Dell MD3600f, MD3620F Planning: RAID Controller Modules

Planning: RAID Controller Modules 33

Planning: RAID Controller Modules

The RAID controller modules provide high-performance, advanced virtual

disk configuration, and fault-tolerant disk subsystem management. Each

RAID controller module contains 2 GB or 4 GB of mirrored cache for high

availability and is protected by a battery powered cache offload mechanism.

NOTE: The 4 GB mirrored cache is an optional feature.

RAID controller modules provide the following data path and enclosure

management functions:

• Monitoring and controlling enclosure environment elements

(temperature, fans, power supplies, and enclosure LEDs)

• Controlling access to the physical disks

• Communicating enclosure attributes and states to the host server and

management station

Each RAID controller module has multiple Fibre Channel (FC) ports

(labeled FCIN) for host access. The ports provide redundant host

connections and support a high availability storage environment. Each port

must have a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver module installed

for connectivity. Various configurations can be utilized, in both single

controller (simplex) and dual controller (duplex) modes, to connect the

storage enclosure to hosts depending on specific redundancy needs.

For information on cabling, see the MD3600f and MD3620f Series Storage

Array’s Deployment Guide, at dell.com/support/manuals.

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