Basic RAID usage questions from a RAID newbee

[Mancora]

I'm planning to setup three 500 GB drives in RAID 5 and I have some questions to make sure I don't hose the data accidentally.

• If I move the RAID setup to another rig, do I have to preserve the order in which the drives where connected to the controller?
• If my controller fails, and can not be repurchased, can I hook up my set of drives to a different controller that supports RAID 5?
• I might install the RAID setup in a multi-boot system with OSes like Win2k, XP, Vista, and linux. If I don't properly install the controller should I worry about the chance of one of the OSes dickering with the controller and destroying my data?

[SkyDog]

Almost all of my RAID experience is with server-grade RAID controllers, which tend to have more extensive feature sets than consumer-grade stuff. But speaking in generalities...

If I move the RAID setup to another rig, do I have to preserve the order in which the drives where connected to the controller?

It depends on the controller. Some might require it, some might not. Depending on the particular controller(s) involved, you may or may not be able to move the drives to another rig at all.

If my controller fails, and can not be repurchased, can I hook up my set of drives to a different controller that supports RAID 5?

If it's based on the same chipset, there's a decent chance you'd be OK. But if the controllers are completely different, the new controller may not recognize the array structure from the old controller.

I might install the RAID setup in a multi-boot system with OSes like Win2k, XP, Vista, and linux. If I don't properly install the controller should I worry about the chance of one of the OSes dickering with the controller and destroying my data?

Not any more than you'd have to worry about it with a single drive. As far as an OS is concerned, your array is a single disk. The array controller's onboard logic deals with your multiple drives, combining them and presenting them to the OS as a single unit. (Of course, it's a different story for software-based RAID.)