Hi, I'd like to start using Windows.Storage.Server.Essentials.2008_R2_Embedded as NAS, and I have 4 x 1 TB disks ready. Does my motherboad MUST have raid controller (ICH10R or earliear), or PCI RAID card, or WSS will take care of everything? Please advice. TIA, IvanHo
I think in some (if not all) server versions, raid can be handled by windows. It is software raid then, and all calculations are done by the cpu. So this method uses cpu time. Most mainboard built-in controllers also use the cpu for their calculations. However, windows don't have to take care of the raid anymore. I'm not a raid expert, but although this method also uses the cpu, I think it's better then the first method since it's more hardware based. The 3th option is a pci card. Good pci cards have their own processor and some ram on the card, so they don't utilise the main cpu and system memory at all. If you run ram/cpu intensive tasks on your server, this is certainly the way you go, but I don't think it will be since it's just a NAS. So if you're mainboard has a build-in controller I'd use that one. Most if not all modern mainboards have a build-in controller anyway.
Hi Ivan, No you do not have to have a RAID setup for WSSE, SBS, SBSE or WHSv2 They will all work with both RAID and JBOD (Just a Box Of Disks) setups.