To RAID or not to RAID, that is the question...

[raducanmihai]

Hello everybody.
Following other builds here, I just put together the following system for ProTools 11.

Processor: i7 4770k
Cooler: Noctua U-12S
Mo/bo: ASUS Z87-PRO
Video card: ASUS GT 640
Power source: Seasonic G-650 (modular, 650W)
Memory: 16GB, 2x8 Kingston HyperX Genesis PnP 1600/CL9
DVD writer: ASUS (nothing special)
Storage: 128 GB Samsung 840 PRO (system & programs), 2 x 1 TB WD Caviar Black

I have 2 questions. First, the easy one:
1. I have to buy a PCIe Firewire card. I know it has to have a TI chip on it but do you have any recommendations?

And the more complicated question:
2. The plan was to put Windows 7 on SSD and use the two hdds in RAID 1 (mirroring) for storage. Can I use RAID 1 without any performance issues with Pro Tools 11? Does it has to be on the hardware level (Intel Rapid Storage Tech) on can I do it in Windows without any issues? I already installed Windows 7 and all drivers and I just found out that if I want to enable it on the hardware level I have to reinstall Windows and select in BIOS from the beginning the RAID option.

Thank you,
Mihai Raducan

L.E.: I just found out that most consumer grade mo/bo "hardware level RAID" is actually fake hardware RAID and Windows 7 RAID is preferable (hot swappable, no performance difference from fake RAID). But the question remains: can I use a RAID 1 (mirroring) with ProTools 11?

[mikeyman]

why do you want a raid setup.?

[YYR123]

Did Pro tools ever support RAID?

[mikeyman]

I had the same idea and had my computer setup to mirror and make another copy that way.But changed it and now I have all single drives and it's easy to make backup copies to a internal drive and to an external drive

[Shan]

Originally Posted by YYR123

Did Pro tools ever support RAID?

Pro Tools supports RAID and even Network Attached Storage:

RAID

Pro Tools 10 supports hardware-based RAID
(redundant array of independent disks) systems
for opening, playing back, and recording Pro
Tools sessions. However,performance is not
guaranteed and isdependent on a variety of fac-
tors including network bandwidth.

As with lower versions of Pro Tools, Pro Tools
10 also supports software-based RAID systems
using ATTO RAID software, which makes sev-
eral RAID volumes appear as a single volume to
the operating system.

Shane

[raducanmihai]

Thank you all for your questions and answers.

Why RAID 1: I am not the one using the computer. The person I built if for and who's going to use it (my brother in law) is not a tech savy person but he is a musician. So I was thinking about the minimum fuss if anything happens: that's why the CPU won't be overclocked () and a constant backup of everything might be a nice addition. I'm going to be a few thousands km away from him and any support from me is limited to Skype and/or Hangouts calls.

Hardware RAID: That is out of the questions, financially speaking.

Controller RAID (aka Fake RAID) vs Windows RAID: From what I've red, for RAID 1 there is no performance difference between the two, but with a few advantages for Windows.

Third Party Software RAID (ATTO): It's (again) about support. I don't know the software so I can't offer him any support at all, not even on the phone.

Regarding my first question: FireWire PCIe Adapter (TI chip): do you have any recommendations? What do you use without any problems?

Thank you,
Mihai Raducan

[Shan]

Originally Posted by raducanmihai

Why RAID 1: I am not the one using the computer. The person I built if for and who's going to use it (my brother in law) is not a tech savy person but he is a musician.

I myself would keep it simple and not use RAID in this case. The defacto standard on the forum for disk imaging is Acronis True Image. Image every step you do starting immediately after the OS install. Most of all, once you have it all working, make an image of it. If things start to go wrong, the system can be restored. Also, Session File Auto Backup is enabled by default in Pro Tools.

Shane

[Shan]

...and here's some resources I highly recommend reading through that should help with the build:

• Computer
• System Requirements
• Qualified Desktops & Laptops
• Only NVIDIA graphics cards are supported
• Windows 7 Optimizations or Windows 8 Optimizations
• Recommended Reading
• More Recommended Reading

Shane

[Craig F]

I would not RAID, a user is way more likely to delete files than have a drive failure and a RAID is not a backup in the case of deletion

[raducanmihai]

Thank you for your thoughts. You convinced me, I'll not use RAID.

@Shan: Thank you for the links. On the "Recommended Reading" it says that Siig 2 card is recommended. A little more digging and it seams to be this model: http://www.siig.com/it-products/fire...port-pcie.html. Is this a good choice or do you have any other ideas?