Thanks for your reply. You are quite correct to note that RAID increases the likelihood that a drive will fail (as there are more drives that can fail). I agree that 'availability' is a better term than 'reliability'. I also agree that the majority of home users and even the majority of/. users do not have the data requirements that justify a few terabytes of RAID 5. I know professional photographer and videographers that do. I also know some home theater applications built around RAID systems.
I did consider a rsync operation such as detailed here. I do believe that this is a good solution for many people and is certainly cheaper. I do also appreciate your distrust of an intervening black-box component of uncertain quality. None the less, I selected against this option for three good reasons and one silly one.
In the event of primary drive failure, you will suffer some data loss.
I like having an audible alarm on the hardware RAID unit.
A dedicated hardware RAID solution is easier to install, use, and maintain.
At the start of every month, I remove one drive and relocate it to a secure off-site location off site. The previous off-site drive is then moved back into the RAID.
Separately, I have a DLT unit for incremental backups between drive rotations.
The theory is that if a drive fails (say once every two years), I don't lose any data or have any downtime. In the event of catastrophic loss (e.g. the house burns down, the off site location is flooded, etc.) which might occur once every decade or two (hopefully less), I would expect to lose at most a month of data.
For true 3 disk RAID 1, I don't see much demand so I'm not surprised that you went with the RAID 5. Another possibility would be to use a system like this in a 0+1 with hot spare configuration.
Once you understand that RAID is reliability strategy and are prepared to have appropriate backup measures in place, then RAID 5 becomes an attractive option for the home network. I've recently looked at several options.
LaCie Biggest Disk - Cheap but of questionable reliability. Since RAID systems should be reliable above all else, I would rule this out.
Buffalo TeraStation: An interesting product but again reviews are pretty mixed.
FirewireDirect Vanguard V5: Solid offering from a company that focuses primarily on larger scale storage solutions.
NetApp: A well regarded product primarily aimed at corporate users.
In my case, a three disk RAID 1 solution proved more appropriate than RAID 5. I value high reliability on the home system and wanted to use a rotating third disk as a backup in the event of catastrophic data loss (e.g. house burns to ground). FWIW, I also use a DAT for differentiatial backups. For many users this may be overkill -- sacrificing three disks plus fixed hardware costs to greatly reduce potential data losses -- but for priceless coding projects and digital pictures, this might be good for you as well.
For some users working with video or having large audio collections, much larger disk systems may be desired. First make sure that you have an appropriate mechanism for backing up a terabyte or three. Then, the Vanguard V5 may be an excellent solution if the $2-3k price is acceptible.
I'm curious on what possible motives IBM would have for doing this. I mean, they're a business, there to make money and all. How does this help them in the short or long run?
This is a maneuver against Microsoft. IE gives Microsoft considerable influence over application creation and hosting tools. By keeping the browser independent, IBM can push Web Sphere and other tools more effectively. The Fortune 500 is the target, fortunately, we can all benefit from their contribution.
As you've guessed, IBM's promotion of open source is not altruistic.
I noticed a 3 track reader for $59 from Kanecal.net. This looks like a very quick and cheap approach to data extraction. The advantage of making your own is that you need not limit yourself to cards following the ISO specifications for track positions and character encodings.
Performance is, of course, a function of the task that is running. I don't know how to answer your specific question, but there is a general comparison of the G4 and G5 here that may be of some interest.
This land is my land,
It isn't your land,
I've got a shotgun
And you don't got one.
If you don't get off,
I'll blow your head off.
This land is private proper-teeee.
Well Playboy magazine is already one step a head of you. Their next issue will be an interesting crossover of video game advertising and girlie photos. See here for more info.
I noticed something one day: lack of sex in Sci-Fi. This makes no sense since (1) most sci-fi viewers are guys and (2) they are generally sexually starved geeks.
While I concur with your reasoning, there might be a third possibility. Many authors work to create characters set apart from the rest of humanity - often superior in many ways. Maybe sex is impossible for many sci-fi protagonists?
Why can't people on/. figure out that opening and closing tags should be balanced, like parentheses and square braces in C++ or Java? I could understand occasionally forgetting the closing tag if you've been wasting too many years editing HTML with Emacs (in which case you have my sympathy). But the opening tag...how could you?
Ninwa, should you happen to read this reply, I suggest that you imagine me wearing a black t-shirt with <geek> on the front and </geek> on the back. Naturally, it encloses content.
Now my question is is why do people slam Apple for creating products that only work with their products? No one slams Microsoft for creating software that only works with their products. Why is this?
Because Apple hasn't been declared an illegal monopoly which has abused its market position on several occasions in both the US and Europe.
Many people don't remember that one of Microsoft's first products was a CPM board for the Apple II. The Apple II was 6502 based, but I recall that the CPM board had an 8086 (or similar process from that family) on it.
...and replace your PC with a Timex Sinclair. In over twenty-two years of use, not a single one has ever been infected with a virus.
For the rest of us, my advice usually follows something like this:
Paranoid but looking for a more useable solution which easily connects to the internet, buy a Macintosh.
Willing and interested in learning how to administer a system, run Linux or BSD.
Have a large company handling support for you, join the Windows hoards. Expect some downtime due to security issues, but you'll face fewer compatibility issues.
Looking for games, buy a Playstation or an XBox. No viruses here (so far).
Still not satisfied? You can still get these pretty cheap!
I'm sorry but for most people a 17in laptop is way overkill and is too big to be carried around. Personally, I've been sticking with 12in or less ultraportables such as the Fujitsu P-2000 and now the IBM X31. The 17 make sense for two very small groups of people: mobile video editors and mobile music editing
When the Apple 17" was introduce, I wrote down my understanding of their target audience. Essentially, these supersized 'laptops' aren't intended for travel. These are build for home/corporate/campus users who are carrying the machine from one location to another with the expectation of wireless networking. This size might be excessive for airline seats (I know that my 15" just fits), but it isn't too large for the semi-mobile market. A bigger concern is weight, and here Toshiba has completely failed.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for your reply. You are quite correct to note that RAID increases the likelihood that a drive will fail (as there are more drives that can fail). I agree that 'availability' is a better term than 'reliability'. I also agree that the majority of home users and even the majority of /. users do not have the data requirements that justify a few terabytes of RAID 5. I know professional photographer and videographers that do. I also know some home theater applications built around RAID systems.
I did consider a rsync operation such as detailed here. I do believe that this is a good solution for many people and is certainly cheaper. I do also appreciate your distrust of an intervening black-box component of uncertain quality. None the less, I selected against this option for three good reasons and one silly one.
I'm using the term '3 disk RAID 1' somewhat loosely. I hope this helps:
The theory is that if a drive fails (say once every two years), I don't lose any data or have any downtime. In the event of catastrophic loss (e.g. the house burns down, the off site location is flooded, etc.) which might occur once every decade or two (hopefully less), I would expect to lose at most a month of data.
For true 3 disk RAID 1, I don't see much demand so I'm not surprised that you went with the RAID 5. Another possibility would be to use a system like this in a 0+1 with hot spare configuration.
Once you understand that RAID is reliability strategy and are prepared to have appropriate backup measures in place, then RAID 5 becomes an attractive option for the home network. I've recently looked at several options.
In my case, a three disk RAID 1 solution proved more appropriate than RAID 5. I value high reliability on the home system and wanted to use a rotating third disk as a backup in the event of catastrophic data loss (e.g. house burns to ground). FWIW, I also use a DAT for differentiatial backups. For many users this may be overkill -- sacrificing three disks plus fixed hardware costs to greatly reduce potential data losses -- but for priceless coding projects and digital pictures, this might be good for you as well.
For some users working with video or having large audio collections, much larger disk systems may be desired. First make sure that you have an appropriate mechanism for backing up a terabyte or three. Then, the Vanguard V5 may be an excellent solution if the $2-3k price is acceptible.
I still prefer the 'iPad'.
I'm curious on what possible motives IBM would have for doing this. I mean, they're a business, there to make money and all. How does this help them in the short or long run?
This is a maneuver against Microsoft. IE gives Microsoft considerable influence over application creation and hosting tools. By keeping the browser independent, IBM can push Web Sphere and other tools more effectively. The Fortune 500 is the target, fortunately, we can all benefit from their contribution.
As you've guessed, IBM's promotion of open source is not altruistic.
...catch bullets in their teeth. Not everyone succeeds, but some do!.
Very simple. Mindshare. Get all the developers focused on the new platform and the transition will happen that much easier and faster.
This is a Winn-win situation.
I noticed a 3 track reader for $59 from Kanecal.net. This looks like a very quick and cheap approach to data extraction. The advantage of making your own is that you need not limit yourself to cards following the ISO specifications for track positions and character encodings.
Performance is, of course, a function of the task that is running. I don't know how to answer your specific question, but there is a general comparison of the G4 and G5 here that may be of some interest.
IBM pointed out how OS/2 was so much better than Windows 95 would ever be.
What do you mean? IBM was correct. OS/2 was far superior to Windows 95. As for subsequent releases for Redmond...lets just say that opinions vary.
To which the libertarians might sing:
Well Playboy magazine is already one step a head of you. Their next issue will be an interesting crossover of video game advertising and girlie photos. See here for more info.
By the way, what's "Longhorn" ?
A variety of cattle which is the mascot of the University of Texas at Austin. See here for more info.
I noticed something one day: lack of sex in Sci-Fi. This makes no sense since (1) most sci-fi viewers are guys and (2) they are generally sexually starved geeks.
While I concur with your reasoning, there might be a third possibility. Many authors work to create characters set apart from the rest of humanity - often superior in many ways. Maybe sex is impossible for many sci-fi protagonists?
what was the sentence that was lke "fish" 7 times?
Can't help you there, but I do remember a contest on NPR a few years back. The winning entry was the following:
My apologies to both the noted cellist and the Duncan corporation for bringing this up.
Sounds like a fair assumption to me...</bad joke>
Why can't people on /. figure out that opening and closing tags should be balanced, like parentheses and square braces in C++ or Java? I could understand occasionally forgetting the closing tag if you've been wasting too many years editing HTML with Emacs (in which case you have my sympathy). But the opening tag...how could you?
Ninwa, should you happen to read this reply, I suggest that you imagine me wearing a black t-shirt with <geek> on the front and </geek> on the back. Naturally, it encloses content.
Now my question is is why do people slam Apple for creating products that only work with their products? No one slams Microsoft for creating software that only works with their products. Why is this?
Because Apple hasn't been declared an illegal monopoly which has abused its market position on several occasions in both the US and Europe.
Many people don't remember that one of Microsoft's first products was a CPM board for the Apple II. The Apple II was 6502 based, but I recall that the CPM board had an 8086 (or similar process from that family) on it.
...and replace your PC with a Timex Sinclair. In over twenty-two years of use, not a single one has ever been infected with a virus.
For the rest of us, my advice usually follows something like this:
Still not satisfied? You can still get these pretty cheap!
Damnit, another RFC obsoleted by the march of...um...progress. Concorde level service is no longer available.
Not to be Cross, but Captain Parker's use of a Waterman in orbit is no Bic deal.
Some reports have suggested that Boston, MA, US was affected. Downtown is operating normally.
I'm sorry but for most people a 17in laptop is way overkill and is too big to be carried around. Personally, I've been sticking with 12in or less ultraportables such as the Fujitsu P-2000 and now the IBM X31. The 17 make sense for two very small groups of people: mobile video editors and mobile music editing
When the Apple 17" was introduce, I wrote down my understanding of their target audience. Essentially, these supersized 'laptops' aren't intended for travel. These are build for home/corporate/campus users who are carrying the machine from one location to another with the expectation of wireless networking. This size might be excessive for airline seats (I know that my 15" just fits), but it isn't too large for the semi-mobile market. A bigger concern is weight, and here Toshiba has completely failed.
Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.