Sebastopol, CA--RAID technology is becoming a standard feature of
computer systems that support mission-critical services such as file
sharing, mail exchange, and web servers. RAID offers two primary
benefits to these systems: improved I/O performance and fail-safe data
storage. "The data storage problem isn't going away," says Derek
Vadala, author of the just-released Managing RAID on Linux (O'Reilly,
US $39.95). "We're always running out of space. And, as soon as we
think that a hard drive is too big to fill, we end up with something
new, like MP# or DVIX. So there's a home market for RAID emerging, in
addition to the need for RAID in the enterprise."
RAID is a method by which many independent disks attached to a computer
can be made, from the perspective of users and applications, to appear
as a single disk. As Vadala explains, this has several implications:
"Performance can be dramatically improved because the bottleneck of
using a single disk for all I/O is spread across more than one disk.
Larger storage capacities can be achieved, since you're using multiple
disks instead of a single disk. And specific disks can be used to
transparently store data that can then be used to survive a disk
failure."
"Managing RAID on Linux" covers everything system administrators need
to know to put together a system that can support RAID. Readers will
learn about the different types of RAID, along with associated
technologies and issues, and how to choose the best RAID system for
their needs. With a step-by-step, hands-on approach, the author covers
the installation of either Linux software RAID or a hardware RAID card.
The book shows how to build an array and optionally install a
high-performance file system. Contents include:
- An introduction to RAID and Linux
- Planning and architecture of your RAID system
- Building a software RAID
- Software RAID tools and references
- Building a hardware RAID
- Performance and tuning of your RAID system
RAID has become the low-cost solution of choice to deal with the
ever-increasing demand for data storage space. Written for system
administrators, power users, tech managers, and anyone who wants to
learn about RAID technology, "Managing RAID on Linux" sidesteps the
often-confusing vendor-specific approach you'll find elsewhere to give
you the straight story on RAID. Even non-Linux users will find this
book full of valuable material.
Additional Resources:
Managing RAID on Linux
Derek Vadala
ISBN 1-56592-730-3, 245 pages, $39.95 (US), $61.95 (CAN), 28.50 (UK)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
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