RH 7.1 installation on an IBM server with 3 scsi disks

[Rick Stevens]

Andrew Kelly wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-03-08 at 19:15, Rick Stevens wrote:
> 
>>Andrew Kelly wrote:
>>
>>>On Fri, 2004-03-05 at 18:03, Rick Stevens wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Again, you can't have RAID5 on a single disk.  As to whether you can
>>>>install Linux on a RAID5 system, sure.  It depends on if it's a hardware
>>>>or software RAID as to how to do the install.
>>>
>>>
>>>Are you certain about this? 
>>>Of course it's not possible to have a hardware RAID with a single disk,
>>>but a single disk software RAID is completely doable. You just assign 
>>>partitions as container members.
>>
>>Forgive me, but what in the heck do you gain by having a RAID made up
>>of a bunch of partitions on the same disk?  Unless you were doing it as
>>an intellectual exercize or to familiarize yourself with the tools, you
>>gain nothing.  There's no data redundancy except on the same disk and
>>you sure-as-heck aren't going to get any performance enhancements (if
>>anything it'll be slower).
> 
> 
> Forgive me back, but please show me where I advocated any position
> worthy of your wasting energy to bash it apart.

Uhm, I'm sorry to have sounded so "high and mighty".  I didn't intend to
"bash it apart".  My phrasing could have been better and I appologize.
> 
> You said,
> 	"Again, you can't have RAID5 on a single disk."
> 
> You were wrong, I disagreed with you and I offered a bit of information
> as to why. Harmless as all that.

Well, true.  It's not a very useful thing to do.  As I had said, if it's
for practice and getting familiar with the tools, fine.  It does not,
however, do anything practical for you.

My "tirade" (should you wish to call it that) was invoked because we
have a number of neophytes on the list and I get concerned when
something like this gets put up, simply because I'm worried they'll set
up a single-disk RAID and think that it will provide them the same
"security" as a multi-disk RAID.

>>Having a RAID using partitions on one drive is about as useful as teats
>>on a bull.  It shouldn't even be called RAID, but (pardon me) "RAIP"
>>(redundant array of inane partitions).  The whole point of a RAID is
>>to survive the death of a DRIVE.  If you start losing parts of
>>partitions, you had better replace the drive PDQ (pretty damned quick).
> 
> 
> Uh, NS (no shit).
> 
> When you're issuing a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious), it wouldn't
> hurt to keep just a few things in mind.
> -- Just because somebody doesn't post with a signature announcing
>    their IT pedigree, doesn't mean there's reason to assume that they
>    don't have opposable thumbs or can't feed themselves without an
>    instruction booklet.

And you should keep in mind that a lot of newbies watch this list (and
others) and one should try not to lead them down a dead-end path.

> -- Even people who can't spell condescention can be quite irritated
>    by it.

True.

> -- There's nothing wrong with being better than somebody, but feeling
>    superior to somebody will generally work out poorly.

I never intend that.  If that's how you read my postings, fine.  I
suppose that's why if 20 people read something, you'll get 20 different
impressions.

> -- It is very difficult in the media of online foren, usenet newsgroups
>    or interactive mailing lists not to "commit" the "crimes" just 
>    mentioned. (As evidenced by my own words)

Again, it depends on how you read it.  I never--and I mean NEVER--intend
to sound preachy or superior.  I am concerned because this list covers
the gamut from rank newbies to old hands such as yourself.  Any
information that could possibly cause a newbie to set themselves up for
a bad toe-stubbing (such as a single-disk RAID) is of concern to me.

Once more, I appologize if you took offense.
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- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
-             To iterate is human, to recurse, divine.               -
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