Choosing a RAID Level, Selecting Cables | Adaptec ATA II 1420SA

Chapter 4: Getting Started ● 20

Choosing a RAID Level

This section provides a brief overview of the RAID levels supported by your HostRAID controller, including the minimum and maximum number of disk drives required by each.

RAID 0 (Non-redundantArray)—Stripes data across multiple disk drives. Improved performance but no redundancy (see page 49).

RAID 1 Array—Created from two disk drives where one disk drive is a mirror of the other (the same data is stored on each disk drive). Redundancy, but reduced capacity (see page 50).

RAID 10 Array—Built from two or more equal-sized RAID 1 arrays, stripes and mirrors data across multiple disk drives. Redundancy and improved performance (see page 50). Not supported on the 1220SA controller.

Use the table on page 49 to see how many disk drives you must connect to your HostRAID controller to support the RAID level you want.

Selecting Disk Drives

When selecting disk drives for your RAID array, ensure that all the disk drives have the same performance level. You can use different-sized disk drives in the array, but the array will be limited to the capacity of the smallest and slowest disk drive.

For more information, refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide or Adaptec Storage Manager online Help.

Disk Drives for Your Controller

Your SATA controller supports both SATA (Serial ATA) I and II disk drives. For cable information, see next section.

Selecting Cables

This section describes the cable options and requirements for your HostRAID controller.

SATA Cables

You need one straight connector to straight connector SATA cable for each disk drive you are connecting to your Adaptec SATA RAID controller. SATA cables are included in the kit.

All SATA straight connector to straight connector cables have the same connectors, as shown in the following figure, and the connectors are keyed so that you can’t insert them incorrectly.

Adaptec recommends using only Adaptec SATA cables. For more information or to purchase cables, visit the Adaptec Web site at www.adaptec.com.

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Adaptec ATA II 1420SA Choosing a RAID Level, Selecting Disk Drives, Selecting Cables, Disk Drives for Your Controller

Contents

Serial ATA II 1430SA, 1420SA, 1220SA HostRAID Controllers Copyright Adaptec Customer Support Limited 3-Year Hardware Warranty Regulatory Compliance Statements Contents Installing the HostRAID Controller Disk Drives Understanding Adaptec Storage Manager Safety Information About This Guide Terminology Used in this Guide How to Find More InformationWhat You Need to Know Before You Begin About Your HostRAID Controller Upgrading the HostRAID Controller Firmware HostRAID Controller FeaturesArray Level Features About the Adaptec 1430SA Controller About the Adaptec 1420SA Controller About the Adaptec 1220SA Controller Kit Contents System Requirements Kit Contents System Requirements Getting Started Choosing a RAID Level Selecting Disk DrivesSelecting Cables Disk Drives for Your Controller Installation Options Basic Installation StepsInstalling with an Operating System Installing on an Existing Operating System Installing the HostRAID Controller Disk Drives Installing the HostRAID Controller Before You Begin Connecting Disk Drives to Sata HostRAID Controllers Determining the Boot ControllerChecking Your Controller and Devices Next Steps Creating a Bootable Array Creating an Array with the ACU Setting the Boot ControllerCreating an Array Select Express configuration..., then click Next Creating an Array with Adaptec Storage Manager Making Your Array Bootable Installing the Driver An Operating System Installing with Windows Creating a Driver Disk Installing with Red Hat Linux Installing with Suse Linux Installing with NetWare Installing the Driver on an Existing Operating System Installing on Windows Installing on Red Hat or Suse Linux Installing on NetWare Managing Your Storage Space About Adaptec Storage Manager Installing Adaptec Storage ManagerAbout the Hrconf Command Line Utility Which Utility Should I Use? About the ARC UtilityAbout the AFU Understanding Adaptec Storage Manager Features Overview Logical Devices View Changing How Drives are DisplayedPhysical Devices View Collapsed and Expanded Views Component Views Solving Problems Failed Disk Drive Protected by a Hot Spare Troubleshooting ChecklistRecovering from a Disk Drive Failure Failed Disk Drive Not Protected by a Hot Spare Failure in Multiple Arrays SimultaneouslyDisk Drive Failure in a RAID 0 Array Multiple Failures in the Same Array Understanding RAID Selecting a RAID Level and Tuning Performance RAID Technology OverviewUnderstanding Drive Segments Stripe-unit Size RAID 0 Non-RAID Arrays RAID RAID 1 Arrays RAID 10 Arrays Using the ARC Utility Introduction to the ARC Utility Running the ARC UtilityCreating and Managing Arrays Creating a New Array RAID Managing Arrays Rebuilding Arrays Force from Offline Adding/Deleting Hotspares Managing Bootable Arrays and DevicesConfiguring Disk Drives Using SATASelect Atapi Support SATASelect Options Smart Formatting and Verifying Disk Drives Using the AFU for DOS Compatibility IntroductionSystem Requirements Running the AFU from the Command Line Running the AFU from the GUI Save Update AFU Command Line Step-by-Step Command Switches Afu update /C controllernumber Safety Information Electrostatic Discharge ESD Technical Specifications Current Requirements Environmental SpecificationsDC Power Requirements Glossary See channel Initialize See configure Mirrored array/mirroring See RAID 1, RAID Area on each disk reserved for use by the RAID controller See simple volume, spanned volume Index Scsi Adaptec, Inc