use). I'd use 10 if I were you. Another thing that may not bother you but anyway... Power consumption of 3 disk will be less then of the 4 disks. If you have your PC working 24/7, then there is something to think about. Though you may try using 2.5' disks as they consume much less power and may perform better (I've seen some HP servers with 2.5' disks). I personally use mirroring (my RAID card supports only 2 SATA disks and striping or mirroring; its safety vs. speed, where safety wins ) as striping didn't performed well on Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noam AA Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 It depends on how many disks you have for the RAID volume: If you have at least 3 disks than IMO 5 If you have 4 or more then 10 10 is the safest choice. The most reliable of the two. It may be more enterprise oriented solution though (read not for home use). I'd use 10 if I were you. Another thing that may not bother you but anyway... Power consumption of 3 disk will be less then of the 4 disks. If you have your PC working 24/7, then there is something to think about. Though you may try using 2.5' disks as they consume much less power and may perform better (I've seen some HP servers with 2.5' disks). I personally use mirroring (my RAID card supports only 2 SATA disks and striping or mirroring; its safety vs. speed, where safety wins ) as striping didn't performed well on Windows. killer man! yaa that what i thought about them, i suppose i will go with the 10. about the 2.5", it can really be an interesting choice to do this, as i intend to buy 3-4 new hard drive anyway for this it will be great! so now the only thing i need to do i to buy the appropriate hardware, the RocketRaid really got my attention, as it have 4 sata connection and raid 10 so it will be Perfect, hope it goes well with hackintosh thanks a bunch for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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