Promise Technology 150TX2 user manual Disk Array Terms, Disk Array Description, Disk Array Member

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FastTrak S150 TX2plus User Manual

Disk Array Terms

Disk Array Description

A disk array is formed from a group of two or more disk drives that appear to the system as a single drive. The advantage of an array is to provide better throughput performance and/or data fault tolerance.

Better performance is accomplished by sharing the workload among multiple physical drives.

Fault tolerance is achieved through data redundancy operation where if one (or more) drive fails or has a sector failure, a mirrored copy of the data can be found on another drive(s).

For optimal results, select identical Ultra ATA/133 drives or Serial ATA drives to install in disk arrays. The drives’ matched performance allows the array to function better as a single drive.

Disk Array Member

The individual disk drives in an array are called members. Each member of a specific disk array has coded in its reserved sector configuration information that identifies the drive as a member. All disk members in a formed disk array are recognized as a single physical drive to the system.

Disk Array Types

For most installations, the FastBuild setup Auto Setup (1) option will configure your system.

There are three disk array types (RAID 0, 1, and 0+1) in two categories that can be installed on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus card. Striping is in the Performance category while Mirroring and Striping/Mirroring are in the Fault Tolerance category.

Disk arrays within the Performance and Fault Tolerance categories conform to the Redundant Array of Independent Disks technology, or RAID. The RAID levels supported are 0, 1, and 0+1.

RAID Level

Performance

Fault

Capacity

No. of

Tolerance

Drives

 

 

 

RAID 0

Highest

No

No. Drives x

2 to 4

(Striping)

Smallest Size

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAID 1

Normal

Yes

Smallest Size

2

(Mirroring)

Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAID 0+1

High

Yes

2X Smallest

4

(Stripe/Mirror)

Size Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Contents Fasttrak S150 TX2PLUS Important Data Protection Information CopyrightTrademarks Contents Page Introduction FastTrak S150 TX2plusPromise Array Management Utility PAM Key Features and Benefits Features BenefitsCompatibility Installation Unpacking Your FastTrak CardInstalling the FastTrak Card Insert the FastTrak card into an open PCI slotInstalling the Hard Drives FastTrak S150 TX2plus card Creating Your Disk Array Creating a Performance Array Creating a Security Array with New Drives Page Creating a Security Array with an Existing Data Drive Seagate S380023AS Installation Creating a Security Array with Quick Initialization Installation Page Using FastBuild Configuration Utility Viewing FastTrak S150 TX2plus Bios ScreenNavigating the FastBuild Setup Menu Using the Main MenuPerformance Creating Arrays AutomaticallyOptimize Array for Security Security and PerformanceUsing a Hot Spare Drive Viewing Drive Assignments Creating Multiple ArraysManually Creating an Array Selecting Array Type Selecting Stripe BlockGigabyte Boundary Assigning Drives to Array Creating a Striped ArrayCreating a Mirrored Array Using New Drives Adding Fault Tolerance to an Existing Drive Drive Model Capacity MB Page How FastTrak S150 TX2plus Saves Array Information Creating a Hot Spare Drive for Mirrored ArraysHow FastTrak S150 TX2plus Orders Arrays Deleting an Array Array Stripe 160048 Rebuilding a Mirrored Array 80024 Page Installing Software Drivers Procedure NumberWindows XP Installation Existing Windows XP Installation Confirming Windows XP Driver InstallationNew Windows 2000 Installation Existing Windows 2000 Installation Confirming Windows 2000 Driver InstallationNew Windows ME Installation Existing Windows ME Installation Confirming Windows ME Driver InstallationNew Windows NT4.0 Installation Existing Windows NT4.0 Installation Removing Driver from Windows NT4.0New Windows 98 Installation Existing Windows 98 Installation Confirming Windows 98 Driver InstallationPage About Adapter Bios FastBuild Auto Menu SetupAbout FastTrak S150 TX2plus Reserve SectorRAID Level Performance Fault Capacity No. Tolerance Drives Disk Array TermsDisk Array Description Disk Array MemberAbout RAID Levels Striping RAIDMirroring RAID Data Mirror Disk DrivesDisk Array Concepts Striping / Mirroring RAID 0+1 Motherboard Issues Configuring PCI IRQ resourcesIntermittent data problems Freeing additional IRQ resourcesSystem Cmos Issues Using an Onboard IDE Card with FastTrak S150 TX2plusDrive-Related Errors Critical Array Status Error Reported during BootDrive cannot be formed into an array System Cmos displays C or D drive failure during StartupUnable to Partition or Format Array Cannot Rebuild Mirrored RAID 1 Array Operating System-Related Issues Promise Windows driver does not appear in Device ManagerTroubleshooting & Tips Performance Tips Optimize Array for PerformanceChange Setting of PCI Bus Utilization Page Appendix a Frequently Asked Questions Pre-InstallationRAID 0+1 Stripe + Mirror RAID 0 StripeRAID 1 Mirror Drive Issues Page Installation Issues Post-InstallationPage European Tech Support Technical Support ServicesUSA Tech Support Center Pacific Rim Sales Office China OfficeLimited Warranty Disclaimer of other warrantiesYour Responsibilities Returning Product for Repair