Glossary

activity

See task.

array

A logical disk created from available space and made up of one or more partitions on one or

 

more physical disks. Arrays are typically used to provide data redundancy or enhanced I/O

 

performance. See also container, volume, spanned volume, and RAID signature. Also known

 

as a container.

array initialization

See initialize.

automatic failover

See failover drive.

available

Unused space on an initialized disk from which logical devices (arrays) are created. When an

space/partition

array is deleted, the space that is used is returned to the available space pool.

background

Consistency check performed as a background process. See also consistency check command.

consistency check

 

bad partition

Partition that is in an unknown state.

bootable array

Array configured as the boot device.

build

Background initialization of a redundant array. The array is accessible throughout. In a RAID

 

1 array, the contents of the primary drive are copied to a secondary drive. See also clear.

bus

See channel.

cache

Fast-access memory on the controller that serves as intermediate storage for data that is read

 

from, or written to, drives.

capacity

Total usable space available in megabytes or gigabytes.

channel

Any path, or bus, used for the transfer of data between storage devices and a RAID controller.

chunk

See stripe.

clear

Foreground initialization of a fault-tolerant array. A clear operation zeros all blocks of the

 

array. The array is not accessible until the clear task is complete.

concatenation

Joining of physical or logical rives in sequential order.

consistency check

The controller continuously performs a verification on a redundant array to confirm data

command

integrity. In the case of RAID 1 or RAID 10 arrays, consistency checks assure that the data

 

between like blocks match. In the case of a RAID 5 array, consistency checks assure that data

 

in the stripe and the calculated parity for the stripe match.

container

See array.

dead partition

See failed.

Glossary 21