IBM developerWorks: Common threads: Software RAID in the new Linux 2.4 kernel

[ Thanks to Frank for
this link. ]

“The new 2.4 kernel is out! So it’s time to track down a spare
PC, put Linux on it, and see what it can do. In his three-part
series on the Linux 2.4 Software RAID, Daniel Robbins introduces
the new technology that’s used to increase disk performance and
reliability by distributing data over multiple disks. This first
installment covers Software RAID setup (kernel and tools
installation) and shows you how to create linear and RAID-0
volumes.”

“The new kernel has a number of nifty new features and
additions. One of these is the inclusion of a modern Software RAID
implementation — yay! Software RAID allows you to dramatically
increase Linux disk IO performance and reliability without buying
expensive hardware RAID controllers or enclosures. Because it’s
implemented in software, Linux RAID software is flexible, fast…
and fun!”

“The concept behind Software RAID is simple — it allows you to
combine two or more block devices (usually disk partitions) into a
single RAID device. So let’s say you have three empty partitions,
hda3, hdb3, and hdc3. Using Software RAID, you can combine these
partitions and address them as a single RAID device, /dev/md0. md0
can then be formatted to contain a filesystem and used like any
other partition. There are also a number of different ways to
configure a RAID volume — some maximize performance, others
maximize availability, while others provide a mixture of both.”

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