ATTO ExpressRAID Installation and Operation Manual RAID Level 0 Software for Windows® © 2003 ATTO Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All brand or product names are trademarks of their respective holders. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the express written permission of ATTO Technology, Inc.
Contents 1 RAID Overview ..................................................................................1 RAID Level 0 ATTO ExpressRAID Advantages 2 Installing ExpressRAID ......................................................................3 Installation requirements ATTO Recommendations Installation instructions 3 Using ExpressPCI Utilities .................................................................5 4 Creating a RAID 0 Group ..................................................................
1 RAID Overview Originally Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, now Redundant Array of Independent Drives, RAID is a storage system using multiple disk drives. ATTO ExpressRAID creates virtual disk arrays on physical drives to increase capacity and performance. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a storage system using multiple disk drives to increase capacity and performance.
data will be lost. The stripe group can only be accessed with a supported driver. Stripe interleave defines how many logical blocks are used from one drive in the stripe before the next drive’s blocks are used. An interleave size of 64KB (default size) indicates that 64KB of data will come from one drive and the next 64KB will come from the next drive. Therefore, performance optimization attained with striping will only occur when the read or write command is requesting more than 64KB of data.
2 Installing ExpressRAID ATTO ExpressRAID supports Windows® NT, 2000 and XP operating systems. Installation requires basic hardware, the ATTO Technology CD or a download from our website, some basic understandings of your operating system and some possible adjustments and considerations.
Installation instructions Windows NT, 2000 and XP operating systems 1 Insert the ATTO ExpressRAID CD in the drive slot of the computer. 2 From the Install pop-up window, select Continue. 3 Select the continue button in the Directory pop up window. 4 On the ATTO ExpressRAID Setup screen, select Continue. 5 Select Continue if you wish to use the default directory, or change the location, then select Continue.
3 Using ExpressPCI Utilities ATTO ExpressPCI Utilities supports Windows® NT/2000/XP and Windows 95/98. Additional support is provided through the ATTO hardware BIOS driver (BOOTROM.sys for Ultra3, Ultra/WIDE and Fibre Channel adapters, BOOTROM2.sys for Ultra320 adapters). The ExpressPCI Utilities installation utility will automatically launch when the ATTO ExpressPCI CD-ROM is inserted. 1 The main installer screen presents four options. Click on the appropriate button.
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4 Creating a RAID 0 Group ATTO ExpressRAID may be installed on your desktop or enabled in the ATTO ExpressPCI host adapter ROM. ATTO recommends that you install ATTO ExpressRAID on your desktop for easiest use. If you plan to boot from a stripe group and there is a disk error, you may want to install ATTO ExpressRAID in the host adapter ROM so that you can delete the stripe group in the ROM. The desktop version does not allow you to access or alter a stripe group.
Main Menu 1. Configure Adapter Channels 2. Selectable Boot Device 3. Reset All Parameters 4. Display Device List 5. Format Disk Drives 6. Configure Stripe Groups 7. Update Flash ROM 8. Save Parameters and Exit 9. Discard Changes and Exit 4 Using the up arrow and down arrow keys, go to the Configure Stripe Groups option and press Enter. 5 Press the Insert key to make a stripe group. 6 Enter a group name in that field.
5 Managing RAID Groups You can create, reconfigure, or delete stripe groups from the Configure Stripe Groups window. Damaged stripe groups can also be repaired by reconfiguring them, but all data will be lost. From the Main Menu, highlight Configure Stripe Groups and press Enter. You can select an existing stripe group and reconfigure it by pressing [Enter] or delete it by pressing [Del]. Pressing [Ins] will take you to a blank Edit Stripe Group window.
For more help, refer to your operating system’s instructions. Deleting an Array 1 2 Press [Esc] to exit to the main menu 3 Choose Save Parameters and Exit for a system reboot. To delete an array you have already created, highlight it in Stripe Group Window and press [Delete].
6 Benchmarking Drives ExpressRAID includes a utility for benchmarking drives. Open the ATTO Disk Benchmark by clicking on the Start button, going to Programs, ATTO Technology and then clicking on Disk Benchmark. Status Bar: ❖Displays information or status of the selected item in the main window. File: ❖New - Creates a new test document. ❖Open - Opens an existing test document. ❖Save - Saves an opened document using the same file name. ❖Save As - Saves an opened document to a specified file name.
Three additional fields are provided for informational purposes only: Actual Value: The value read from the file. Stripe Group Expected Value: If the test drive is a stripe group, select its name. The names and quantities of drives in the stripe group will be printed to the Description box. Select << Clear >> to clear the contents of the Description box. The value written to the file. Controlled by Lists all ATTO host adapters on the system that may control the selected drive.
7 Troubleshooting Troubleshooting the installation of any new piece of hardware or software can be frustrating. The following suggestions may help if you are having problems installing the ATTO ExpressPCI FC host adapter. ❖Check all cable connections to each device. Verify that all cables are in proper working condition. ❖Make sure that each device is powered up and has completed its self check before booting your machine.
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Appendix A Glossary Some common terms used in the storage industry are defined below. More information about Fibre Channel, SCSI and Storage Area Networks is available through the ATTO Technology website (www.attotech.com), the Fibre Channel Industry Association (www.fibrechannel.org), the Fibre Channel Consortium (www.iol.unh.edu/consortiums, click on FC), the SCSI Trade Association (www.scsita.org), and the Storage Area Networking Industry Association (www.snia.org).
Definition RAID Originally Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, now Redundant Array of Independent Drives: a storage system spanning multiple disk drives. The following standard RAID specifications will be used here: Glossary Term RAID 0: disk striping in which fixed-length sequences of data are mapped to member disks in a regular rotating pattern. RAID 1: Mirrored arrays: information written to one disk is also written to another simultaneously.
Appendix B SCSI Host Adapter Selection Guide ATTO Technology offers a number of SCSI and Fibre Channel solutions for storage. The following chart compares the features of ExpressPCI SCSI host adapters. Supported platforms: Sun Solaris; Linux; NetWare; SCO Unix; Windows 2000, 95/98, NT, and Macintosh OS and OS X. Complete RAID packages are also available and include an ExpressPCI SCSI host adapter, ExpressRAID software and appropriate cable(s). Add "-KIT" suffix to host adapter product code (i.e.
Appendix C Fibre Channel Host Adapter Guide Each ATTO Technology Fibre Channel host adapter supports the following platforms: Macintosh OS, Windows NT/2000/XP, 95/98, Sun Solaris; Linux; NetWare, and SCO Unix. Complete RAID packages are also available and include an ExpressPCI host adapter, ExpressRAID software and appropriate cable(s). Add “-KIT” suffix to host adapter product code (i.e. EPCI-3300KIT).
Appendix D Contact ATTO Technology, Inc. While we do our best to provide you all the information you will need to use our products, we recognize that additional assistance is sometime required. If you have questions about installing, using or obtaining any of our products, you may contact us at: ATTO Technology, Inc. 155 CrossPoint Parkway Amherst, NY 14068 The information you need to answer your questions may be available 24-hours a day on our web site (http://www.attotech.com).
