Are you looking for the best Raid Controller for a home server? This is a follow up post on my RAID 5 server build using Rocket RAID 2300 PCI controller. I just want to say Raid 5 simply doesn’t work with this card. My raid array couldn’t rebuild during the first failure. Thankfully, I had a complete backup of my files so I completely deleted the array and built a Raid 10 array. The card simply isn’t strong enough to handle Raid 5. But there is good news, this is still a wonderful card for Raid 10. I’ve had hard drives fail from the array and this card has successfully rebuilt the array every time. The only reason I could think of why this card works with Raid 10 but not Raid 5 is that, it takes less calculations to rebuild a Raid 10 array. You always have the mirror copy of your data on another hard drive.
Best Raid Controller – RocketRaid 2300 RAID 10
I’ve had my Rocket RAID 2300 card for 5 years now and she is still going strong. This is a wonderful and cheap RAID card if you are going to be using Raid 10. I myself prefer Raid 10 over Raid 5 because it offers better protection. Two hard drives will have to fail from the same array at the same time for you to loose your data. In Raid 10 if more than one disk fails from any array you will loose your data. The Rocket RAID 2300 is a good controller for Raid 10, I’ve tested hard drives up to 3 terabyte in size without any issues. I have found Western Digital Greens and Reds to be fully compatible. I am pretty sure it can handle even 4 terabyte hard drives, just be sure to update the firmware for the controller.
Best RAID controller for RAID 5
So although there are better options out there for your Raid 5 needs such as the Adaptec 2258200-R 5405, I prefer the Rocket RAID 2300 for a home server if you are going with Raid 10. If you got money to burn then go the Adaptec 2258200-R 5405 route. The Adaptec is a powerful card, be sure to get a large enough case and a power supply that is at least 500 Watt. It also generates a lot of heat so you also want to purchase an efficient case. You can add up to 256 drives with SAS expanders! Be sure to also get the SATA breakout cable with your purchase.
I wanted to write this Rocket RAID 2300 PCI controller review and let you guy’s know the real world usage of this card. Although the RocketRaid 2300 is the most advertised RAID controller out there, I couldn’t find a solid review on the internet anywhere. I would love to hear about your setup, feel free to comment below. If you have the RocketRaid 2300 please let me know if it supports 6 terabyte hard drives. Thanks for visiting.
