New to NAS - trying to understand the RAID controller

[Sijmen]

Hi,

9 years ago, with a standard desktop computer I switched to using RAID, and after much experimenting with the motherboard RAID options, (which were epic fails), I then tried a second hand Adaptec RAID controller, which has been fantastic, and never had an issue since.

I've now brought a Asustor AS5304T, and currently have it loaded up with 3 x 8TB WD Red Pro's and its working well so far. I really like the machine. The whole reason for this is to learn more about NAS options through hands on usage so that I can better provide solutions for my customers. So my questions are about getting a better general understanding.

What I'd like to know is the following:
1. Do any of the Asustor NAS devices use Hardware RAID contrlollers or are they using RAID software built into the operating system to provide the RAID functionallity?
2. In general, how does the RAID performance of a Hardware RAID controller card in a Server stack up against a NAS box.

Feel free to send any links to sites which might shed some light on this.

Regards,
Sijmen.

[orion]

It's software RAID engine, md driver in Linux.
Nowadays, CPU performance is quite good. RAID calculation is much less concerns. You can check CPU usage ratio during accessing. You almost cannot feel any penalties on RAID calculation.