Installation manual

55 ATTO Technology Inc. ATTO Utilities Installation and Operation Manual
CacheAssure™
CacheAssure is available on ATTO’s ExpressSAS 6Gb/s RAID storage controllers and FastStream™ RAID
Storage Controllers. CacheAssure is an innovative, data protection module that provides the security and
confidence that your cached data will remain intact in the event of an unexpected power loss or system
failure, within an environmentally friendly solution.
Note
The CacheAssure feature will prevent data loss in the ATTO RAID storage controller in case of a power
outage but there still remains a risk of losing data in the cache of the disk drives. ATTO automatically
disables the drive cache to ensure maximum protection.
The ATTO ConfigTool will allow you to view the status
of the Power Module and Non-Volatile (NV) Memory
Card in the Basic Info tab of the RAID storage
controller with the driver information.
Power Module Status
The status and availability of the CacheAssure Power
Module can be verified by viewing the “Power Module”
field within the Basic Info tab of the ConfigTool. The
status will be reported as either:
- Not Present
- Not Charged
- Fully Charged
It takes approximately two minutes for the Power
Module to become fully charged. The ConfigTool will
refresh the status of the Power Module within 3
minutes of being launched.
NV Memory Card Status
The availability of the CacheAssure NV Memory Card
can be verified by viewing the “NV Memory Card
Status” field within the Basic Info tab of the ConfigTool.
The status will be reported as either:
- Not Present
- Present
Within the NV Memory card, there is flash based storage. In the event of system power failure, CacheAssure
instantly detects the failure and transfers the data from DRAM to the flash memory, where it will safely remain for
the life of your system, or until you regain power. Once power is restored, the data will proceed to then transfer
to your ultimate storage destination. The alternative solution, using Battery Back-Up (BBU's), will typically secure
data for only a maximum of 72 hours and then it is lost forever.
CacheAssure powers up in less than 2 minutes and lasts for up to 10 years. With a BBU, every time you start your
system you are degrading your battery lifespan. BBUs can require up to several hours to charge and needs
replacing every 1-2 years. CacheAssure is the preferred solution due to the fact that it is a maintenance-free,
flash-based system which eliminates monitoring, maintenance, disposal, and replacements costs, typically
associated with the less desirable (BBU) alternative. CacheAssure increases system uptime and significantly
reduces the overall total cost of ownership