LVM vs RAID 1+0

We are in the process of buying 2 new HP's a K410 & K210 (HP-UX 10.10) These machines will serve as production database servers running oracle 7.3.2.2. My question is should I use LVM to stripe & mirror the drives or use RAID 1+0 to do the same thing with hardware.

The apps that use these servers will have about a 70/30 read/write ratio. They are neither heavy OLTP or DSS. One would house the database for PeopleSoft HR, and the other for a moderate activity Forms 4.5 app.

The advantages I see with using hardware are:

> easier for the SA to administer (we are short staffed..)

            > easier to add more disk without manually restriping...

The software advantages might be:

> allows larger stripe width which could improve perf...
> makes better use of main memory..extra cache not

               required on the controller

The difference in cost is negligible, so if anyone has any strong opinions either way (horror stories welcome..) I'd like to hear them.

Thanks in advance for the help!

R. Jennings
rjennings_at_andersencorp.com (please respond here.......) technical architect/oracle DBA Received on Wed Jan 15 1997 - 00:00:00 CST