Re: Newbie: Drive Configuration

From: Liz Reen <lizr_at_geologist.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 15:55:10 -0500
Message-ID: <MPG.1525820df9f59f299896d6@news.supernews.com>

In article <99e67m$n0q_at_dispatch.concentric.net>, no_at_email.please.com says...
> Basically RAID 5 is to be avoided because it carries a time penalty for
> writes. You also should avoid having certain combinations of files on the
> same drive, regardless of the RAID level.

When a drive fails in Raid 5 performance goes through the floor. Yes your data is safe, but the wait for it is long. With Raid 0 or 0+1, the loss of a disk does not effect performance.
>
> I would recommend buying the Oracle DBA Handbook to see the different drive
> configs you can have. From one (logical) drive all the way to 22 disks.

Agreed.
>
> Having said that, I have read over and over about the different configs and
> still are running all on a single RAID5 config similar to yours :-). I have
> not really needed the extra performance yet.

Like people, databases come in all sizes and types. What is appropriate for one is overkill for another. The most important thing is understanding what your database does, the expectations for performance, the criticality of the data, and your budget.

Liz Received on Fri Mar 23 2001 - 14:55:10 CST