Storage Experiment Progress - 7 Drive RAID 0 with a 512GB SSD Cache Linus Tech Tips

The video documents the early stage of a storage experiment featuring seven Seagate Barracuda 3 TB desktop drives and a single Samsung 512 GB 830 series SSD. The host explains the use of an Adaptec 6805 TQ controller with MaxCache 2.0, designed to cache data and accelerate performance, while noting that it is not a true battery backup but a capacitor-based cache solution. The plan is to configure the drives in a RAID 0 stripe for maximum throughput, caching a total of about 21 TB of mechanical storage with the 512 GB SSD as the cache tier. The presenter demonstrates setting up the max cache pool and confirms the final configuration as RAID 0 with SSD caching, totaling roughly 21 TB of usable capacity, depending on the measurement method. He mentions future benchmarking using PCMark and outlines comparisons against modern configurations to evaluate the potential of the “future of storage” concept, in anticipation of an NCIX Tech Tips episode. The plan includes running multiple benchmark rounds to observe performance as the controller learns the cache behavior and to quantify gains from caching versus a baseline. The narrative closes with a teaser that the eight-drive setup will also be benchmarked against other array types, plus separate OS backups, while inviting viewers to subscribe for more detailed testing and results.

Topics · storage · hardware · performance · testing · data_storage · computing