The problem with hardware RAID is that if the hardware fails, you need to replace that specific card with the same type to recover the data. If they're cheap enough and you want to go down that route, then buy two so you've got a backup.
On the server side, the tendency is now towards vertical striping (directly addressing disks on multiple servers through the network with software).
On the server side, the tendency is now towards vertical striping (directly addressing disks on multiple servers through the network with software).