ML350G4/G4p with SA641 Question

[Daniel Velez]

We are thinking of a ML350G4/G4p with two 36GB HD's on RAID 1 and 4 146GB or 300GB drives in RAID 5. Can I have two array configurations with a single SA641 and all the drives attached to the default backplane? Another option we were thinking was to install all drives with 146GB or 300GB in a single RAID configuration. Is this configuration safe and recommended? Which is better configuration for a small business with large storage needs?

Thanks in advance,
Danny

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hello Daniel,

no problem. You can define 2 separate arrays. 2x 146GB as Array A, 4x 300GB as Array B. Do not put them all into one array, as it will only use 146GB on each disk (wasting half the capacity on the 300GB disks).
The 641 has only a single channel, which is fine for 6 internal disks. But as standard itdoes not have any write cache (only 64MB read). I would conside upgrading it with a Battery-Backed Write Cache (BBWC) enabler:
351580-B21 128-MB BBWC (Battery-Backed Write Cache) Enabler
291969-B21 64-MB BBWC (Battery-Backed Write Cache) Enabler

Regards,
Stephen

[Oleg Koroz]

Just an option for ML350 G4 as you say ...
Business with large storage needs? ...

Duplex SCSI backplane (not mandatory, as you not splitting between controllers, it's only additional info)

6402 Controller with dual channel and BBWC 256MB for READ / WRITE, for External enclosure, if you have plans for feature
It's cheaper to buy now than after buy second controller