System information

5
Preface
About Software for
Xserve RAID Systems
You can set up and manage an Xserve RAID system from
a host computer or a remote computer.
You use three applications to configure and monitor your Xserve RAID system. Two of
these applications, RAID Admin and Fibre Channel Utility, are included on a CD with the
system. (In some instances, the CD with RAID Admin and Fibre Channel Utility is
supplied with other systems or cards as well.) You also can download the latest version
of RAID Admin and Fibre Channel Utility using Software Update in System Preferences.
The third application, Disk Utility, is part of Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server.
You use RAID Admin to set up the Xserve RAID hardware, including:
•
Creating, deleting, and expanding RAID arrays (known as “hardware RAID”)
•
Monitoring the status of one or more Xserve RAID systems
•
Adjusting settings, including system name and password, network address for each
RAID controller, fibre channel communication speed, drive cache, and controller
cache
• Setting up email notification for system alerts
•
Implementing advanced features, such as dividing arrays into “slices” and updating
the firmware of an Xserve RAID system.
You use the Fibre Channel Utility to view and modify settings on the Apple Fibre
Channel PCI Card, including:
•
Identifying the World Wide Node Name (WWNN) and World Wide Port Name (WWPN)
associated with each card port
• Setting the fibre channel speed from the host card
•
Setting the fibre channel topology from the host card
•
Setting the hard loop ID
You use Disk Utility for:
•
Mounting arrays on the host system (which includes putting the file system on arrays
and creating volumes)
•
Implementing software RAID (striping or mirroring two or more RAID arrays)