Suitable RAID Controller for Dell PowerEdge 860 Server.

I have contacted Dell and am awaiting what they suggest as a suitable controller.

The server it will be used on will be a kind of holding area for data. Like a backup of data that isn't required to be accessed.

I will see what Dell suggest.

Good luck and keep me posted...it is always interesting to hear what the "official experts" of the company suggest.

If the potential for downtime is not a big deal, and it sounds like in this case it is not, just order a couple of the cheaper cards and keep one on the shelf in case of failure. Don't count on being able to replace the cheap adapter with an identical unit two years from now - and if you can't find the same adapter, you may end up rebuilding the RAID array to get it to work. It is always much easier on an identical part replacement than a migration. Just write down the settings you use to set it up with so you have them handy if you do need to replace someday.

You don't need a RAID controller for RAID 1. Windows Builtin software RAID 1 works far better, is more reliable, and also faster than if you use any of those cheap fake-RAID controllers like you posted a Link to.

If you really do need a RAID controller, get it directly from Dell. For your server you can get the optional SAS 5i/R or PERC 5/e RAID controllers, according to the PowerEdge 860 spec sheet.

You can use SATA disks on an SAS controller (it is backward compatible), but if you use SATA disks, also make sure you get the certified disks from Dell, or at least enterprise class disks. Consumer grade disks aren't built to run in an array, and also they shouldn't run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I did install the server using software RAID 1 but my manager wants to have a proper RAID controller card if possible.
I know there are performance issues with software RAID but for this particular server I think software RAID is fine for the purpose as its only really an interim solution.
It's got a couple 2TB Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 drives which should be OK.

Not to debate you on the point, Rindi, but the word "Would" really should be replaced with the word "Could" in regards to failure of the consumer-grade disks on cheap RAID controllers in a Windows Server 2008 environment.
 While not recommended and unlikely to withstand the rigors of a production environment, I have several clients who have opted for just that kind of arrangement and they have historically been able to get several years of reasonable light-duty use from the equipment. Of at least a dozen servers with this exact configuration that I'm responsible for servicing personally, only one has had a disk failure and none have had controller failures. In fact the disk failure is most likely due to physical contact with the server in a high-traffic area in that particular case. The risk is much higher of a failure, but it is certainly able to run with that configuration. A spare part or two and a good backup is really all that is required for light duty operation with a high tolerance for downtime.

It's not the disks that fail, but rather the array. The reason is that consumer grade disks use a longer retry timing when bad sectors are encountered than the server grade disks do. These longer retries cause the controller to think the disk has failed. At least that's how I understand the matter. Experts-Exchange Expert Dlethe is the guru on this matter, and he's always preaching this on this site.

That is correct - but it is a matter of the dynamics of a heavy-use environment more than the design of the disks or the controller. I just wanted to differentiate between higher risk of failure, and incompatible hardware. It does work when you put it together using inexpensive disks and inexpensive controllers - heck, that's where RAID got its name - (Redundant Array of IN-expensive Disks) but it is not designed for mission-critical or high levels of utilization. In this particular case it should work fine.

Just remember that a lot of Dell PE's do not support booting off of a 3rd party SATA controller.

Been there ,done that.

I think for now we will look to use the software RAID as it isn't a production server as such so not a critical piece of equipment.

Thanks for all of your help!