11.04 on a PC with/without RAID 0

[Blackbelt2011]

Hi,
I downloaded Ubuntu 11.04 and tried to install it on a an Asus P6TSE Board with Intel i7 920 processor (newest firmware) and a RAID 0 System of 2 HDs of 1.0 TB.
The installation process stopped, because the installer could not install the grub bootloader, what did suprise me.
I did suppose that Ubuntu could be installed on a RAID 0.
After that, I deleleted the RAID in the BIOS Setup, and tried to install Ubuntu again. This time the bootloader was installed, but it did not boot after installation.
Maybe I took the wrong HD in the Boot menu, because both HDs are from the same supplier with the same model name and size. But I did find only one name (one HD?) in the Bootsequence menu.
Is there any possibility to get Ubuntu on a RAID0? How do I find out which disk is the bootdisk? I suppose I could do this when I start the Ubuntu CD as a Live system and look after that.
- And how much swap space is reasonable on a system of 2.0TB? I did use 150.000 MB. Is this too much?
- I do not want to install my buildt-in WLAN-adapter. Can I make a choice before the installation to leave this device out?
Thanks,
Blackbelt2011 :)

[darkod]

1. Ubuntu can be installed on fakeraid (bios raid) but it's better to use the alternate install cd (image), not the standard live cd. For raid and/or lvm the alternate cd is recommended. Exactly because of the reason you saw, the grub2 installation often fails if using the live cd to install on fakeraid.
On another note, you could have just added the grub2 bootloader from live mode, but you already deleted the array.

2. Why ubuntu 11.04? It runs out of support in October. I would use the latest 12.04 LTS and that has support for the next 5yrs.

3. You made swap of 150GB if I understood correctly? That is way, way too much. The swap doesn't depend on the disk size, it depends on the RAM size. Depending of your memory, swap might be rarely used anyway. The more RAM, less possibility that swap will even get used. Also, if you want to hibernate the machine, swap needs to be approx 1.5 x RAM size. But that's not even near to 150GB. Use less.

On top of the above said, if you plan to use only ubuntu on this machine it's much better to use the software raid, than the fakeraid. Usually you would use the fakeraid if dual booting with windows. For linux only, the software raid might be better.

RAID0 doesn't offer you any redundancy and protection for your data, I hope you are aware of that. The data is split between the disks, and if one disk goes there is no way to restore anything back. Everything is gone. Depending what you plan to use this machine for, RAID0 might be bad option for you.

[Blackbelt2011]

Thanks for replying.
I think I should not longer use a RAID0 because of data security.
I want to use 11.04 because there are some Windows programs which I need for work and I plan to run them under VMWare for Linux. WMWare has released its Workstation for Windows for Ubuntu 11.04, but when I called the service, they were not aware if 12 would also do it. I questioned VMWare but the answer is still outstanding. I do not want to install a system twice, so I want to be sure to have a platform that is supported by VMWare.
Maybe I can open another thread here and ask if anyone has experience with VMWare on the newest release.
Are there any other differences between the live CD and the alternate cd? I will try to download the alternate cd and use it for installation.
Regards
Blackbelt2011
P.S: I did not find the download Link for the alternate Ubuntu installation CD/DVD. Maybe you could post it here; I am interested in the 64 bit version and if its ok for VMWAre workstation, I will take the newest release.
P.P.S: I read from Welly Wu that VMWare Workstation is running under Ubuntu 11.10 32. Would this be better? I don't want to use Oracle Virtual box, because it offers far less functions.

[darkod]

Here you have all recent versions:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/

At the top of the list, just select the version you want. On the page that opens you will have links for all alternate, desktop (live cd) and server images, 32bit and 64bit. Download what you need.

The difference between the live cd and the alternate is that the alternate is better suited for raid, but it can't run in live mode. And the installer is text based, as opposed to GUI (it looks more like the XP installer if you have used it).

Except for that, they install identical desktop system, no difference at all.

If you feel like it, you can try again with the live cd. But probably it will fail installing grub2 again. You will have to boot with the cd in live mode after the install and add grub2. We can help with the commands if you decide to take this route.

Also, you mentioned not using raid0. What did you decide, raid1? But that will give you only 1TB usable with 2x1TB disks, you are aware of that.