Should we use Storage Spaces or RAID?
Small office here with 5± users.
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.
Lenovo TS440
LSI 9240-8i RAID controller.
(2) 250 GB SSDs (OS)(RAID 1)
(2) 2TB WD Blacks (DATA/CLIENT BACKUPS)(RAID 1)
Is Storage Spaces basically like software RAID, but at the OS level, versus BIOS level? (Hardware RAID 1 currently)
I am going to redo this server, but before doing so, just wanted some thoughts on Storage Spaces if it is something that may be better here on out than my current RAID setup? I hear so much about RAID, either good or bad. I think RAID 1 is just fine, but then again, haven't experienced a drive failure in RAID 1 yet. SO I wonder if Storage Spaces may be something more refined given the age of RAID? not that RAID is bad because of that, but as technology progresses, may be a better option than something that is showing it's age. No I don't want to have the argument about that, but just some quick easy thoughts and benefits, drawbacks between the 2 from actual experience in a small office type environment (i.e. not a huge corporate server room).
Thank you!
Storage Spaces Pros:
- No hardware RAID required (less cost).
- Non-parity redundancy types (Simple and Mirror with different column combinations) work good from both performance and stability standpoint.
- Automated Storage Tiering. This can be a very useful feature for small deployments if configured properly.
Storage Spaces Cons:
- Miserable performance if parity redundancy is used. Any mid-range hardware RAID controller will most certainly outperform Storage Spaces in this scenario.
- Advanced options (changing default number of columns, tiering, space extend, WBC size change) are not usually available in GUI, and Google + Powershell are your best friends in this case.
- All storage-related operations are offloaded to CPU (since RAID controller is absent) which may cause troubles during heavy workload. Always keep this in mind and estimate CPU resources accordingly when building a high-performance storage server powered by Storage Spaces.
If I were you - I'd stick with the HW RAID controller (especially, if you already have one).