Chapter 7: Technology Background
•Introduction to RAID (below)
•Choosing a RAID Level (page 214)
•Choosing Stripe Block Size (page 217)
•Gigabyte Boundary (page 217)
•Initialization (page 217)
•Hot Spare Drive(s) (page 218)
•Partition and Format the Logical Drive (page 218)
•Cache Settings (page 219)
•RAID Level Migration (page 219)
Introduction to RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple hard drives to be combined together in a disk array. Then all or a portion of the disk array is formed into a logical drive. The operating system sees the logical drive as a single storage device, and treats it as such. The RAID software and/or controller handle all of the individual drives on its own. The benefits of a RAID can include:
•Higher data transfer rates for increased server performance
•Increased overall storage capacity for a single drive designation (such as, C, D, E, etc.)
•Data redundancy/fault tolerance for ensuring continuous system operation in the event of a hard drive failure
Different types of disk arrays use different organizational models and have varying benefits. Also see Choosing RAID Level on page 214. The following outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID disk array:
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