Power-up sequence for RAID array
wonderspark Aug 3, 2011 12:05 AMHi, fellas ~
In just a couple more days, I'll have received all the components for my new RAID. System breakdown:
2009 Mac Pro (980W power supply inside), 3.33GHz quad core, Areca 1880ix-12, 16GB RAM, ATI 5870 or GTX 285 (depending on what I swap in, one at at time)
30" Apple Cinema HD Display monitor (max 150W)
22" Dell G2210 monitor (max 22W)
Sans Digital TR8X w/ (6) WD2003FYYS 2TB RE4 HDDs (300W power supply inside), with two hot-spares installed. (8 total disks in box)
APC Smart-UPS 1500 (SUA1500), rated 980W
APC Back-UPS RS 1500, rated 865W
(2) external HDDs for backups
Voyager Q SATA drive dock (for bare drive backups and clones)
I list all this because I'm wondering about the possible need / best practices for boot up sequence to avoid issues with the power provided by my two UPS units. In the RAID3 rebuild times thread, it was mentioned that one needs a massive UPS to handle a computer with a RAID, so I'm hoping to confirm my system is properly powered. Normally, I power up all drives prior to powering up the computer itself, and since this 8-bay RAID tower is only using a 300W power supply, it seems either one of the UPS units I have would be fine for that. I plan to use the smaller 865W UPS for the RAID and the 22" monitor. The Mac Pro has a 980W power supply, but I never see the UPS go beyond 25% during power-up. I plan to use the larger 980W Smart-UPS for the Mac Pro and the 30" ACD monitor.
During heavy use, each will be powering:
Smart-UPS (980W)
263W = Mac Pro at full CPU load, perhaps higher during boot-up?
150W = 30" ACD max brightness
-----------------
413 watts
Back-UPS (865W)
300W = RAID tower (not sure that it would ever hit that load)
22W = 22" Dell monitor
---------------
322 watts
The other external drives I can just distribute on each of the UPS units with negligible effect, I believe.
Does anyone see any problem with this arrangement? As it currently stands without the RAID, I've been through dozens of full power outages, nearby lightning strikes causing temporary outages from one to ten seconds, and other random light-flickering events without a single issue so far. It seems robust, but I turn to you all for more knowledge.
Marcus




