TYAN TOMCAT I915 User Manual page 78

Tomcat i915 S5120
Stripe Block Size
For striped (RAID 0) arrays you can manually select the stripe block size. Press the
Spacebar to scroll through choices progressing as follows (32, 64, 128 MB).
Stripe Block size selected affects how FastTrak sends data blocks to and receives
them from the drives. You must perform your own testing to determine how the data
block size affects your particular use of the array. In general, a larger block size is
better when handling large data transfers (such as in A/V editing or graphics) while
a smaller block size is better when handling e-mail and other common server data.
The default is 64 KB.
Gigabyte Rounding
The Gigabyte Rounding feature is designed for Mirrored (RAID 1) arrays in which a
drive has failed and the user cannot replace the drive with the same capacity or
larger. Instead, the Gigabyte Boundary feature permits the installation of a
replacement drive that is slightly smaller (within 1 gigabyte) than the remaining
working drive (for example, an 80.5 GB drive would be rounded down to 80 GB).
This feature is automatically enabled for Mirrored (RAID 1) arrays, except when
when creating the array from an existing drive (versus using two brand new drives).
This protects the existing drive's partition table in order to maintain data integrity.
Create a Striped Array
As described in the Drive Assignments Option section above, if you selected a performance
(RAID 0) array, follow the directions here.
1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for your array.
2. Press the Spacebar to select Stripe (RAID 0 or Performance).
3. Set the Stripe Block size. 64 KB is the default.
4. Under the Drive Assignments section, press the ¡ ô
5. Press the Spacebar or Y to change the Assignment option to Y. This action adds
the drive to the disk array.
Assign from one or two drives. If you assign only one drive, there will be no
performance benefit.
6. Press Ctrl-Y to save the information. The window below will appear.
7. Press Y to create and quick initialize the array or press N to create it only.
When the array is created, the screen will return to the Define Array menu.
8. Press Esc twice to exit the FastBuild Utility.
9. Partition and format the array, using your operating system, as if it were a new
single disk drive.
Create a Mirrored Array Using New Drives
As described in the Drive Assignments Option section above, if you selected a mirroring (RAID
1) array and you will use two new disk drives, follow the directions here.
1. Under the Definition section of this menu, highlight the Array # for which your
array.
2. Press the Spacebar to select Mirror (RAID 1 or Security).
3. Under the Drive Assignments section, press the ¡ ô
drive.
4. Press the Spacebar or Y to change the Assignment option to Y. This action adds
the drive to the disk array.
Chapter 4: SATA/RAID Setup (for SATA RAID model)
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and ¡ õ keys to highlight a drive.
and ¡ õ keys to highlight a