https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/ SoftRAID Discussion Board en-US Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:13:56 +0000 wpForo 60 https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1415 Sat, 11 Jun 2016 23:46:44 +0000 SoftRAID Volumes SoftRAID Support https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1415 https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1414 Sat, 11 Jun 2016 23:03:23 +0000 Mixing all these drive sizes is not optimal for RAID 5. Mirrors are going to be better for protecting your data than a RAID 5 in this set of hardware. As in the other post you posted, USB is not ideal for RAID. Thanks for the fast response. I'm planning to use the eSATA connection of the drive enclosure for the drive array. I understand that the different sizes will affect performance. Would the amount of available storage differ between RAID 1 and 5? The intermediate to long term plan is to gradually upgrade all of the drives eventually to 6 TB each, but I can'r afford to do that all at once. What would I be giving up with RAID 1 as opposed to RAID 5, if anything, sticking with RAID 1 throughout the gradual upgrade process? How much (if any) data security am I giving up with RAID 1 as opposed to RAID 5, once I eventually get to 8 x 6 TB? The drives I currently have available to put in the bay are as follows: 1. 6 TB WD Green, 2. 5 TB Seagate, 3. 3 TB WD Green, 4. Hitachi 2 TB, 5. 1.5 TB WD Green, 6&7, 1 TB WD Green 8. Seagate Barracuda 1 TB. How much usable storage would this translate to in either setup? Is there any difference in how drive upgrades would be managed by Softraid with RAID 1 as opposed to RAID 5? Sorry for so many questions. As I said, I'm new to this.]]> SoftRAID Volumes rosewoodltd https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1414 https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1413 Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:17:36 +0000 SoftRAID Volumes SoftRAID Support https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-1413 https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-148 Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:12:24 +0000 SoftRAID Volumes rosewoodltd https://forums.softraid.com/softraid-volumes/prepurchase-question-do-i-have-what-i-need/#post-148