Raid or not

[pfd27]

I have a server set up for use as a file and plex server. I am getting close to needing more storage and am toying with the idea of setting up a raid 5 array.
Is a raid setup worth the extra work or should I just get a get one big drive? Opinions?

[gm10]

As long as you realize that you'll need a parity disk for a RAID-5? So if you goal is just more storage then that's the wrong approach. Your question has to be whether you need the increased performance and fault tolerance that a RAID-5 offers. Only you can answer that. Note that file system choice can matter greatly for RAID performance depending on your use case.

[rene]

Your question has to be whether you need the increased performance and [ ... ]

And in that sense please note that your server might as "a file server" be already limited more by network- than disk-bandwidth (a gigabit link does a little over 100MB/s which is less than even halfway current HDDs) and that "a plex server" will not want more than say 20 Mb/s even for 4K (that's "b" as in "bit") and at around 5 Mb/s for Full HD.

[gm10]

Your question has to be whether you need the increased performance and [ ... ]

And in that sense please note that your server might as "a file server" be already limited more by network- than disk-bandwidth, and that "a plex server" will not want more than say 20 Mb/s even for 4K (that's "b" as in "bit") and at around 5 Mb/s for Full HD.

Exactly. But it's possible his server will need to serve multiple different movies at the same time, we don't know. That's why I said that only he can answer whether he needs it.

[pfd27]

There is usually just one movie streaming at a time or music playing. It's not a hugely used server

[rene]

Speedwise you'd then have little cause for RAID. The value of protection against dead disks from RAID-1 or RAID-5 can be judged from number of dead disks you have experienced and/or whether or not you back it/them up otherwise. Personally I don't advise RAID setups to people not already comfortable enough with repairing things when something goes wrong: especially drives not specifically intended for RAID can drop from the array as a matter of timing issues relatively frequently.