Server 2016 SSD

[emhfe]

Hello guys, I have a simple question, I am installing a new windows server 2016 for VM Host, my question is, how recommendable is to create a raid 1 (2x240GB) on Regular SSD for OS booting?

 

All VMs will be in a 6x480Gb SAS Raid 10.

 

Thanks in advanced.

 

Ezequiel

[Windows7ge]

If you're worried about a drive failing it's an option. Really depends on how mission critical keeping the VMs online are for you.

 

This still isn't a backup solution though. Keep copies of them somewhere else too.

[Net Runner]

That's a good idea. That will still give you 240GB of flash storage so you could probably leave around 100GB for hypervisor itself and another 140GB could serve as an additional storage for some performance-critical VMs.

[emhfe]

1 hour ago, Windows7ge said:

If you're worried about a drive failing it's an option. Really depends on how mission critical keeping the VMs online are for you.

 

This still isn't a backup solution though. Keep copies of them somewhere else too.

Thanks for the fast reply, that VM host is critical to be up and running 24/7 right now the OS is on Raid 1 (2x480GB) SAS Drivers which I believe is a waste of space, that is why I want to move the OS to a new pair of Discs, from there is how reliable can be to install the OS on 2x240GB SSD Drives

[Windows7ge]

2 minutes ago, emhfe said:

Thanks for the fast reply, that VM host is critical to be up and running 24/7 right now the OS is on Raid 1 (2x480GB) SAS Drivers which I believe is a waste of space, that is why I want to move the OS to a new pair of Discs, from there is how reliable can be to install the OS on 2x240GB SSD Drives

SSDs are plenty reliable but if it's this important that they stay online you might prefer to look into some enterprise series SSDs as oppose to consumer versions.

 

Such as the Intel D3-S4610. It has a 2 million hour MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures). The performance isn't as great as desktop series but the dependability is higher.

 

I assume you're using Hardware RAID. I'm not sure how/if TRIM/Garbage Collection will work here. Maybe @Electronics Wizardy has some insight on this. If there's any specific features the RAID card needs to support.

[Electronics Wizardy]

45 minutes ago, emhfe said:

Thanks for the fast reply, that VM host is critical to be up and running 24/7 right now the OS is on Raid 1 (2x480GB) SAS Drivers which I believe is a waste of space, that is why I want to move the OS to a new pair of Discs, from there is how reliable can be to install the OS on 2x240GB SSD Drives

what hardware?

 

WIndows doesn't support booting from software raid, so you need a hardware solution.

 

ALso if uptime is that critical, get a cluster. how reliable can be to install the OS on 2x240GB SSD Driv

[Dutch_Master]

Given you're running a mission-critical server here, make sure it runs on enterprise-grade hardware. Consumer/Prosumer hardware just wouldn't cut the mustard eventually and may cost you more then you save in the end. Usually, server mainboards have a SATA_DOM (disk-on-memory) port, which holds a special Flash device to be used as a boot device. Usually, the system then copies all files from said SATA disk to memory and runs the OS entirely from RAM.

[Jarsky]

A RAID1 is a good idea for OS, thats saved us countless times I can remember. Keep in mind it has to be hardware RAID. 

Even though SSDs are more reliable than spinning drives they could still be a potential issue so its a good safety measure for uptime. 

 

How come you're using Server 2016 as a VM Host though? You'd have to reboot it regularly for security patching. 

You sure Hyper-V Server or ESXi wouldn't be more suitable? 

[emhfe]

Thanks everyone for the answer, in summary

 

Yes it is a Hardware Raid

I will look for enterprise SSD, but as they are only OS, should be necessary?

It is Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V Server (sorry about the confusion) 

 

Once again thank you guys!