Lenovo TS140 manual Configuring RAID, About RAID

Using the ThinkServer EasyStartup program on a Windows operating system

You can run the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD on a Windows operating system with the Internet Explorer® 6.0 Web browser or a later version installed. Enter the operating system and insert the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD into an internal or external optical drive. The DVD starts automatically in most environments. If the DVD does not start automatically, open the launch.exe file located in the root directory of the DVD.

Notes:

•You should read and accept the Lenovo License Agreement when prompted.

•On the Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 operating system, you might need to add the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the ThinkServer EasyStartup program Web page to the trusted Web site list so that the page can open correctly.

You can do the following when using the ThinkServer EasyStartup program on a Windows operating system.

•View a general introduction to your ThinkServer server model and the specific server configuration information.

•View general guidance on how to use the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD.

•Download the required device drivers to a removable storage device so that you can easily get the drivers for server configuration when you need them, especially when you finish installing an operating system without using the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD and need appropriate device drivers to configure your server.

•Install the required device drivers directly on the server on which you are running the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD.

•View information about all server models supported by the ThinkServer EasyStartup program and information about the device drivers for each server model, including the driver versions and driver locations in the root directory of the ThinkServer EasyStartup DVD.

Note: The most up-to-date device drivers for various server models are always available for download on the Lenovo Support Web site at:

http://www.lenovo.com/drivers

For detailed information, refer to the help information system for the ThinkServer EasyStartup program.

Configuring RAID

This topic provides information about how to configure Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) for your server.

Note: The information about configuring RAID in this topic is applicable only in a Windows environment. For information about configuring RAID in a Linux environment, contact your Linux software provider.

About RAID

RAID, an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, is a technology that provides increased storage functions and reliability through redundancy. This is achieved by combining multiple hard disk drives into a logical unit, where data is distributed across the drives in one of several ways called RAID levels.

When a group of independent physical hard disk drives are set up to use RAID technology, they are in a RAID array. This array distributes data across multiple hard disk drives, but the array appears to the host server as one single storage unit. Creating and using RAID arrays provides high performance, such as the expedited I/O performance, because several drives can be accessed simultaneously.

Chapter 5. Configuring the server 31