As more visitors, databases, files, or transactions are processed by a growing website or business application, shared hosting might feel constricting. This is the time when businesses are considering the use of a dedicated server for Linux. Dedicated hardware gives you greater control over the CPU, RAM, storage, operating system configuration and security of a server.
Storage planning is something that needs special consideration, however. Even if you select a server that has a large amount of disk space, you still cannot expect to have it all. Other considerations include recovery in the event of a drive failure, drive access speed, and hardware failure recovery. Here’s where RAID comes into play.
RAID is a redundant array of independent disks. It’s basically a way to bundle several physical drives into a single set for increased performance, redundancy, or a combination of the two.
Start With Your Actual Storage Requirement
Estimate what you’re storing before selecting a RAID Level. A small business website might require a small amount of space, whereas an ecommerce store might contain product images, databases, backups, logs, and customer related files.
A company that has an ERP system, a CRM system, an accounting system or a system that runs a lot of databases will have other requirements yet once more.
Think about:
- Current storage usage
- Expected growth
- Database size
- The number and size of files.
- Backup requirements
- Read/write workload
- Required recovery time
Remember, usable drive space is not equal to installed drive space. Some of the capacity can be used for redundancy in RAID configurations.
How Much Does A Linux Dedicated Server Cost?
Of course budget is a consideration. Generally, dedicated servers will cost more than VPS or shared servers as the physical server will be used by only one customer.
Currently, published Hostzop dedicated server plans cost anywhere from ₹4,995/month to ₹18,490/month based on CPU, RAM, Storage, Bandwidth and configurations.
The real price of a Linux Dedicated Server will be based on the amount of resources your workload requires. If your application does not require a lot of storage or high-speed I/O, you may not have to go with the expensive configuration.
The objective is not to buy the biggest server you can find, but to achieve a balance of capacity, reliability and performance.
Why RAID Matters For Performance And Reliability
Suppose you have a single drive that contains the database of your company’s website. Should there be a hardware issue with this drive, the server may become inaccessible until the drive is replaced and the system is restored.
RAID can mitigate this risk by spreading or copying the data across drives (depending on the RAID level).
But, RAID is not a replacement for backups. It is mainly there to guard against hardware failures, it will not provide you with protection from accidental deletion, malware, application errors or all types of data loss.
The other RAID level choice is also based on the type of workload you’re running, whether it’s mostly reading data, mostly writing data or both.
RAID 0: Performance Without Redundancy
RAID 0 distributes data between two or more disks. This is known as striping.
The greatest benefit is that of performance. Processing can be done on multiple drives, which may lead to better throughput.
The drawback is there is no redundancy. Should one one of the drives fail, the entire RAID 0 array will become unusable.
For critical databases or websites, this can be a bad thing to do unless there is a special application or an alternate plan for recovery.
RAID 1: Simple Mirroring
RAID 1 is a technique that mirrors data across two drives. In the event of the failure of one drive, the other drive will have a copy of the data.
This makes RAID 1 fairly easy to comprehend and makes use in the event data availability is more significant than maximizing storage.
The compromise is storage efficiency. Typically, two drives of the same capacity offer only half of the capacity due to the mirror.
RAID 1 may be a logical choice for smaller enterprises that do not require the level of versatility that other RAID systems offer.
RAID 5: Balance Between Capacity And Redundancy
RAID 5 is a RAID technique that applies distributed parity striping. Usually needs at least three drives and can handle loss of one drive.
It offers features of redundancy and usable capacity more than RAID 1.
However, resynchronizing the RAID 5 array with the failed disk can take a while, especially if the disks are large. In this process, performance and risk factors should be given due consideration.
For this reason, people should not choose RAID 5 just because it offers a greater number of usable disk spaces, but based on the size and load of the server.
RAID 6: Extra Protection
RAID 6 is similar to RAID 5 but with an added set of parity data. Typically has two failures that it can tolerate in the array.
The extra redundancy is obtained at the cost of a capacity and write-performance compromise.
RAID 6 may be a consideration for businesses that have a large quantity of critical data stored, and require increased protection against drive failures.
RAID 10: Performance And Redundancy Together
RAID 10 is a combination of mirroring and striping. Typically needs 4 or more drives.
The configuration offers redundancy and enhanced read/write performance. This can be useful for workloads that involve lots of disk access like virtualization, databases, and applications.
The drawback of this is that a lot of raw drive space is dedicated to mirroring.
RAID 10 may be used on a linux dedicated server with a heavy database or business application to ensure that both speed and redundancy are important.
Choose RAID According To The Workload
No “right” RAID level exists.
An ecommerce site and a simple site will need different storage requirements. An I/O server might focus on IO performance, while a file server might focus on capacity and redundancy.
Take into account the kinds of drives which are being used. While the benefits of NVMe and SSD storage can be huge compared to traditional hard disk drives, the total performance of the system will rely on the overall CPU, RAM, controller, network and application design of the server.
When ordering a server, inquire if the server provider supports the various RAID configurations and which type is in use – either hardware or software RAID.
Don’t Confuse RAID With Backup
This is likely to be the most critical aspect of the storage plan.
RAID can be used to help maintain a server in the event of some failures, but it’s not a backup strategy.
When designing a good back-up plan, the following should be taken into account:
- Automated backup frequency
- Backup retention
- Separate backup storage
- Restore testing
- Copies made at other locations or distances.
- To protect against accidental deletion and ransomware.
It is just as essential as making backups to periodically test to see if backups can be restored for critical business applications.
Think About Future Growth
The demand for storage seldom stays the same. Product pictures, databases, customer records pile up and more logs and files are added to applications.
You should always reserve space for future expansion when choosing a Linux dedicated server, rather than filling up the space as soon as you deploy the server.
Don’t forget to inquire about future improvements. Are there any more drives to be added? Is there a possibility to expand the RAID array? If your workload grows, will migration to a larger server be available?
It is a good idea to plan such questions ahead as this will make future upgrades less disruptive.
Make The Decision Based On Your Business
You might get the concept of RAID confused at first, but the underlying concept is quite simple: RAID uses different levels to balance capacity, performance and redundancy.
Storage planning should be as important as CPU and RAM if your business relies on your website, database or application being up and running. Before you begin, know your workload, project into future storage requirements, and compare RAID choices, and have an alternative backup plan in addition.
A Dedicated Linux Server can be powerful and offer a lot of control, however, the optimum setup will depend on the business requirements. No need to pay more than the worth of hardware you don’t use.
Before you choose a configuration, spend some time talking to your hosting provider about the storage workload and recovery needs you have. Just a few questions in the beginning can make your infrastructure much simpler to manage in the future.
For more details, visit: https://www.hostzop.com/
