Raid Settings; Changing The Raid Mode; Raid Modes - OWC MERCURY ELITE PRO DUAL MINI Assembly Manual & User Manual

2.3 RAID Settings

Warning
Note

2.3.1 Changing the RAID Mode

When starting from a powered-on state, first unmount the disk, then rotate the RAID dial to the desired
mode and hold down the SET button for 3 seconds. The LEDs on the front will blink for a brief time; once
the blinking stops, the new array has been built. You can access and format the disk in the OS at this time.
When starting from a powered-off state, rotate the dial on the back of the enclosure to the desired
RAID mode, then power on the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini and immediately press the SET button for three
seconds. The LEDs on the front will blink; once the blinking stops the new array has been built. You can
access and format the disk in the OS at this time.
Warning

2.3.2 RAID Modes

RAID 0 "Drive Striping" Mode:
The two drives show up as a single large disk with a size equal to the combined capacities of both drives.
RAID 0 is used when speed is the primary objective; it does not provide data redundancy for protection.
The reading and writing of data files is spread across both drives to gain speed by distributing the workload.
This allows for the fastest data transfer rates, but if one drive fails the whole array becomes corrupted. The
data will be lost.
RAID 1 "Drive Mirroring" Mode:
The two drives show up as a single disk with a size equal to the capacity of a single drive from the array.
RAID 1 copies (or "mirrors") the data from the first drive to the second drive. This is useful when reliability
and redundancy are more important than capacity or maximum speed. When one drive fails, it can be
replaced and the data can be rebuilt automatically from the other functioning drive. See Section 2.4 for
more details on the drive replacement and rebuild process.
OWC MERCURY ELITE PRO DUAL MINI
Changing the RAID mode will destroy the data on the drives. Be sure to back up your data first!
See Section 3.4 for information on proper backup strategies.
Changing the RAID mode for the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini requires an active USB connection.
The RAID mode is controlled by a dial on the rear of the unit, as shown at
left. The dial has four positions, each labeled with a different RAID mode. To
change the RAID mode, follow the simple steps below. When adjusting the
RAID mode, turn the dial so that the arrow is pointing at the desired setting.
A small flathead screwdriver works the best to adjust the dial. Each time the
arrow is aligned with a new mode, you will feel a slight click.
Drives of identical model and capacity are required for RAID 0 and RAID 1. Always maintain a full
and separate backup of your RAID disks, especially RAID 0 disks.
9
DEVICE SETUP