SSD in RAID 1 Questions

4

I want use SSD drives in RAID 1 setup. Although performance is important, reliability comes first, so I'm going with Intel drives (either the 320 or 510 series).

This will be installed in a Dell 435T/9000 that has the Intel Matrix Storage ROM on the motherboard. The PC is about 1.5 years old, so it is SATA II, not SATA III.

From what I have read, TRIM is not supported in RAID setups for SSD drives.

Here are my questions:

  1. What issues will I run into using these SSD drives in RAID 1?
  2. Is there a substitute for TRIM for RAID 1?
  3. Does read or write performance decline in RAID 1, if so, by how much?
  4. Am I better off using Windows 7 software RAID 1 because that would allow TRIM support?

Josh

Posted 2011-09-22T15:28:34.230

Reputation: 167

Answers

2

Trim is not normally support by hardware RAID controllers, because it's a command that has to come from the operating system level. But you might have luck with a software raid setup, because then the operating system still sees and knows about the individual disks first, and the raid array second. I wouldn't hold my breath, though, and I don't know how you'd test it.

Joel Coehoorn

Posted 2011-09-22T15:28:34.230

Reputation: 26 787

Any idea on the performance hit going to software vs hardware RAID 1? I'm assuming since TRIM would be supported that there is performance gain for SSD using software RAID. – Josh – 2011-09-22T16:09:16.703

Very, very little performance hit for software RAID nowadays. – BBlake – 2011-09-22T17:20:33.377

Testing if TRIM is enabled "should be" easy, Intel has the SSD Toolbox that tests if TRIM is turned on. This assumes that it can see both drives of course. – Josh – 2011-09-22T18:09:53.980

2@Josh did you find out if TRIM was enabled? – oleschri – 2012-04-16T12:38:55.063

Asked: 2011-09-22T15:28:34.230

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Active: 2011-09-22T16:01:16.977