NicApicella writes "My new system has two sparklin' SATA drives which I would like to mirror. After having been burned by a not-so-cheap, dedicated RAID controller, I have been pointed to software RAID solutions. I now stand in front of two choices two choices for setting up my RAID: A Windows 7 RC software RAID or a hardware RAID done by the cheap integrated RAID controller of my motherboard. Based on past experiences I have decided that only my data is worth saving (setting up a system is easier on the soul than loosing years worth of basically everything) — that's why the RAID should mirror two disks (FAT32) that are not the boot disk (= do not contain an OS or any fancy stuff). Of course, such a setup should secure my data: Should a drive crash, I want the system up and running in no time. But that's not enough: Even more importantly, I want any drive and its data to be as safe and portable as possible (that's the reason for choosing FAT32), no matter whether the OS (it wouldn't be the first time Windows fiddled with some part of a hard disk it shouldn't have) or the controller (of the "cheap motherboard integrated"-type) screw up big time. So, which should I choose? Who should I trust more? Microsoft's Windows 7 or the probably cheapest RAID controller on the market? Any other (decent) solution simply isn't in my budget..."
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Most cheap/onboard RAID controllers really are just software RAID. The difference is that it is done in the driver instead of at the block device layer. It really depends who you trust more your SATA controller manufacturer or Microsoft. Anyway RAID is not a backup solution, it just protects against dying disks. You should set yourself up with an external drive or server for backups.
There both software (Score:2)