1

I need to make a 50TB RAID array.
Now I'm confused!
I didn't found any RAID controller that have more than 8 channels (So supports 8 drives (?)).
So how can I make an array of 25x2TB drives?
Do I need more than one controller?

Where is my mistake?

Thanks

2
  • Someone told you to build a 50TB storage solution and you have no idea how that could even work? Who are you working for? Jun 11, 2012 at 22:00
  • @OliverSalzburg: No! I need it for my own! And I want to to do it by myself!
    – Ariyan
    Jun 12, 2012 at 5:46

2 Answers 2

4

The number of channels available on the RAID card does not automatically equal the number of drives.

On SATA-1, you need as many channels as you have drives, while SATA-2 lets you make use of hubs to expand in principle (but as total bandwidth is limited this slows things down, and it's not supported very widely).

If you're on SAS -- serial attached SCSI -- which can still let you use SATA drives (check out Near Line SAS, which is slower than SAS but gives you the scale of SATA, see http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/networking/how-sas-near-line-nl-sas-and-sata-disks-compare/5323), you can put up to 128 drives off a single HBA (host bus adaptor, the card you plug them into): http://www.attotech.com/support/trouble/sasfaq.html -- or up to 65,535 through expanders!

All that said -- if I were you I'd have a chat with the major vendors (say, Dell or IBM), and see what they have to say. That's some fairly expensive hardware...

1

Look at this for an example to how to build a large storage array - they've used port multiplier backplanes with pcie cards for a total of 135 terabytes on 45 driveson a custom case.

On the other hand, if you're actually asking about what to do.. Most of the big vendors sell devices like this - you're looking for a storage array, SAN or NAS - wikipedia would be a good start in learning the differences between them. Do your homework, work out what you need, and just buy one with a good support contract.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .