External RAID + MacPro - a "real world" set-up question

Hi there,
I have read the posting on the LAFCPUG re a Caldigit RAID 5 set up.
[www.lafcpug.org]

I?m about to FINALLY upgrade to a MacPro 3.0 x 8GB and a RAID box such as this.
I am in transition from Advertising print design to video editing.
I have produced a few SD projects and need to update in preparation for more SD and eventually HD.

I?m VERY interested in how BEST to configure drives and files / management and
workflow with a MacPro and new RAID 5 external drive unit.

The CURRENT suggestion made to me is...
MacPro Bay 1 = 320gb - This will be the OS SYSTEM ONLY boot drive.
External RAID 5 = ProAvio/Highpoint Bundle = 8 x Seagate 500GB Barracuda ES.2
This will be the EVERYTHING ELSE drive.
Obviously at 500+mb/s and some 3TB (or 6TB with 8 x 1TB drives) this drive will be FAST and BIG.

But...
Is there a need/benefit in keeping OTHER NON-VIDEO FILES
on a separate drive ? say a 500GB in MacPro Bay 2?
I?m thinking I should invest in a 2nd drive for NON video work
? InDesign/Photoshop/music and the project FCP files etc.
All the RAW VIDEO data, renders etc will be on the storage box.
This is how I?ve worked with an internal hardware RAID in the past.
The post at [www.lafcpug.org] touches on this

FYI ? in my soon-to-be previous setup - based on my LONG history with drives - I actually PARTITIONED the RAID 0 ? with
Partition 1 dedicated to the FCP PROJECT FILES (backup fcp files, audio, working files, images, references final renders etc and
Partition 2 and 3 for the RAW captures and FCP renders etc.
Then when a project ends I archive the FCP PROJECT FILES
and delete the captures etc (that are on tapes) and then erase/format the partitions.

Is this an OLD way of working?
Should I / do I NEED to keep these files apart?
Would there be issues of fragmentation over time because of the other small files?
Or is this a non-issue with this spec of storage box at RAID 5?

Any thoughts / guidance would be appreciated - BEFORE I lay down my money and start using in the real world.

Kym.

A short one. I'll get back to this later...

1, You don't have to worry about fragmentation, as the needle bounces all over the disk on media drives anyway. Make sure you have sufficient space all the time (at least 10-15%).

2, Larry Jordan doesn't seem to like partitioning as from what i can infer in his newsletter. It doesn't really improve drive performance, though I'm not sure if it decreases drive performance.



www.strypesinpost.com

My system is set up thusly:

500 GB system disk. This is just a regular Mac system disk, with the OS and all my apps and my home directory and everything.

500 GB other system disk. This is a clone of my system disk, made with Super Duper, that I keep around after any upgrades. Right now my main disk is 10.5.4 and Final Cut 6.0.4; my other system disk was cloned off before I installed those upgrades, and I think it's 10.5.3 and 6.0.2 or something like that. Just in case I ever need to roll back one version.

750 GB filestore disk. This is where I keep everything that's not job-related and that doesn't need to be on the framestore: reusable graphics elements, fonts, my music and sound effects library, all that stuff.

750 GB Time Machine disk. This disk backs up the system disks and the filestore every hour, just like Time Machine does.

2 TB RAID-5 external framestore. This is where all my jobs go, plus my Final Cut scratch folder, all my various render and cache folders ? basically everything that needs to be fast.

I don't see the point in partitioning a RAID. Why would you? Just create folders on it instead.

Thank you both for the input.
I will probably aim for something such as Jeff's set up.
With the spare system back up drive accessed via a combodock from weibetech.
Appreciate the help.
I will probably be back for more.
Kym.