[Box Backup] Off topic: Request for server advice

[Martin Ebourne]

On Wed, 2006-10-25 at 20:42 +0100, Jamie Webb wrote:
> Just be aware that 'server' components really are more reliable. Our
> 750s (in datacentres) have uptimes in years. Desktop systems are built
> for price and features, not long-term stability.

Probably more to do with better power lines, and especially better air
conditioning in the datacentre than the parts used. Oh, and left alone
and not fiddled with so much helps too :)

> > Booting from a second hard disk if the first one fails?
> Beware that the cheapest RAID options on these systems tend to be
> software-based, i.e. only any good once the system's booted. The BIOS
> may or may not be able to switch to the second disk (assuming you've
> manually duplicated MBRs and boot partitions on both disks), depending
> on the nature of the failure.

Avoid any motherboard based raid solution, none of them are any good. If
you've not got a real raid card then certainly if you're running linux
stick to software raid, it's a lot better. Linux software raid is
capable of booting with a disk failed assuming you've set up raid 1 on
the boot and root partitions.

As Jamie wrote, it's possible the bios may not boot correctly on a
partially failed disk.

Cheers,

Martin.