System information

Appendix
B-1
Appendix B: Features and Benefits
B.1 Overview
With the comprehensive features and utilities of the firmware, the system administrators can easily build solutions that meet
business requirements as well as conduct management tasks effortlessly. The firmware offers not only performance and
reliability but also capabilities to effectively maximize storage resources. It is a well-balanced mix of powerful functionalities
and user-friendly management interfaces. The firmware is designed with the following twelve key features:
• Flexible storage presentation
• Flexible storage provisioning
• Comprehensive RAID configurations
• Dynamic configuration migration
• Effective capacity management
• Adaptive performance optimization
• Proactive data protection
• Fortified reliability and robustness
• Vigilant system monitoring
• Convenient task management
• Extensive supportive tools
• Easy-to-use user interfaces
B.2 Flexible Storage Presentation
Storage presentation refers to the process to export internal storage resources to be used by the host computers. As a
storage system may be deployed in different environments or even shared by different types of host computers at the same
time, the RAID controller firmware offers flexible storage presentation to accommodate these different requirements in order
to accomplish effective storage sharing and minimize the management efforts.
• Flexible storage presentation
To simplify the storage presentation for different environments, the firmware provides the following presentation methods:
Simple presentation for direct attached storage (DAS) environment
Symmetric presentation for host computers with multiple IO path (MPIO) software
Selective presentation for sophisticated storage area network (SAN) environments
The administrators can choose an appropriate presentation method according to the environment to quickly complete the
presentation at the deployment stage and effectively manage the presentation at the maintenance stage.
• Host and LUN management
The host HBA ports are managed by groups and the internal storage resources are exported as LUNs managed in distinct
storage groups. Because the storage presentation can be conducted based on the groups, the presentation process can be
simplified and more easily managed.
• Independent LUN attributes
Each LUN can have different attributes, such as CHS geometry, sector size, and optimization policy. All LUNs can be
independently and dynamically masked or unmasked. IO access control of LUN can be also enforced for security or for
isolating problematic host computers. Because each LUN can be independently configured, storage resources can be
virtualized and shared without unnecessary compromise.