User manual

Table Of Contents
227
Chapter 7: Technology Background
Introduction to RAID (below)
Choosing a RAID Level (page 240)
Choosing Stripe Block Size (page 244)
Choosing Sector Size (page 244)
Choosing Cache Policy (page 245)
Capacity Coercion (page 246)
Initialization (page 247)
Hot Spare Drive (page 248)
Partition and Format the Logical Drive (page 248)
RAID Level Migration (page 248)
Media Patrol (page 255)
Predictive Data Migration (PDM) (page 255)
Transition (page 256)
Introduction to RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple physical drives to
be combined together in a disk array. Then all or a portion of the disk array is
formed into a logical drive. The operating system sees the logical drive as a
single storage device, and treats it as such.
The RAID software and controller manage all of the individual drives. The
benefits of a RAID can include:
Higher data transfer rates for increased server performance
Increased overall storage capacity for a single drive designation (such as, C,
D, E, etc.)
Data redundancy/fault tolerance for ensuring continuous system operation in
the event of a hard drive failure
Different types of logical drives use different organizational models and have
varying benefits. Also see “Choosing a RAID Level” on page 240. The following
outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID logical drive: