Portable Media Storage User Manual

RAIDBank5 Owner’s Manual
17
Direct Mapping
The RAIDBank5 can simply pass through individual disks to the host operating system. In this
mode, all 5 disks are individually accessible to the host operating system. No RAID functions
are performed.
Hot Swappable Disk support
Your RAIDBank5 has a built in protection circuit to support replacement of disk drives
without having to shut down or reboot the RAID. In case of drive failure, the failed drive can
be removed from the RAIDBank5 and replaced with a new drive without disrupting dataflow
to the host computer.
Hot Spare Drives
A hot spare drive is an unused online available drive predesignated for replacing a failed
disk drive. Any unused online available drive installed but not belonging to a RAID set can
be defined as a hot spare drive. Hot spares permit you to replace failed drives automatically
without powering down your RAIDBank5. When your RAIDBank5 detects a drive failure in a
RAID 1,10,3 or 5 volume sets the system will automatically and transparently rebuild using any
available hot spare drive(s). The volume set(s) will be reconfigured and rebuilt in background,
while the RAIDBank5 continues to handle system requests. During the automatic rebuild
process, system activity will continue as normal, but system performance will be reduced and
the affected volume(s) will not be fault tolerant until the rebuild process is complete.
Hot-Swap Disk Rebuild
A Hot-Swap function can be used to rebuild disk drives in arrays with data redundancy such
as RAID level 1, 10, 3, and 5. If a hot spare is not available at time of drive failure, the failed
disk drive must be replaced with a new disk drive so that the data on the failed drive can be
rebuilt. Upon insertion of a replacement disk, the RAIDBank5 automatically and transparently
rebuilds failed drives in the background with user-definable rebuild rates. The RAIDBank5
will automatically restart the system and the rebuild if the system is shut down or powered
off abnormally during a reconstruction procedure condition. Please note that the affected
volume(s) will not be fault tolerant until the rebuild process is complete.
2-Understanding RAID