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Question

Is there any software fro asymetric RAID0?

I replaced many notebook HD with SSD, so I collected many HD, which I plugged to my PC, and I want to take advantage of them.

I frequently use an HD for processing large files, so I would like to build a RAID0.

The problem is that those disks have different speeds, so if I make a RAID0, it will work at the speed of the slower one.

That would be solved if the RAID software were splitting each file in pieces whose size is proportional to the disk speed (even better if it also consider that the speed varies with the phicsical placement on the disk).

That way, small bits would be written on slow disks, and larger pieces on the faster ones.

But i do not know any software capable of doing it. Windows RAID0 is certainly not smart enough to take advantage of asymmetric HDs.

So the question is: there is any software RAID capable of creating asymmetric RAID?

Windows programs would be preferable, but also Linux solutions.

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Sounds like a dead end.
Apr 6, 2015 1:53AM PDT

Why?

Since most notebooks have USB 2 or newer ones USB 3.0 interfaces, even a slow HDD on SATA is faster than USB 3.0 so even if you did implement your RAID0 Asym system the USB interface would remove those gains.

-> Workaround? Max out the RAM in that notebook.
Bob

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***???

What notebook?

Please, read before writing unrelated things.

Do you really think that I plugged like 5 or 6 HD inside a notebook?

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Bob provided about as straightforward of an answer that...
Apr 6, 2015 5:32AM PDT

..is possible.

Not sure about the snarky tone on your end. Maybe you require a translator? Choke point will be the slower speed of either the USB2 or USB3 connection to your external RAID device. What's already inside the laptop will be faster, and if you add RAM, you should be good to go. Any other solution would be to increase size of SSD if it's too small too effectively work with your large files, etc.

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This is a desktop PC.

As I wrote, I plugged all those HD to a desktop PC.

The notebooks have nothing to do here. That's purely anecdotal. I collected the disks from them, but that has nothing to do with my question.

All the HDs I want to raid0 are plugged to a midtower cabinet, with SATA cables to the ICH10 controller of an x58 motherboard.

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This is the first reference to a desktop PC
Apr 6, 2015 5:57AM PDT

Your top post only noted a notebook.
Bob

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Stop trolling, please, you are not needed here.

That's a lie. Now, you ruined my thread, and the people capable of helping me will not care about reading it.

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I don't mind omissions.
Apr 6, 2015 6:16AM PDT

But to WTF over your own detail omission might send folk the message you are here to flame and not discuss.

Let's hear what you found so far. That is, I haven't seen such fine grain control in decades.
Bob

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Reminder.
Apr 6, 2015 9:05AM PDT

Please read the forum polcies about flaming. The advice Bob has given you is all good. Flaming will get you less help.
Dafydd.

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Read your post again.
Apr 6, 2015 5:57AM PDT

It lead with notebook and didn't reveal what the new machine was. So I worked with it as if it was a notebook.

Please write a better post next time to save folk from guessing badly.

I rarely see anyone plug 5 or 6 HDD inside a desktop today. With multi-TB HDDs in the sub 99 buck range you might find someone trying to optimize a RAID0 like you asked but it's the sort of thing that is left to tinkering rather than getting work done.

http://www.win-raid.com/t23f28-How-to-boost-the-Intel-RAID-performance.html covers your run of the mill optimizing. Can you share one RAID solution that tinkers around with what you are after?

Since each drive can have some different memory buffer on the HDD, a lot of what you are after blows up or is mitigated at the hardware level.
Bob

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software for asymmetric RAID

Intel RAID has nothing to do here.

I'm clearly asking for software for asymmetric RAID.

I only said that I got the HDs from many notebooks. I never said that I plugged those many HDs on a notebook.

I clearly said that I plugged many HD to a PC.

It would be extremely absurd to pretend to make an asymmetrical RAID0 with magnetic hard disks plugged to a notebook by USB.

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That's clearer.
Apr 6, 2015 6:34AM PDT

Checking around there are asymmetric RAID systems but they define the change to tinker with read and write speed being the asymmetric part. There are some patents in 2012 about a hardware RAID to optimize on the fly depending on drive performance but I can't find anyone that implemented such.

I can't guess why we can't discuss all the angles here. The Intel RAID solution is on so many desktops that it's one of the usual systems you find. An all software RAID for Windows is often what you get from Microsoft and Intel (one being totally software.) So the market for what you are asking for is miniscule.

What to do next?

a) maximize the performance of what you have with the usual (MAX RAM.)
b) make a good array.

I guess someone that is easily upset could flame on about "they should have written this by now."
Bob

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Answer
The Snowflake issue.
Apr 6, 2015 7:43AM PDT
http://static.usenix.org/event/hotos11/tech/final_files/Krevat.pdf broached that topic.

I see why some would want a dynamic RAID that would adapt to drive snowflakiness. However gains would be minimal plus data recovery would go from hard to impossible.

Thinking it over a drive accelerator may be the best idea. Here's one:
http://www.thessdreview.com/our-reviews/mydigitalssd-super-cache-2-m-2-ssd-review-exploring-m-2-without-fnet-hybridisk-caching/4/

That way your cache soaks up the snowflake issue up to some GBs.
Bob
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Answer
Re: asymmetric RAID0
Apr 6, 2015 6:54PM PDT