Page 1 ForceWare Software NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide Version 2.0 A NVIDIA Corporation September 3, 2004...
Page 2 NVIDIA Applications NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide Version 2.0 Published by NVIDIA Corporation 2701 San Tomas Expressway Santa Clara, CA 95050 Notice ALL NVIDIA DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS, REFERENCE BOARDS, FILES, DRAWINGS, DIAGNOSTICS, LISTS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS (TOGETHER AND SEPARATELY, “MATERIALS”) ARE BEING PROVIDED “AS IS.”...
Page 3: Table Of Contents
NVIDIA Applications NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide v2.0 A Table of Contents 1.About NVIDIA RAID ..........1 System Requirements .
Page 4 NVIDIA Applications NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide v2.0 A RAID ROM Setup Questions ......... 109 Rebuilding Arrays Questions .
Page 5: About Nvidia Raid
H A P T E R NVIDIA RAID BOUT NVIDIA brings Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology—which is used by the world’s leading businesses—to the common PC desktop. This technology uses multiple drives to either increase total disk space or to offer data protection. RAID techniques were first published in 1988 by a multivendor consortium—the RAID Advisory Board.
Page 6: System Requirements
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID System Requirements Hardware Support ® ™ NVIDIA RAID supports the following NVIDIA nForce versions: • nForce™4 • nForce4 Ultra • nForce4 SLI • nForce3 Pro250 • nForce3 250Gb • nForce3 Ultra • nForce3 250 • nForce3 150 •...
Page 7: Raid Arrays
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID RAID Arrays This section describes the following types of RAID arrays that NVIDIA RAID supports: • RAID 0 RAID 0 defines a disk striping scheme that improves the disk read and write times for many applications. •...
Page 8: Raid 0
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID RAID 0 How RAID 0 Works In a RAID 0 array, the controller “stripes” data across multiple drives in the RAID subsystem. RAID 0 breaks up a large file into smaller blocks and then performs disk reads and writes across multiple drives in parallel.
Page 9: Raid 1
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID RAID 1 How RAID 1 Works In a RAID 1 array, every read and write is carried out in parallel across two disk drives. The mirrored—or backup—copy of the data can reside on the same disk or on a second redundant drive in the array.
Page 10: Raid 0+1
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID RAID 0+1 How RAID 0+1 Works RAID 0 drives can be mirrored using RAID 1 techniques, resulting in a RAID 0+1 solution for improved performance plus resiliency. Figure 1.3 RAID 0+1 Array Diagram The controller combines the performance of data striping (RAID 0) and the fault tolerance of disk mirroring (RAID 1).
Page 11: Spanning (Jbod)
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID Spanning (JBOD) How JBOD Works JBOD stands for “Just a Bunch of Disks”. Each drive is accessed as if it were on a standard SCSI host bus adapter. This is useful when a single drive configuration is needed, but it offers no speed improvement or fault tolerance.
Page 12: Summary Of Raid Configurations
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID Summary of RAID Configurations RAID Configuration Summary Table 1.1 # Hard Fault Array Uses Advantages Drawbacks Disks Tolerance Non-critical data High data throughput. No fault tolerance. multiple None RAID 0 requiring high performance. RAID 1 Small databases or any 100% data Requires two drives other small capacity...
Page 13: Nvidia Raid Features
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID NVIDIA RAID Features Additional RAID Features NVIDIA RAID offers the following additional features: • Free Disk and Dedicated Spare Disk A Free Disk or Dedicated Disk can be automatically used in case one drive of a fault- tolerant array fails.
Page 14: Features And Benefits Summary
HAPTER About NVIDIA RAID Features and Benefits Summary Features Benefits • Supports both Serial ATA and Parallel ATA disk RAID across PATA and SATA devices within a single RAID Array. • Single set up procedure applies to all drives. • Allows the user to dedicate a "spare" disk as a hot Spare Drive and Dedicated Drive standby in the event of a array failure.
Page 15: Setting Up Your Raid Configuration
(RAID 0+1), or Spanning (JBOD) and create the desired RAID array. 3 Run the Windows nForce Setup application and install the RAID software. 4 Initialize the NVRAID Array Disks “Initializing and Using the Disk Array” on page Bootable RAID Array 1 Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS.
Page 16: Setting Up A Non-Bootable Nvidia Raid Array
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Setting Up a Non-Bootable NVIDIA RAID Array All of the tasks that are related to a non-bootable NVIDIA RAID Array can be performed from Windows using the NVRAIDMAN utility. Setup Used in This Section This section assumes the following setup: •...
Page 17: Setting Up The Bios
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Setting Up the BIOS 1 Start your computer, then press Delete to enter the BIOS setup. The BIOS CMOS Setup Utility window appears. Phoenix - Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Load Fail-Safe Defaults Standard CMOS Features Advanced BIOS Features Load Optimized Defaults Advanced Chipset Features...
Page 18 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 3 Use the arrow keys to select the RAID Config (see Figure 2.2), then press Enter. The RAID Config window appears.. Phoenix - Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility RAID Config Item Help [Enable] RAID Enable RAID [Disabled] IDE Primary Master RAID [Disabled]...
Page 19: Configuring The Nvidia Raid Bios
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Configuring the NVIDIA RAID BIOS The NVIDIA RAID BIOS setup lets you choose the RAID array type and which hard drives you want to make part of the array. Entering the RAID BIOS Setup 1 After rebooting your computer, wait until you see the RAID software prompting you to press F10.
Page 20 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Understanding the Define a New Array Window Use the Define a New Array window to • Select the RAID Mode • Set up the Striping Block • Specify which disks to use for the RAID Array Depending on the platform used, the system can have one or more channels.
Page 21 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Using the Define a New Array Window If necessary, press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is highlighted. • Selecting the RAID Mode By default, this is set to Mirroring. To change to a different RAID mode, press the down arrow key until the mode that you want appears in the RAID Mode box—either Mirroring, Striping, Spanning, or Stripe Mirroring.
Page 22 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Figure 2.6 illustrates the Define a New Array window after two disks have been assigned as RAID 1 array disks. NVIDIA RAID Utility Define a New Array Optimal Striping Block: RAID Mode Mirroring Free Disks Array Disks Disk Model Name Disk Model Name...
Page 23 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Completing the RAID BIOS Setup 1 After assigning your RAID array disks, press F7. The Clear disk data prompt appears. NVIDIA RAID Utility Define a New Array Striping Block: Optimal RAID Mode Mirroring Free Disks Array Disks Disk Model Name Disk Model Name...
Page 24 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 3 Use the arrow keys to select the array that you want to set up, then press Enter. The Array Detail window appears. Array 2 : NVIDIA MIRROR 74.56G Array Detail - RAID Mode: Mirroring Striping Width : 1 Striping Block 32K Adapt...
Page 25: Installing The Nvidia Raid Software Under Windows
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Installing the NVIDIA RAID Software Under Windows The existing Windows IDE Parallel ATA driver (as well as the Serial ATA driver if SATA is enabled) must be upgraded to use the NVIDIA IDE Parallel ATA driver (as well as the NVIDIA Serial ATA driver if SATA is enabled).
Page 26: Setting Up A Bootable Nvidia Raid Array
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Setting Up a Bootable NVIDIA RAID Array This section explains how to configure a bootable NVIDIA RAID array. Setup Used in This Section This section assumes the following setup: • Boot Disk An IDE CD-ROM is connected to the Primary IDE channel, and set to Master or Slave. Make sure to have a bootable Windows XP/Windows 2000 CD inserted into the CD- ROM so you can boot from it.
Page 27: Setting Up The Bios
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Setting Up the BIOS 1 Start your computer, then press Delete to enter the BIOS setup. The BIOS CMOS Setup Utility screen appears. Phoenix - Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Load Fail-Safe Defaults Standard CMOS Features Advanced BIOS Features Load Optimized Defaults Advanced Chipset Features...
Page 28 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 3 Use the arrow keys to select the RAID Config (see Figure 2.12). 4 Press Enter. The RAID Config screen appears. Phoenix - Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility RAID Config Item Help [Enable] RAID Enable RAID [Disabled] IDE Primary Master RAID [Disabled]...
Page 29: Configuring The Nvidia Raid Bios
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Configuring the NVIDIA RAID BIOS The NVIDIA RAID BIOS set up lets you choose the RAID type and which hard drives you want to make part of the array. Entering the RAID BIOS Setup: 1 Wait until you see the RAID software prompting you to press F10.
Page 30 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Understanding the Define a New Array Window Use the Define a New Array window to • Select the RAID Mode • Set up the Striping Block • Specify which disks to use for the RAID Array Depending on the platform used, the system can have one or more channels.
Page 31 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Using the Define a New Array Screen If necessary, press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is highlighted. • Selecting the RAID Mode By default, this is set to Mirroring. To change to a different RAID mode, press the down arrow key until the mode that you want appears in the RAID Mode box—either Mirroring, Striping, Spanning, or Stripe Mirroring.
Page 32 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Figure 2.16 illustrates the Define a New Array screen after two disks have been assigned as RAID1 array disks. NVIDIA RAID Utility Define a New Array Optimal Striping Block: RAID Mode Mirroring Free Disks Array Disks Disk Model Name Disk Model Name...
Page 33 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Completing the RAID BIOS Setup 1 After assigning your RAID array disks, press F7. The Clear disk array prompt appears. NVIDIA RAID Utility Define a New Array Striping Block: Optimal RAID Mode Mirroring Free Disks Array Disks Disk Model Name Disk Model Name...
Page 34 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 3 Use the arrow keys to select the array that you want to set up, then press B to specify the array as bootable. 4 Press Enter to view and verify details. The Array Detail screen appears. Array 2 : NVIDIA MIRROR 74.56G Array Detail - RAID Mode: Mirroring...
Page 35: Installing The Raid Drivers
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Installing the RAID Drivers 1 After you complete the RAID BIOS setup, boot from the Windows CD. The Windows Setup program starts. 2 Press F6 and wait a few moments for the Windows Setup screen to appear. Windows Setup Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices installed in your system, or you have chosen to manually specify an adapter.
Page 36 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration b Select “NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER (required)” and then press Enter. c Press S again at the Specify Devices screen, then press Enter. d Select “NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller (required)” and then press Enter. The following Windows Setup screen appears listing both drivers:.
Page 37: Initializing And Using The Disk Array
HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration Initializing and Using the Disk Array The RAID array is now ready to be initialized under Windows. 1 Launch Computer Management by clicking Start Settings Control Panel then open the Administrative Tools folder and double click on Computer Management. 2 Click Disk Management (under the Storage section).
Page 38 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 3 Click Next. The Select Disks to Initialize window appears. Select Disks to Initialize Page Figure 2.24 The disks listed depend on how many arrays you have configured 4 Click Next. The Select Disks to Convert window appears. Select Disks to Convert Page Figure 2.25 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 39 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 5 Check the disk in the list if you want to make the array a dynamic disk, then click Next. The Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard window appears. Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard Page Figure 2.26 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 40 HAPTER Setting Up Your RAID Configuration 6 Click Finish. The Computer Management window appears. Computer Management Window Figure 2.27 The actual disks listed will depend on your system. In Figure 2.27, there is a 111 GB unallocated partition (which is the total combined storage of two 60 GB HD). You must format the unallocated disk space in order to use it.
Page 41: Using The Nvraidman Utility
H A P T E R NVRAIDMAN U SING THE TILITY About the NVIDIA RAID Management Utility The NVIDIA RAID software ships with an application called NVRAIDMAN. This chapter describes the NVRAIDMAN tasks in the following sections: • Viewing RAID Array Configurations View an array configuration (mirrored, striped, mirrored-striped, JBOD, or any supported combination) •...
Page 42: Viewing Raid Array Configurations
Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1 NVRAID Management Utility Window The following are examples of the information displayed for the various RAID levels. While the details of your own configuration will likely vary from what is shown, the examples serve to illustrate the basic differences between the RAID levels.
Page 43 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility NVIDIA RAID Striped Array Figure 3.3 shows an example of a two hard drive striped array using identical 34.48 GB SATA hard drives (WD360GB), where one drive is configured as Primary and the other drive is configured as Secondary. The total disk space used is 68.95GB. NVRAIDMAN Striped Array Information Figure 3.3 NVIDIA RAID Mirrored-Stripe Array...
Page 44 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility NVIDIA RAID Mirrored Array and Striped Array Figure 3.6 shows an example of a two hard drive mirrored array as well as a two hard drive striped array. NVRAIDMAN Mirrored Array and Striped Array Information Figure 3.6 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 45: Setting Up A Spare Raid Disk
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Setting Up a Spare RAID Disk You can designate a hard drive to be used as a spare drive for a RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 array . The spare drive can take over for a failed disk. NVIDIA RAID supports two types of spare drives: •...
Page 46: Assigning A Free Disk
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Assigning a Free Disk To mark a disk as free, or not a part of any array, 1 Enter the system BIOS setup and make sure that the drive that you want to mark as free is RAID enabled.
Page 47: Assigning A Dedicated Disk
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Assigning a Dedicated Disk To mark a disk as dedicated, or reserve it for use by a specific array, you must have at least one free disk and you must also have at least two RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 arrays created.
Page 48 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 2 Select Designate Spare from the menu to launch the Spare Disk Allocation Wizard. Spare Disk Allocation Wizard Figure 3.9 3 Click Next. The RAID Array Selection page appears. RAID Array Selection Page Figure 3.10 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 49 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 4 From the RAID Array Selection page, select one of the arrays from the list. This is the array to which you want to allocate the dedicated free disk. Note: In Figure 3.10 there are two arrays available. 5 Click Next.
Page 50 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 6 Click Finish. As shown in Figure 3.12, the ST380011A drive is now a dedicated free disk in the mirrored array. Designated Spare Disk Figure 3.12 If a system crash occurs that causes any of the two WD360GD drives to fail, the ST380011A hard drive will take over and be used in the newly formed mirrored array.
Page 51: Rebuilding A Raid Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Rebuilding a RAID Array Rebuilding is the process of recovering data from one hard drive to another. All data is copied from one hard drive to another and then the data is synchronized between the two hard drives.
Page 52 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 2 Right-click on Mirroring. The popup menu appears. Array Pop-up Menu Figure 3.15 3 From the popup menu, click Rebuild Array. The NVIDIA Rebuild Array Wizard appears. NVIDIA Rebuild Array Wizard Figure 3.16 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 53 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 4 Click Next. The Disk Selection page appears. Disk Selection Page Figure 3.17 5 Select the drive that you want to rebuild by clicking it from the list, then click Next. The Completing the NVIDIA Rebuild Array page appears. Completing the NVIDIA Rebuild Array Wizard Page Figure 3.18 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 54 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 6 Click Finish. The array rebuilding starts after a few seconds, and a small pop-up message appears towards the bottom right corner of the screen as shown in Figure 3.19. Rebuild Bubble Message Figure 3.19 When the rebuilding process is finished you will see the pop up box shown inFigure 3.20.
Page 55: More About Rebuilding Arrays
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility More About Rebuilding Arrays • Rebuilding Occurs in the Background The rebuilding process takes some time to complete, and occurs in the background so as not to affect the performance of the system. • Rebuilding Applies Only to RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 Arrays Rebuilding an array works only when using RAID 1 and/or RAID 0+1.
Page 56: Creating Raid Arrays
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Creating RAID Arrays This section includes examples of using NVRAIDMAN for • Creating a Striped Array • Creating a Mirrored Array • Creating a Stripe Mirroring Array • Creating a Spanning Array In these examples, the system is configured with four SATA hard disks. Creating a Striped Array NVRAIDMAN can be used to create a striped array from one disk up to the maximum supported number of disks in the system.
Page 57 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Create Array and the following screen will appear Create Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.23 4 :Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Array Selection Page Figure 3.24 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 58 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click the RAID Mode list arrow and select Striping, and leave the “Stripe Size” with its default value as shown in the following screen shot: Figure 3.25 RAID Array Selection—Striping 6 Click Next, and the following screen shot will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.26 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 59 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Select the two disks that you want to include in the stripe set. In this example the upper two disks were selected as shown in Figure 3.27. Free Disk Selection Page—Selecting Disks Figure 3.27 To create a striped array with more disks, select additional disks from the list.
Page 60 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 9 Click Finish and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.29 Stripe RAID Array Created As you can see from the above screen shot a striped array with two SATA disks has been created, while the other two disks are allocated as Free Disks. Similarly, to create an array with three or more disks, simply make sure to add the number of disks that you want to use in the array during creation.
Page 61: Creating A Mirrored Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Creating a Mirrored Array The NVRAIDMAN application can be used to create a Mirrored Array. By definition, a mirrored array consists of two drives. Data is written to both drives, and if one drive fails then data can be recovered from the other drive.
Page 62 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Click Next and the following screen will appear: RAID Array Selection Page Figure 3.31 4 Click Next and the following screen will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.32 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 63 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Select the two drives that you want to use in the Mirrored array. In this example the upper two disks were selected as shown in Figure 3.33. Free Disk Selection Page—Selecting Disks Figure 3.33 6 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Data Disk Selection Page Figure 3.34...
Page 64 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 If you want to start rebuilding the array right away (copy data from one disk to the other), select the disk that you wish to preserve. Do not select a disk if you do not want to rebuild the array at this time. 8 Click Next and the following screen shot appears: Completing the NVIDIA Create Array Wizard Page Figure 3.35...
Page 65: Creating A Stripe Mirroring Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Creating a Stripe Mirroring Array NVRAIDMAN can be used to create a Stripe Mirroring array which requires at least four disks to start such an array. To create a Stripe Mirror Array do the following: 1 Go to the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 66 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Click on Next and the following screen will appear: RAID Array Selection Figure 3.38 4 Click on “RAID Mode:” and select “Stripe Mirroring” while leaving the Stripe Size set to its default value as shown in the following screen shot: Figure 3.39 RAID Array Selection—Stripe Mirroring NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 67 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.40 6 Select the four drives that you want to use in the Stripe Mirroring array. In this example all of the drives are selected as shown in the following screen shot: Free Disk Selection Page—Selecting Disks Figure 3.41 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 68 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Click Next and the following screen shot will eventually appear: Completing the NVIDIA Create Array Wizard Page Figure 3.42 8 Click Finish and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Stripe Array Created Figure 3.43 A Stripe Mirroring array has been created.
Page 69: Creating A Spanning Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Creating a Spanning Array NVRAIDMAN can be used to create a Spanning Array which requires at least one disk to start such an array. To create a Spanning Array do the following: 1 Go to the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 70 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Click Next and the following screen will appear: Figure 3.45 RAID Array Selection Page 4 Click the RAID Mode list arrow and select “Spanning” while leaving the Stripe Size set to its default value as shown in the following screen shot: RAID Array Selection Page—Spanning Figure 3.46 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 71 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.47 6 Select the two drives that you want to use in the Spanned array. In this example the upper two disks were selected as shown in the following screen shot: Figure 3.48 Free Disk Selection Page—Selecting Disks...
Page 72 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Completing the NVIDIA Create Array Wizard Page Figure 3.49 8 Click Finish and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Spanned Array Created Figure 3.50 A Spanned Array has been created.
Page 73: Deleting A Raid Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Deleting a RAID Array NVRAIDMAN can be used to delete an Array. To delete an Array do the following: 1 Launch the NVRAIDMAN application and right click on the RAID array that you want to delete (assuming that you have a RAID array already created) as shown in the following screen shot: Selecting “Delete Array”...
Page 74 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility After the “Delete Array...” has been selected, the following screen shot appear: Figure 3.52 Delete Array Wizard—Welcome Page 2 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Completing the NVIDIA Delete Array Wizard Page Figure 3.53 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 75 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Click Finish and the array will be deleted and the following screen shot will appear showing all the free disks: Figure 3.54 RAID Array Deleted A similar process can be applied to delete any array created by NVIDIA RAID. NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 76: Morphing From One Raid Array To Another
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing From One RAID Array to Another In a traditional RAID environment, when a user wants to change the current state of a disk or a current array to a new RAID configuration, the process of reconfiguring the new array involves multiple steps.
Page 77 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Specific Morphing Requirements The following table lists the disk requirements for a new RAID array for various morphing combinations. Table 3.1 RAID Array Disk Requirements for Morphing From New Array Disk Requirements RAID 0 RAID 0 m >...
Page 78: Morphing Instructions
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing Instructions This sections includes specific instructions for the following RAID morphing combinations: • “Morphing from RAID 0 to RAID 0—Adding a Disk to a Stripe Set” on page 74 • “Morphing from RAID 0 (with One Disk) to RAID 1 (with Two Disks)” on page 79 •...
Page 79 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Now that a two disk stripe array has been created, you can use the NVRAIDMAN convert feature to morph the array from a two-disk RAID 0 into a three-disk RAID 0 array. 3 Right click on the newly created striped array (or existing striped array) and a select “Convert Array...”...
Page 80 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Mode Selection Page Figure 3.58 6 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.59 Free Disk Selection Page NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 81 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Select the disk (or disks) that you want to add to the existing striped array. In this example, we are adding one disk (which is the upper disk) to the existing two- disk striped array. So, select the first disk and click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Completing the NVIDIA Convert Array Wizard Screen Figure 3.60...
Page 82 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility The Morphing Process As you can see from the screen shot above, a three disk stripe array has been created and the morphing process has begun. A pop up window similar to the following will appear: followed by the following pop up window: It will take some time before the entire process is completed.
Page 83 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 0 (with One Disk) to RAID 1 (with Two Disks) The following example shows you how to convert a RAID 0 array with one disk to a RAID 1 array (with two disks) 1 Go to the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 84 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility After selecting “Convert Array...” the following screen shot will appear: Convert Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.64 4 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.65 RAID Mode Selection Page NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 85 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 For the “New RAID Mode:” entry select Mirror as shown in the following screen shot: RAID Mode Selection Page—Selecting Mirroring Figure 3.66 6 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.67 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 86 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Select one of the disks and click Next, then Finish. In this example, the WD360GD was chosen as shown in Figure 3.68. New Morphed RAID Array Figure 3.68 The Morphing Process As soon as the new three-disk striped array has been created, a pop up window similar to the following will appear: followed by the following pop up window: It will take some time before the entire process is completed.
Page 87 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 0 to RAID 0+1 The following example shows you how to convert from a RAID 0 array with two disks to a four disk RAID 0+1 array. 1 Go to the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 88 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Right click on the newly created striped array (or existing striped array) and a select “Convert Array...” as shown from the following screen shot: Selecting “Convert Array” from the Pop Up Menu Figure 3.70 After selecting “Convert Array...”...
Page 89 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 4 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Mode Selection Page Figure 3.72 5 Change the “New RAID Mode:” to Stripe Mirroring as shown in the following screen shot: RAID Mode Selection Page—Selecting Stripe Mirroring Figure 3.73 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 90 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 6 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.74 7 Select the two disks that you want to add to the new stripe mirror array. In this example, we are adding two disks (which are both of the upper disks) to the existing two-disk mirrored array.
Page 91 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 8 Click Finish, then click the newly created four-disk mirrored stripe array and the following screen shot will appear: New Morphed RAID Array Figure 3.76 The Morphing Process As soon as the new four-disk mirrored stripe array has been created, a pop up window similar to the following will appear: followed by the following pop up window: It will take some time before the entire process is completed.
Page 92 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 1 to RAID 0 The following example shows you how to convert from a RAID 1 array with two disks to a RAID 0 array with two disks. 1 Goto the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 93 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Right click on Mirroring and select “Convert Array...” as shown in the following screen shot: Selecting “Convert Array” from the Pop Up Menu Figure 3.78 4 After selecting “Convert Array...” the following screen shot will appear: Convert Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.79 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 94 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.80 RAID Mode Selection Page 6 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.81 Free Disk Selection Page NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 95 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Click Next, then click Finish to complete the process. • If you want to convert the existing two-disk mirrored array into a three-disk (or more) striped array, then you need to select the number of disk(s) that you want to add to the newly created striped array and click Next.
Page 96 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 1 to RAID 0+1 The following example shows you how to convert from a RAID 1 array with two disks to a RAID 0+1 array with four disks. 1 Goto the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 97 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Right click on Mirroring and select “Convert Array...” as shown in the following screen shot: Selecting “Convert Array” from the Pop Up Menu Figure 3.84 4 After selecting “Convert Array...” the following screen shot will appear: Convert Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.85 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 98 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.86 RAID Mode Selection Page 6 From the “New RAID Mode:” entry select “Stripe Mirroring” as shown in the following screen shot: RAID Mode Selection Page—Selecting Stripe Mirroring Figure 3.87 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 99 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.88 Free Disk Selection Page 8 Select both of the disks and click Next, then click Finish. 9 Click on Stripe Mirroring and the following screen shot will appear: New Morphed RAID Array Figure 3.89 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 100 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility The Morphing Process As soon as the new four-disk mirrored stripe array has been created, a pop up window similar to the following will appear: followed by the following pop up window: It will take some time before the entire process is completed. The time it takes to convert an array is dependent on several factors such as the speed of the CPU, the size and type of hard drive being used, the operating system, etc.
Page 101 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 0+1 to RAID 0 The following example shows you how to convert from a RAID 0+1 array with four disks to a RAID 0 array with four disks. 1 Go to the system BIOS and make sure that the drives that you want to use are RAID enabled.
Page 102 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Right click on Stripe Mirroring and select “Convert Array...” as shown in the following screen shot: Selecting “Convert Array” from the Pop Up Menu Figure 3.91 4 After selecting “Convert Array...” the following screen shot will appear: Convert Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.92 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 103 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Mode Selection Page Figure 3.93 6 From the “New RAID Mode:” entry select “Striping” as shown in the following screen shot: RAID Array Selection Page—Selecting Striping Figure 3.94 NVIDIA Corporation...
Page 104 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 7 Click Next, then click Finish. 8 Click on Striping and the following screen shot will appear: New Morphed RAID Array Figure 3.95 The Morphing Process As soon as the new four-disk striped array has been created, a pop up window similar to the following will appear: It will take some time before the entire process is completed.
Page 105 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Morphing from RAID 0+1 to RAID 0+1 The following example shows you how to convert from a RAID 0+1 array with four disks to a RAID 0+1 array with six disks. Note: To Morph from a RAID 0+1 array with four disks to a RAID 0+1 array with six disks, you must have at least six hard drives in the system.
Page 106 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 3 Right click on Stripe Mirroring and select “Convert Array...” as shown in the following screen shot: Selecting “Convert Array” from the Pop Up Menu Figure 3.97 4 After selecting “Convert Array...” the following screen shot will appear: Convert Array Wizard—Welcome Screen Figure 3.98 NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide –...
Page 107 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 5 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: RAID Mode Selection Page Figure 3.99 6 From the “New RAID Mode:” entry select “Stripe Mirror”, then click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Free Disk Selection Page Figure 3.100 7 Select the disks that you want to Morph (in increments of two), then click Next and...
Page 108: Hot Plug Array
HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility Hot Plug Array With respect to RAID, hot plugging is the ability to add a disk to a system safely and without causing problems for the RAID software. For example, when a drive in a mirrored array fails, the user can launch the Hot Plug Array Wizard which instructs the user as to when a drive can be safely added to the system.
Page 109 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility 2 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Figure 3.102 Hard Disk Insertion Screen 3 Connect the RAID disk that you want to use with any given RAID array. 4 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: Completing the NVIDIA Hot Plug Array Wizard Page Figure 3.103 5 Click Finish.
Page 110 HAPTER Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide – Version 2.0 A...
Page 111: Nvidia Raid Frequently Asked Questions
H A P T E R NVIDIA RAID F REQUENTLY SKED UESTIONS The FAQ in this chapter are organized by the following categories: • “Basic RAID Questions” on page 107 • “RAID ROM Setup Questions” on page 109 • “Rebuilding Arrays Questions” on page 109 •...
Page 112 HAPTER NVIDIA RAID Frequently Asked Questions • What is the difference between a bootable and a non-bootable RAID array? A system with a non-bootable RAID array includes a separate hard disk that contains the OS and is not part of the RAID array. “Non-Bootable RAID Array”...
Page 113: Nvidia Corporation I
HAPTER NVIDIA RAID Frequently Asked Questions RAID ROM Setup Questions • Why can I not get into the RAID ROM Setup? You must enable RAID functionality in the system BIOS as explained in “Setting Up the BIOS” on page • Why do my hard drives not appear in the RAID ROM Setup? From the RAID Config window, you must enable RAID and then enable the disks that you want to use as RAID disks.
Page 114: Dedicated Disk Questions
HAPTER NVIDIA RAID Frequently Asked Questions Dedicated Disk Questions • Can I assign a dedicated disk to a striped array/JBOD or use a free disk with striped array/JBOD? No, free disks and dedicated disks can be only used with a mirrored array or a striped- mirrored array.
Page 115: Nvidia Raid Application Notes
H A P T E R NVIDIA RAID A PPLICATION OTES This chapter includes several application notes that address specific issues that may be encountered when trying to install the NVIDIA RAID software or other software required to run NVIDIA RAID. •...
Page 116: Installing Nvidia Raid On A New Windows Xp Operating System
Win2K) onto a formatted floppy disk: • Disk1 • Txtsetup.oem • Nvraid.sys • NvAtaBus.sys 2 Go into the BIOS setup menu and enable RAID a In the BIOS menu, specify which disks should be dedicated to RAID b Exit the BIOS menu and reboot...
Page 117: Windows 2000 Limitation With Bootable Raid
There are two solutions to resolve this issue, described as follows: Use the NVRAIDMAN Tool Use the NVRAID Tool (nForce Driver Version 5.xx) to convert the boot volume to a RAID array. The following are step by step instructions: 1 Install Windows 2000 on a selected hard drive.
Page 118 You are prompted to select the desired Free Disk(s) to add to the bootable RAID array. 24 Click Finish. At this point, NVRAID starts converting the single disk RAID array into a multi-disk RAID array in a bootable format. Note: Conversion may take 1–2 hours depending on disk size.
Page 119: Installing The Nvidia Ide Driver In Windows 2000
HAPTER NVIDIA RAID Application Notes Installing the NVIDIA IDE Driver in Windows 2000 Problem In Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or previous versions), the end user cannot install the NVIDIA IDE Driver without upgrading Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4. Solution In order to upgrade Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4: 1 Install Windows 2000 on a selected hard drive.
Page 120: Using Ghost With Nvidia Raid
HAPTER NVIDIA RAID Application Notes Using GHOST with NVIDIA RAID Problem GHOST can interface with hard disk controllers by accessing the appropriate memory and hardware locations directly. However, in doing so, this can bypass the RAID enhancements that are provided by the system BIOS. The system BIOS understands the underlying disk and RAID array structures and formats.

TYAN NVRAID Manual

1 About NVIDIA RAID

2 Setting up Your RAID Configuration

3 Using the NVRAIDMAN Utility

4 NVIDIA RAID Frequently Asked Questions

5 NVIDIA RAID Application Notes

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