Re: picked up a free computer
Something that I didn't mention, but probably should have, is that the SCSI and next-gen SAS do is greatly improve multi-tasking throughput. For an I/O intensive server, SCSI/SAS do help quite a bit on the pseudo-random I/O presented by multiple threads of execution. This was not a benefit to me, since I just want a huge bag-o-bits to hold my movies with some extra reliability.
I don't even benefit from the higher throughput available with my RAID array, since all I need is 10-20Mbps (or about 2.6 MB/sec) to easily satisfy remote play of DVDs. The array can saturate the gigabit ethernet switch that I have installed, but I don't need much more than 1-3% of it. My maximum load scenario is ripping a DVD while I watch another DVD in another room. If the pre-built NAS boxen had supported 8 drives and OCE (online capacity expansion), I'd have used one of them, since the 3ware card is total overkill for my performance needs. The cheaper RAID cards didn't do OCE.
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