Configuring The Raid Controller - NEC HX4500 User Manual

Configuring the RAID Controller

The system comes with a three channel SecuRAID 530 Redundant Array of
Inexpensive Devices (RAID) Controller board. The board gives your system the
added security of fault tolerance. The system is pre-configured at the factory.
Use Table 3-8 to determine how the RAID controller was configured at the
factory. If you want to change the RAID level or add additional hard disks to the
array, you must use the RAID Configuration Utility.
If you are adding the RAID controller to an existing system, the RAID
Configuration Utility allows you to configure your disk array before installing
your network operating system.
Number of RAID Level
Hard Drives Configured
1 JBOD
2 1
3 5
4 or more 5
The RAID Configuration Utility utility is included with the RAID controller.
The SecuRAID 530 controller supports various versions of RAID technology
(referred to as RAID levels). To use any RAID level, you must configure the
RAID controller using the RAID Configuration Utility configuration utility
prior to installing your Network Operating System. For an explanation of this
utility, refer to the RAID Configuration Utility Utilities Installation Guide and
User Manual that was shipped with the controller. Chapter 2 of the manual
(Configuration Strategies) describes RAID technology and provides tips on
making your array perform well in your specific application. Chapter 3
(Preparing the Array) covers array hardware preparation, configuration, and
initialization. After completing the steps in chapter 3, you can install your
Network Operating System.
Table 3-8. RAID Configurations
Hard Drives in Description
Array
1 JBOD (Mylex RAID 7) JBOD is an acronym for Just
a Bunch Of Disks. Each drive can operate
independently as with a common host bus adapter; or
multiple drives may be spanned and seen as a single
very large drive. No redundancy is provided.
2 Mirroring (RAID 1) Drives are paired and mirrored.
All data is 100% duplicated on an equivalent drive
(fully redundant).
3 Striping with Parity (RAID 5) Data is striped across
several physical drives. Parity protection is used for
data redundancy.
4 (one standby Striping with Parity (RAID 5) with a standby drive
drive) The array consists of three ON-LINE drives and one
STANDBY drive. The standby replacement drive, or
hot spare, is one of the most important features RAID
provides to achieve automatic, non-stop service with a
high degree of fault-tolerance.
Configuring Your System 3-17