Linux Software RAID on External Drives

Linux Software RAID on External Drives

[Brice Burgess]

I'm getting rid of my desktop (* http://www.guidospaper.com/comp.html ). 
It is heavy, dusty, and will be better off with a buddy of mine. I'm 
going to build a mini-ITX form factor computer ( or perhaps go with a 
Shuttle XPC system ). The point is; I'm aiming for a tiny silent 
computer running Linux with all its perripherals attatched externally 
(ie. external CDR, floppy and hard drives). I'll likely have a 20GB 
internal notebook drive and slim CDROM to boot my system from. Of most 
importance is my external storage unit, known as the "Barn".  My "Barn" 
currently consists of 2x120GB ATA drives in a Linux software RAID-1 
Array. The "Barn" holds all of my projects, digital media collection, 
and everything else I can't afford to loose. In the process of building 
my new system, I want to expand and modularize the Barn. I think 4x160GB 
IDE drives attatched to a bridgeboard of some kind and placed in a 
software RAID-5 array is optimal. The external chasis will have a small 
low wattage power supply unit built in to power the drives. These are my 
plans.. and I've been brainstorming ideas for awhile now on how to setup 
an external redundant storage unit in the most cost-effective manner.

Does anyone have experience using Linux software raid (mdtools) to 
create disk arrays by linking multiple external drives together? Is it 
reliable? What are the preffered busses -- USB2, IEEE 1394, Fiber, etc? 
And above all, what do you think will be the most cost-effective (yet 
still viable) solution?

As ever,

Brice Burgess