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Dell H810, H710P, H310 manual Using Disk Roaming, Configuring FastPath-Capable Virtual Disks

Models: H310 H710 H710P H810

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Disk Roaming

Disk roaming is moving the physical disks from one cable connection or backplane slot to another on the same controller. The controller automatically recognizes the relocated physical disks and logically places them in the virtual disks that are part of the disk group. You can perform disk roaming only when the system is turned off.

CAUTION: Do not attempt disk roaming during RAID level migration (RLM) or online capacity expansion (OCE). This causes loss of the virtual disk.

Using Disk Roaming

Perform the following steps to use disk roaming:

1.Turn off the power to the system, physical disks, enclosures, and system components.

2.Disconnect power cables from the system.

3.Move the physical disks to desired positions on the backplane or the enclosure.

4.Perform a safety check. Make sure the physical disks are inserted properly.

5.Turn on the system.

The controller detects the RAID configuration from the configuration data on the physical disks.

FastPath

FastPath is a feature that improves application performance by delivering high I/O per second (IOPs). The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) H710P and H810 cards support FastPath.

FastPath is a further enhancement of the Cut Through IO (CTIO) feature, introduced in PERC H700 and PERC H800, to accelerate IO performance by reducing the IO processing overhead of the firmware. CTIO reduces the instruction count required to process a given IO. It also ensures that the optimal IO code path is placed close to the processor to allow faster access when processing the IO.

Under specific conditions with FastPath, the IO by-passes the controller cache and is committed directly to the physical disk from the host memory, through the second core of the dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC) on the controller. FastPath and CTIO are both ideal for random workloads with small blocks.

NOTE: The PERC H310 and PERC H710 do not support FastPath.

Both CTIO and FastPath provide enhanced performance benefits to SSD volumes, as they can fully capitalize on the lower access times and latencies of these volumes.

FastPath provides IO performance benefits to rotational HDD-based volumes configured with Write Through and No Read Ahead cache policies, specifically for read operations across all RAID levels and write operations for RAID 0.

Configuring FastPath-Capable Virtual Disks

All simple virtual disks configured with write cache policy Write Through and read cache policy No Read Ahead can utilize FastPath. Only IO block sizes smaller than virtual disk’s stripe size are eligible for FastPath. In addition, there should be no background operations (rebuild, initialization) running on the virtual disks. FastPath will not be used if these operations are active.

NOTE: RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60 virtual disks cannot use FastPath.

The following table summarizes the FastPath-eligibility of read and write IOs across the supported RAID levels.

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Dell H810, H710P, H310 manual Using Disk Roaming, Configuring FastPath-Capable Virtual Disks
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H310, H710, H710P, H810 specifications

Dell offers a range of storage controller technologies, notably the H810, H710, H710P, and H310, which cater to different enterprise needs. These controllers are designed to support various storage configurations, enhancing overall system performance and reliability.

The Dell H810 is a high-performance PCIe 3.0 RAID controller that supports up to eight internal drives and is particularly suited for demanding workloads. It features advanced RAID levels including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60, providing flexibility for various data protection strategies. The H810 also supports up to 32TB of storage capacity, making it suitable for environments that require substantial data management capabilities.

The H710 is another powerful RAID controller, widely recognized for its balance of performance and cost-efficiency. It features 1GB of cache memory, which aids in accelerating read and write operations. The H710 supports the same RAID levels as the H810 and allows for up to 512MB of non-volatile memory. This ensures data integrity even in the event of a power failure, making it reliable for critical applications.

The H710P is an enhanced version of the H710, with a significant upgrade in its cache capabilities. It offers 2GB of battery-backed cache memory, further enhancing data processing speeds and improving responsiveness. The H710P is ideal for intensive workloads and virtualization, where rapid access to data is essential. This controller also includes features such as RAID storage pooling, intelligent data tiering, and support for multiple virtual disks.

Finally, the H310 is a cost-effective option for small to medium-sized businesses or those with less demanding storage requirements. It offers similar RAID support as the higher-end controllers but operates with a simpler architecture. The H310 features 512MB of cache, providing sufficient performance for regular workloads without the additional complexities of more advanced controllers.

In summary, Dell's H810, H710, H710P, and H310 storage controllers each serve distinct purposes, providing various features, technologies, and performance characteristics tailored to different business needs. From high-capacity storage solutions to user-friendly setups, Dell’s offerings ensure that organizations can efficiently manage their data storage requirements.