Chapter 5: Concepts
•About FastTrak, below
•Introduction to RAID, below
•Choosing a RAID Level (page 42)
•Other Logical Drive Features (page 44)
About FastTrak
FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 are high performance RAID Controller cards that feature concurrent data channel operation and onboard BIOS. The channels on the FastTrak card support concurrent operation that allows for overlapped I/O under
Adapter BIOS
The FastTrak card contains a BIOS code that extends the standard disk service routine provided through Int13. The BIOS is bootable for DOS and other operating systems that rely on the system BIOS for drive operation. When the FastTrak BIOS appears during bootup, press
Introduction to RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple hard drives to be combined together 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/or controller handle all of the individual drives on its own. 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 RAID Level on page 42. The following outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID logical drive:
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