Performing a Quick Configuration 3-3
Copyright © 2004 by LSI Logic Corporation. All rights reserved.
The factors you need to consider when selecting a RAID level are listed in
Table 3 .2.
3.4 Performing a Quick Configuration
This section provides quick installation steps for users that are familiar with
configuration utilities and tools. Refer to Section 3.5, “Configuring Arrays and
Logical Drives,” for detailed configuration instructions. To ensure best
performance, select the optimal RAID level for the logical drive you create.
Perform the following steps to configure arrays and logical drives using the
Configuration Utility (CU):
Step1. Boot the system.
Step2. Start the CU by pressing <Ctrl><M>.
Step3. Select a configuration method.
Step4. Create arrays using the available physical drives.
Step5. Define the logical drive(s) using the space in the arrays.
Step6. Initialize the new logical drive(s).
Table3.2 Physical Drives Required per RAID Level
Level Description and Use Pros Cons Number
of Drives Fault
Toler ant
0Data divided in blocks and
distributed sequentially (pure
striping). Use for non-critical
data that requires high
performance.
High data
throughput for
large files
No fault tolerance. Data is
lost if a drive fails. One to
four No
1Data duplicated on another disk
(mirroring). Use for read-
intensive, fault-tolerant
systems.
100 percent data
redundancy,
providing fault
tolerance.
More disk space required.
Reduces usable disk space
to the size of the smallest
drive. Reduced performance
during rebuilds.
Two Yes
10 A combination of RAID 1 (data
mirroring) and RAID 0 (data
striping). Use for medium-
sized databases or any
environment that requires a
higher degree of fault tolerance
and moderate to medium
capacity.
Provides both high
data transfer rates
and complete data
redundancy.
More disk space required.
Reduces usable disk space
to the size of the smallest
drive. Reduced performance
during rebuilds.
Four Yes