Denis Joseph Nexum Hardware.

Raid Sata

How to Choose a Raid Controller

Step 1. Know what you are using it for.
Ask yourself these questions. How big of a capacity are you looking for (Terabyte)? How fast do you need the performance to be? (are you using it for server or video editing) and the ultimate questions, how much money do you have?

Only by answering these questions, you can locate the RAID controller for you! Now start the meditation process and find these answers in your heart. Here are a few facts that might give you some insights.

- Current largest capacity SATA and SAS hard drives are 2TB, so with a four port controller, you can easily reach 8TB of RAW storage.
- Any "Areca" controller with four hard drives could easily pump out 300+mb/s which is sufficient for any HD or 2K video editing/rendering work.
- With eight hard drives, you are looking at 700-800mb/s SUSTAINED, which is sufficient for 4:4:4 uncompressed materials. (its actually an overkill) No burst performance or marketing crap being mentioned here.

Step 2. PCIe RAID controller or RAID subsystem?
What the hell are RAID subsystems? You might ask… RAID subsystems are enclosure with RAID controller built into the box which has combination of eSATA, USB or Firewire as connection interface to your computer. The major advantage of RAID subsystem is that you can choose the interface you think will be most suitable with your current machines. However, the biggest drawback is that you do not get as much performance with RAID subsystem compare to PCIe RAID controller due to data transfer rate limitation on each interface. If you like your storage moved between multiple different machines (including laptop), you will find RAID subsystem much friendlier to work with as you usually get multiple different interface options and they are mostly plug and play like USB thumb drives. On the other hand, if you need hardcore performance for your stationery editing machine or server, you'll be looking at PCIe RAID controller which delivers much higher throughput.

If you have decided to go with RAID subsystem, you are pretty much done as you just have to pick the box with preferred number of bays, and included interface. One note when picking RAID subsystem is to make sure the box is integrated with hardware RAID (like all Areca subsystem) as it will become a major difference when volumes become degraded.

Step 3. SATA or SAS hard drives?
All RAID controllers in the world can be separate into these two categories, the major differences has been compiled into the table below. Unfortunately, there is no SAS HDD option available for subsystem. Therefore, if you have decided to go with a RAID subsystem solution, you can skip this step and just fill them up with SATA hard drives.

*****SATA RAID controller******
- Slow performance
- Cheaper in price
- SATA controller can only take SATA drives

******SAS RAID controller******
- faster than SATA
- more $$ than SATA
- SAS controller can take both SATA and SAS drives
- Some higher end SAS controller support SAS-expander, which allows you to expand up to 120+ drives.

Step 4. Do I want these hard drives to be internally or externally attached?
Unless you have a rack mount, normally you want to go with a separate external chassis to hold all the hard drives for better air ventilation and sufficient power. There are all kinds of different chassis to be found cheap on online retailers but the trick is to find one that is guarantee to be compatible with your controller! There is nothing worse than finding something isn't going to work together after you have bought everything. A few recommended chassis that are compatible with Areca cards are CineRAID or Sans Digital, which can be found on newegg.

Step 5. Price
Now with all factors considered, it eventually comes down to price. If you are looking for cheapest RAID controller ever, Areca will not be your cup of tea. You can head straight to search Highpoint or left over 3ware RAID controllers who are known to be making the cheapest RAID controller in the market. For higher performance and reliability, you will have to pay a higher price for it. (Oh, Snap!) If you are really poor, you might simply go with software RAID emulator that comes with the motherboard or any standard operating system. They are free but the trade off is they will drain your CPU and memory at all time.

The entry level Areca controllers are 12xx series while the higher end model SAS controller are listed as 16xx series. The price ranges from few hundred bucks to over a thousand bases on the amount of memory and CPU that is equipped on it. Please note the 16xx series controller has SAS-expander support which gives you the option to ‘grow as you go' in capacity.

If you manage to finish reading these five steps, you are now in good position to look at the massive Areca product catalog and choose the right RAID controller that best suites your need. The table below is an Areca PCIe product matrix that will help you locate the exact model number.

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Areca Raid

SAS/SATA 6GB/S NON-RAID $209.99 SAS/SATA 6GB/S NON-RAID

3ware Escalade RAID PCI SATA RAID Controller 12-Ports 9500S12 $150 3ware Escalade RAID PCI SATA RAID Controller 12-Ports 9500S12

HIGH POINT SATA II RAID ADAPTER $127.99 HIGH POINT SATA II RAID ADAPTER

9650SE-2LP-SGL RAID 0/1 2CH SATA II PCI $191.99 9650SE-2LP-SGL RAID 0/1 2CH SATA II PCI

9650SE-8LPML-SGL 8CH SATA II PCIE RAID CONTROLLER $503.99 9650SE-8LPML-SGL 8CH SATA II PCIE RAID CONTROLLER

ADAPTEC / 51645 RAID 16X4CH SATA/SAS / 2258600-R $829.5 ADAPTEC - 51645 RAID 16X4CH SATA/SAS - 2258600-R

ADAPTEC / 6805 SINGLE RAID 0/1/10 SATA / 2270100-R $528.51 ADAPTEC - 6805 SINGLE RAID 0/1/10 SATA - 2270100-R

ADAPTEC / 52445 RAID 24X4CH SATA/SAS / 2258700-R $1298.94 ADAPTEC - 52445 RAID 24X4CH SATA/SAS - 2258700-R

Addonics / Addonics 4-port SATA RAID Controller / ADSA4R5 $84.91 Addonics - Addonics 4-port SATA RAID Controller - ADSA4R5

Addonics / RAID 4CH SATA CONTROLLER / ADST114 $53.96 Addonics - RAID 4CH SATA CONTROLLER - ADST114

Startech.com / EXTERNAL SATA RAID ENCLOSURE / S354UFER $289.09 Startech.com - EXTERNAL SATA RAID ENCLOSURE - S354UFER

SIIG SATA 4-CHANNEL Raid Rohs Comp SCSA4R12S2 $78.72 SIIG SATA 4-CHANNEL Raid Rohs Comp SCSA4R12S2

Siig 2-port SATA RAID Controller SCSAE312S3 $85.98 Siig 2-port SATA RAID Controller SCSAE312S3

3ware RAID SATA Controller 8-Ports 9500S8MI 9500S-8MI $32.2 3ware RAID SATA Controller 8-Ports 9500S8MI 9500S-8MI

HP 4-Ports Non-raid PCI SATA Controller365031-001 $95 HP 4-Ports Non-raid PCI SATA Controller365031-001

Addonics 4-port SATA RAID Controller ADSA4R5 $77.28 Addonics 4-port SATA RAID Controller ADSA4R5

Thinkserver Sata Raid 5 Upgrade For Td23 $105.99 SATA RAID 5 UPG TD230-FOR TS

SATA II PCIe RAID - storage controller (RAID) - SATA-300 - PCIe $66.99 SIIG SATA II PCIe RAID - Storage controller (RAID) - 2 Channel - SATA-300 low profile - 300 MBps - RAID 0 1 - PCIe

SATA II-150 PCI RAID - storage controller (RAID) - SATA-150 - PCI $54.99 SIIG SATA II-150 PCI RAID - Storage controller (RAID) - 2 Channel - SATA-150 low profile - 150 MBps - RAID 0 1 - PCI

Manhattan 176767 2-port SATA RAID Controller $61.31 SATA 1.5 GBPS RAID PCI CARD CTLRTWO INTERNAL PORTS

SIIG 2-port SATA RAID Controller $73.99 0 1 2 2 x Serial ATA/300 - External SATA 2 x Physical 2-port SATA RAID Controller 300 MBps 2-port SATA RAID Controller Driver CD Quick Installation Guide Two external Serial ATA generation II ports with transfer rates of 3.0Gbps (300MBps). Supports a 1-lane (x1) 2.5Gbps PCI Express bus one way. Supports RAID 0 (striping) for speed, RAID 1 (mirroring) for data protection, and single drive (contiguous). Lifetime PC PCI Express x1 Plug-in Card RoHS SATA RAID Controller SC-SAE312-S3 SIIG SIIG, Inc Serial ATA/300 Yes www.siig.com

Addonics 4-port SATA RAID Controller $68.99 0 1 1+0 1+S 300 MBps 4 4 x 7-pin Serial ATA/300 - Serial ATA Internal 4 x Physical 4-port SATA RAID Controller 5 4-port SATA RAID Controller 1 x Standard Height Bracket 1 x Low Profile Bracket Software CD User Guide The 4 port ADSA4R5 provides high speed SATA in a PCI controller supporting RAID5 and JBOD, allowing desktop configurations with only PCI slots to have the newest RAID features. This RAID5/JBOD controller supports configurations of RAID 1, RAID 0, RAID 1+0, RAID 1 + S, RAID5 and JBOD. JBOD combines individual drives into one large volume to show as one drive letter. ADSA4R5 Addonics Addonics Technologies JBOD PC PCI-X Plug-in Card SATA RAID Controller Serial ATA/300 www.addonics.com

Fasttrak Tx8660 Retail 8port Sata/Sas Pciex4 Raid Hba $166.99 FASTTRAK TX8660 RETAIL-8P SATA/SAS PCIEX4 RAID

HighPoint / RAID Dual-Port SATA 6Gb/sPCIEx1 RAID Support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10,and JBOD Multiple RAID support / HI-RR620 $60.07 HighPoint - RAID Dual-Port SATA 6Gb/sPCIEx1 RAID Support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10,and JBOD Multiple RAID support - HI-RR620

Free post shipping 100% new PCI to 4 ports SATA raid adapter card $13.47 PCI SATA,SATA raid,SATA card 4 ports,PCI to 4 ports SATA raid adapter card

SERIAL ATA SATA DATA RAID HDD HARD DRIVE CABLE $36.04 SERIAL ATA SATA DATA RAID HDD HARD DRIVE CABLE Sata Cable sata to sata cable sata data cable

Intel Software SATA RAID 5 Activation Key $92.99 AXXRAKSW5 Intel Intel Corporation License Software Licensing Software SATA RAID 5 Activation Key www.intel.com

SIIG SATA II-150 PCI RAID Controller $55.99 2 2 x 7-pin SATA Serial ATA/150 Serial ATA Add Serial ATA RAID (with NCQ) speed & security to your desktop Supports RAID 0(stripe) for performance and RAID 1 (mirror) for data reliability SATA II-150 PCI RAID Controller Spare enhanced low profile bracket 2 x SATA data cables and dual-connector SATA power cable Driver software and user's manual Lifetime PC PCI Plug-in Card SATA II-150 PCI RAID Controller SC-SA3012-S1 SIIG SIIG, Inc Serial ATA Controller Serial ATA/150 Up to 1.17 Gbps Up to 2 x Serial ATA/150 www.siig.com

Icy Dock / 3 in 2 SATA I&II Hot-Swap Raid / MB973SP-B $93.76 Icy Dock - 3 in 2 SATA I&II Hot-Swap Raid - MB973SP-B

Intel / Intel Controller Card AXXROMBSASMR RAID Module SAS SATA / AXXROMBSASMR $349.26 Intel - Intel Controller Card AXXROMBSASMR RAID Module SAS SATA - AXXROMBSASMR

ADAPTEC / 6405 KIT RAID 0/1/10 SATA 512MB / 2271100-R $407.81 ADAPTEC - 6405 KIT RAID 0/1/10 SATA 512MB - 2271100-R

HPT USA/Highpoint Tech / SAS SATA 6Gbs non-RAID / ROCKET2722 $217.62 HPT USA/Highpoint Tech - SAS SATA 6Gbs non-RAID - ROCKET2722

SIIG INC / SIIG SATA II-150 PCI RAID Controller / SC-SA3012-S1 $63.07 SIIG INC - SIIG SATA II-150 PCI RAID Controller - SC-SA3012-S1

HPT USA/Highpoint Tech / SATA III RAID Host Adapter / ROCKETRAID640L $121.68 HPT USA/Highpoint Tech - SATA III RAID Host Adapter - ROCKETRAID640L

Intel / RAID Module 8P Int. SAS/SATA / RMS25PB080 $556.53 Intel - RAID Module 8P Int. SAS/SATA - RMS25PB080

ADAPTEC / 1220SA 2CH SATA II RAID KIT / 2232100-R $76.64 ADAPTEC - 1220SA 2CH SATA II RAID KIT - 2232100-R

ADAPTEC / 1430SA RAID 0/1/10 4CH SATA II / 2241000-R $114.28 ADAPTEC - 1430SA RAID 0/1/10 4CH SATA II - 2241000-R

ADAPTEC / 5405 RAID 4CH SATA/SAS 256MB / 2258200-R $383.91 ADAPTEC - 5405 RAID 4CH SATA/SAS 256MB - 2258200-R