Low-cost External RAID 5?

i'm looking for a good way to have an external raid 5 array. most importantly,
it need to be hardware raid, rather than just a esata port multiplier controlled
by the cpu, and the like. preferably 5 bays or more, and the drives need to be
sata.

i've looked into the norco 1220 esata case, but i'm not sure if it is hardware
raid or not. it comes with a 4 port esata pci card with a raid controller, but
does that mean that it is the card doing the parity calculations, or the cpu?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16816133001

aside from that, do i have any other options?

i'm no expert, but doesn't it mean that the raid controller is doing it? just
a guess but i doubt there'd be any raid drives that actually do it on board,
would just be a waste.

the raid controller and cpu do essentially the same thing so that drive must
just be raid compatible for it to work. you need to make sure the card and
drives are compatible with the type of raid array you want to configure, and
that the card is compatible with the type of hard disk you select.

just found this link, hope it helps:

http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/raid-controller.htm

so are you trying to ask for where to get an external hard drive? but at the
same time make it confusing?

www.netgear.com/products/storage/readynasnvplus/rnd44751g.aspx

netgear is offering hardware 05 raid which is basically a raid controller/cpu/
nic running linux or sumpin. the downfall here is it is nas and you are
limited to your network throughput. but you could probably feed 10-20
workstations from this array.

you know, raid(hd) must have a controller. if you put the controller on the
external, then you have to get the data to the client(s) somehow. if you put
the controller on the client like esata, then you have the throughput of sata,
but its gonna use some cpu. historically, controller cards with more ram on
them use less cpu. you might even find an esata card that has a processor
built on it. probably more of a pci 66 than a pcix solution. i'm not gonna
search for it, you can. scsi has been around a lot longer, and the solution is
probably there. any way you look at it, you are gonna have to spend major
bucks compared to the normal raid enthusiast. what are you trying to do?
build some big old game machine? heh, good luck.

edit: basically anything that uses a controller to make raid is by definition
hardware raid. software raid is controlled by software like windows can create
a raid configuration out of your basic controller/hds.

ok, i did look it up pcie x8 support $600:
promise.com/product/product_detail_eng.asp?product_id=172

i guess basically the confusion i had about the hardware and software raid was
over what a controller actually meant. and i know the cards with processors cost
a lot. the areca arc-1231ml is a grand $700 with a nice 800 mhz intel on it.