Best RAID configuration for a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtualization server?

windows-server-2008 virtualization raid

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Solution 1

We have a Poweredge 2950 running Hyper-V with a six disk RAID5 and there are no performance problems. This only runs ten VMs, so you could argue that it's not that heavily loaded, all the same the disk performance is very good. Very, very good in fact!

People seem to have a real downer on RAID5, and it's certainly true that if you have the array configured for write-through the write performance is poor. However the Perc 5/i and 6/i controllers seem to manage write caching very effectively and unless your system is doing an awful lot of writes I doubt disk speed would be a problem. Yes, RAID10 will be faster, but that isn't the same as saying that RAID5 is too slow.

Solution 2

RAID 10 will give you speed and redundancy, but at a higher cost. RAID 5 is considered slow for virtual infustructures and databases.

Solution 3

RAID10 should offer the performance and redundancy you're looking for. Here's an article (albeit a little old) regarding it: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/levels/multLevel01-c.html.

I double-checked the specs on the controller and it should support RAID10 just fine.

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Chris Thompson

I've been a computer hobbiest all my life. I spent one year as a CS major in college, but changed to International Relations after spending 2 years in Mexico. I'm a self-taught programmer. I've taught myself PHP, VB.NET, and C#. I do programming for both work and pleasure. My current pet project is BatteryBar. It's a battery meter for your taskbar. It keeps historical data on your battery to provide you with a very accurate and consistent reading on how long your battery will last.

Updated on September 17, 2022

Comments

Chris Thompson almost 2 years

I'm spec'ing a server to be used as a virtualization platform. What's the best RAID configuration to use on that type of server?

I've read the RAID 5 is not a good choice for hypervisor situations (probably due to the poor random write performance).

The controller would be a PERC 6/i SAS RAID controller.
Chris Thompson almost 15 years

That goes without saying! (I run RAID 0 on my home computer for the OS, but I like to run on the wild side)
Brent Ozar almost 15 years

To clarify - the question asked for the best, and RAID 10 is the best, so +1.
Chris Thompson almost 15 years

I'll have to weigh the cost difference (number and size of drives needed) between RAID 10 and 5, but I'm glad to know that RAID 5 is a viable option.