> I have actually been considering to run down to the computer to
> purchase the Promise Card and plug it into my PC. Beside "promise"
> any other company making this stuff or any recommendation ?

Adaptec.  IDE versions ATA1200A and ATA2400A (if I recall correctly).
SCSI versions too.

Mylex ExtremeRAID or DAC960 (older models).  I've only used
their products on SCSI drives.

AMD(?) MegaRAID; SCSI.

Dell's PERC SCSI RAID (probably a rebrand).


> It sure beat having to make a backup copy once a while wondering
> when the disk will fail, because all I need to do it replace the
> faulty disk, at I am up and running again without data loss.

RAID is not the same as off-site backups.  It boosts performance
or protects against failure of a single hard disk or both.  To be
able to hot swap drives and rebuild on the fly requires a drive
enclosure/chassis and carriers that support such activities.  It
is frequently easier to buy it built into a server, such as Dell's
Poweredge 1500SC, 2500, etc.

If you want hot swap drive capability in an external enclosure,
check out Dell, Compaq, IBM, and other.  One third party that makes
a nice (though expensive) external enclosure with redundant power
supplies and hot swap is Kingston's Data Silo products.

                                                Lee Jones

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