Romex Software Forum

I am thinking of using Primocache with software raid , either Windows built in raid 0 , or Storage Spaces simple array. I maintain multiple backups both locally and online , so redundancy on arrays isn't necessary .
My question is , if I use Windows Storage Spaces using 4-4tb HDD's , would I set up each of the 4 SSDs ( 256 Gb each ) , with 1 SSD acting as the cache for each of the HDD's ? That is ...a one to one ratio 1HDD/1SSD .
The array of disks is only for gaming , so I know that there is a limit on how much performance I could see. Also , would I be better off with the SSD's doing only read caching , or would a 50/50 split on read/write caching be better ?

For a storage array (non-RAID) I did testing with Storage Spaces, and with several independent pieces of software. I wasn't happy with SS's handling of individual drives and their data when the array encountered issues (among other things), and finally settled on software called Stablebit Drivepool. It has several advantages over Windows' Storage Spaces, and still works flawlessly with Primocache (all tiers of caching and any type of caching architecture as long as you cache the logical volumes on the actual physical drives). It works with desktop and server editions of MS Windows.

For your case you could combine the four 256GB SSDs into one larger RAID 0 stripe that would then be used as a 1TB L2 in Primocache. The L2 would cache all four 4TB drives at the same time, ensuring that your absolute most used software across all four was held in the cache, even if that software exceeded the 256GB size. And, since you aren't caching the boot drive software RAID 0 should work fine.

Additionally, using 100% shared read/write caching on the 1TB L2 would speed up any game updates, saving, and so on. With the larger L2 you wouldn't be stuck like you might with smaller 256GB L2s and trying to figure out how much read/write space to provision.

Ok , thank you! I was ambivalent about using Storage Spaces in a simple array . I really saw no difference ( that I could tell ) between using it and setting up a raid 0 using disk management . This makes the decision easier. Thanks again!

Welcome, and good luck. Hope the project turns out well for you.