SCSI vs SATA etc...

[rob51383]

I am going to be purchasing a Unix server to host my array of web sites. I know the basics of hardware, but when I started looking into hard drives all I could see is the different price, not the quality. I have noticed that there is about 2 or 3 names for each hard drive. For instance I have seen ATA, IDE, and SATA reffered to as the same type of drive.

My server will comes standard with: Deul Xeon 2.4ghz (2 processors), 1GB RAM, and 2x120GB IDE hard drives with Raid1.

I will be purchasing Cpanel to manage domain names, cpanel includes an automated backup system and requires twice the storage space for backups (480GB)
My server can support 4 hard drives

Questions:
1. Are IDE drives acceptible for a web hosting enviornment?
2. I need 2 250GB hard drives for backups, what is the best comparing price and performance? The best price I can fine is for 2 250GB SATA hard drives. Are these any good?

Basically what I am really looking for is a good introductory comparision on hard drive types. Anyone know any good web sites that give accurate details on what is SATA, IDE, SATA, SCSI, etc., etc.?

Thanks..

 

[cdogg]

You need more than a brand name and type - you need benchmarks.

A couple good sites to visit:

http://www.tomshardware.com

http://www.storagereview.com

First of all, newer 7200RPM SATA drives perform slightly better than their ATA/100 or ATA/133 counterparts. A few even perform as much as 10-15% faster. But as you can see, the difference is minimal. A select few, like the expensive 10,000RPM WD Raptor goes a lot further. It just depends on what you want to spend. Plus, SATA drives really excel over IDE when placed in a RAID configuration.

SCSI still leads the server end of the market in terms of overall performance. But newer SATA drives due out in the next year will close the gap even more, with a price difference to justify it.

~cdogg
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[lekcivil]

ATA and IDE is exactly the same thing.

 

[cdogg]

Yep, forgot to mention that. Thanks lekcivil!

 

[lekcivil]

No problem. It was my enormous contribution to rob's question