User guide

D-12 Compaq Smart Array 431 Controller User Guide
Bus Master Data Transfers
The Smart Array 431 Controller is a bus master device that takes control of the
PCI bus during high-speed transfers. This allows the system processor to
handle application processing or other types of tasks. Data transfer occurs at
rates of up to 264 MB/s on the PCI bus. Bus master high-speed transfers are
particularly important when the supported models are used in conjunction with
multiple expansion boards such as network interface controllers (NICs).
Adding Storage Capacity
Capacity expansion refers to increasing the size of an array by adding
physical drives and creating additional logical drives. Capacity extension
refers to increasing the size of an array by adding physical drives and growing
an existing logical drive (without adding more logical drives).
Array Configuration Utility will allow users to extend (increase) the size of
existing logical drives under any operating system. However, only Windows
NT 4.0 and OS/2 allow the user to resize a partition inside the extended
(bigger) logical drive using third party tools like Power Quest’s Partition
Magic (version 3.0 or later).
NOTE: Extending the capacity of an existing logical drive can be done off-line by backing
up all data, reconfiguring the array, and restoring the data. To extend capacity online,
your operating system must support a logical drive increasing in size.
The Smart Array 431 allows the configuration of one or more separate logical
drives into a single drive array. The controller also supports extending the
capacity of an existing logical drive. An existing drive array can be expanded
by adding one or more logical drives to the array or by growing the capacity of
an existing logical drive. To create the room for the additional capacity, more
physical drives must be added. See Figure D-9.