The Power to Serve

But fast processing of files for these types of applications is worthless if files cannot be served to a workstation or print spooler quickly. And the key to serving these nodes quickly is the server's ability to push the files off of the drives and through a large pipe.

RAID technology is the key to moving files in and out of the servers quickly. But is every RAID alike? Hardly. When shopping for a RAID system to attach to a server, the user should keep in mind three factors: Hardware-independent RAID controller vs. PCI-based; the number of drive channels on the RAID controller; and the level of RAID most appropriate for the user.