Introduction
Many users of Windows Home Server v1 like to run their system drive in a RAID 1 array. While the Shares in v1 were “protected” from a disk failure through the use of Drive Extender and duplication, the system drive was not. If you lost the system drive, rebuilding your server could be a very laborious task, particularly if you did not have an external backup of your data.
Hence the desire to run the system drive in a RAID array.
Windows Home Server 2011 has changed that need to create a system RAID array, as one can now produce an external backup of the operating system. However, if one were to experience a OS drive failure, you would still have to restore the system before having access to the server again.
So, while it is nice to have a system backup option, a RAID option for the system drive is still desirable to many.
With WHS 2011, and the loss of DE, you have many drive redundancy options available to you. There are many flavors of RAID to consider for the entire drive array. There are, for either version of WHS, the option (or requirement) for external backups.
For those who desire system protection, but who do not want to deal with a full RAID setup on all their server drives, I have an alternative you just might want to consider: the Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S.
This solution is still RAID, so you might ask why. The answer is simple:
- setting up a 2-drive RAID 1 array is incredibly easy.
- since the MB982SPR-2S uses 2.5” drives, you don’t lose a drive bay to that second drive.
This product has been available for some time, but it was not on my radar until recently when I acquired a pair of 2.5” drives. My interest in this product increased significantly at that point.
Whether you consider this a viable option for your use is up to you, but before you decide, you might want to check out how this device works.
