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3Ware 9550SXU-12 User Guide - Page 18

Available RAID Configurations, RAID 0

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Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller • Distributed Parity. Parity works in combination with striping on RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 50. Parity information is written to each of the striped drives, in rotation. Should a failure occur, the data on the failed drive can be reconstructed from the data on the other drives. • Hot Swap. The process of exchanging a drive without having to shut down the system. This is useful when you need to exchange a defective drive in a redundant unit. • Array Roaming. The process of removing a unit from a controller and putting it back later, either on the same controller, or a different one, and having it recognized as a unit. The disks may be attached to different ports than they were originally attached to, without harm to the data. For definitions of other terms used throughout the documentation, see the "Glossary". Available RAID Configurations RAID is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. It offers fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a single hard drive or group of independent hard drives. RAID levels 0, 1, 10 and 5 are the most popular. AMCC's 3ware controllers support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and Single Disk. The information below provides a more in-depth explanation of the different RAID levels. For how to configure RAID units, see "Configuring a New Unit" on page 101. RAID 0 RAID 0 provides improved performance, but no fault tolerance. Since the data is striped across more than one disk, RAID 0 disk arrays achieve high transfer rates because they can read and write data on more than one drive simultaneously. The stripe size is configurable during unit creation. RAID 0 requires a minimum of two drives. When drives are configured in a striped disk array (see Figure 2), large files are distributed across the multiple disks using RAID 0 techniques. Striped disk arrays give exceptional performance, particularly for data intensive applications such as video editing, computer-aided design and geographical information systems. RAID 0 arrays are not fault tolerant. The loss of any drive results in the loss of all the data in that array, and can even cause a system hang, depending on your operating system. RAID 0 arrays are not recommended for high availability systems unless additional precautions are taken to prevent system hangs and data loss. 6 3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5.1

Section	Page
Table of Contents	3
About this User Guide	9
How this User Guide is Organized	9
Conventions	11
Screenshots	11
Using the 3ware HTML Bookshelf	11
Introducing the 3ware® SAS/ SATA RAID Controller	13
Highlights of the 9.5.1 Release	13
System Requirements	14
Motherboard and Slot Requirements	14
Drive Requirements	15
Enclosure Requirements	16
Operating System	16
Other Requirements	16
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels	17
RAID Concepts	17
Available RAID Configurations	18
RAID 0	18
RAID 1	19
RAID 5	19
RAID 6	20
RAID 10	21
RAID 50	22
Single Disk	23
JBOD	23
Hot Spare	23
Determining What RAID Level to Use	24
Using Drive Capacity Efficiently	25
Support for Over 2 Terabytes	26
3ware Tools for Configuration and Management	27
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting Features	28
Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller	30
Physically Install the RAID Controller and Drives	30
Configure a RAID Unit	30
Install the Driver and Make the Operating System Aware of the New Drives	31
Set Up Management and Maintenance Features	31
First-Time RAID Configuration Using 3BM	34
Basic Steps for Creating a Unit	34
Specifying a Hot Spare	42
Making Drives Visible to the Operating System	43
Checking the Motherboard Boot Sequence	43
What Next?	43
Driver Installation	44
Driver Installation Under Windows	45
Materials Required	45
Creating a 3ware Driver Diskette	46
Installing the 3ware Driver and Windows on a New RAID Unit	46
Installing the 3ware Driver on a Windows System that Boots from a Different Device	48
Installing the 3ware driver with the 9.5.1 driver install utility	48
Installing the 3ware driver under Windows with the Found New Hardware wizard	50
Making Units Managed by a 3ware Controller Available to Windows	53
Driver Installation Under Linux	54
Obtaining 3ware Linux Drivers	55
Determining the Current Version of your 3ware Driver	55
Driver Installation Under Red Hat Linux or Fedora Core	56
Materials required	56
Creating a Red Hat Linux Driver Diskette	56
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module while Installing Red Hat Linux on a New Unit	57
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module on a Red Hat or Fedora Core Linux System that Boots From a Different Device	58
About Variables In the Kernel Driver Module Installation Instructions	58
Driver Installation Under SuSE Linux	61
Materials required	61
Creating a SuSE Linux Driver Diskette	61
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module while Installing SuSE Linux on a New Unit	62
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module on a SuSE Linux System that Boots from a Different Device	63
Compiling a 3ware Driver for Linux	64
Driver Installation Under FreeBSD	65
Obtaining 3ware FreeBSD Drivers	65
Creating A FreeBSD Driver Diskette	66
Installing the Kernel Driver Module while Installing FreeBSD on a Unit Managed by a 3ware RAID Controller	67
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver on a FreeBSD System that Boots from a Different Device	68
Driver Installation Under VMware ESX 3.x Server	69
Installing the driver when your primary storage will be managed by the 3ware RAID controller	69
Installing the driver when your secondary storage will be managed by the 3ware RAID controller	70
3ware BIOS Manager (3BM) Introduction	72
Starting 3BM	72
Exiting the 3BM Configuration Utility	74
Working in the 3BM Screens	75
Adjusting BIOS Option Settings	78
Power-On Self Test (POST) Display Options	78
BIOS Loading Options	79
Options for Entering BIOS	79
Changing BIOS Settings	79
Displaying Information About the Controller and Related Devices	80
Getting Help While Using 3BM	81
3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager) Introduction	82
Browser Requirements for 3DM	83
Setting up Mozilla Firefox	83
Installing 3DM	84
Starting 3DM and Logging In	84
Logging In to the 3DM Web Application	84
Managing the 3DM 2 Daemon under Linux, VMware, and FreeBSD	86
Starting the 3DM 2 Process under Microsoft Windows	86
Viewing 3DM Remotely Using a Web Browser	87
Working with the 3DM Screens	87
3DM Menus	88
Viewing Information About Different Controllers	90
Refreshing the Screen	90
3DM Screens and What They're Used For	91
Setting Up 3DM Preferences	93
Setting and Changing 3DM Passwords	93
Managing E-mail Event Notification	94
Configuring the VMware Firewall to Allow Email Notification	95
Enabling and Disabling Remote Access	96
Setting the Listening Port #	96
Setting the Frequency of Page Refreshes	97
Configuring Your Controller	98
Viewing Information About a Controller	98
About Controller Policies	100
Viewing Controller Policies	102
Setting the Auto Rebuild Policy	103
Using Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support	104
Setting the Size of Volumes Created with Auto-Carving	107
Enabling and Setting Up Staggered Spin-up	107
Exporting JBOD Disks	108
Viewing Information About a Phy	109
Changing the Phy Link Speed	111
Configuring Units	113
Configuring a New Unit	113
Configuration Options When Creating a Unit	114
Drives to be included in the unit	114
Name of the unit (optional)	115
Type of configuration (RAID Level)	115
Stripe size, if appropriate for the RAID level	115
Boot volume size	115
Multiple Volumes	116
Initialization Method	116
Unit policies	116
Creating a Unit through 3DM	117
Creating a Unit through 3BM	119
Ordering Units in 3BM	123
Partitioning, Formatting, and Mounting Units	123
Creating a Hot Spare	125
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3DM	126
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3BM	127
Naming a Unit	127
Setting Unit Policies	128
Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache	130
Enabling or Disabling Auto Verify for a Unit	132
Setting Overwrite ECC (Continue on Source Error When Rebuilding)	133
Enabling and Disabling Queuing for a Unit	134
Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit	135
About StorSave Profile Levels	136
Setting the StorSave Profile through 3DM	137
Setting the StorSave Profile through 3BM	137
Rapid RAID Recovery	138
Changing or disabling Rapid RAID Recovery	139
Changing An Existing Configuration by Migrating	140
RAID Level Migration (RLM) Overview	140
Changing RAID Level	142
Expanding Unit Capacity	143
Informing the Operating System of Changed Configuration	144
Deleting a Unit	145
Deleting a Unit through 3DM	146
Deleting a Unit through 3BM	147
Removing a Unit	148
Removing a Unit Through 3DM	149
Removing a Unit Through 3BM	150
Moving a Unit from One Controller to Another	150
Moving Units from an Earlier 9000 Series to a 9650SE or 9690SA Controller	151
Moving Units from an 8000 Controller to a 9000 Controller	153
Moving Legacy JBOD Units to a 9000 Controller	154
Adding a Drive	154
Removing a Drive	155
Rescanning the Controller	157
Maintaining Units	158
Checking Unit and Drive Status through 3DM	158
Viewing a List of Drives	160
Enclosure Drive LED Status Indicators	161
Unit Statuses	162
Drive Statuses	163
About Degraded Units	163
About Inoperable Units	164
Locating a Drive by Blinking Its LED	164
Alarms, Errors, and Other Events	166
Viewing Alarms, Errors, and Other Events	166
Using the Alert Utility Under Windows	167
Downloading an Error Log	169
Viewing SMART Data About a Drive	169
Background Tasks	170
About Initialization	170
Foreground Versus Background Initialization	171
Initialization of Different RAID Types	172
Background Initialization After Power Failure	174
About Verification	174
What Verification Does	175
Verification of Non-Redundant Units	175
Verification of Redundant Units	175
How Errors Are Handled	176
Using Auto Verification	176
Starting a Verify Manually	177
Rebuilding Units	179
Rebuilding a Unit Through 3DM	180
Rebuilding Units through 3BM	181
Cancelling a Rebuild and Restarting It with a Different Drive	184
Setting Background Task Rate	184
Background Task Prioritization	185
Scheduling Background Tasks	185
Scheduled Task Duration	186
Viewing Current Task Schedules	186
Turning On or Off Use of a Rebuild/Migrate Task Schedule	187
Selecting Advanced or Basic Verify Schedules	188
Removing a Task Slot from a Schedule	188
Adding a New Task Schedule Slot	189
Selecting Self-tests to be Performed	190
Maintaining Your Controller	191
Determining the Current Version of Your 3ware Driver	191
Updating the Firmware and Driver	192
Downloading the Driver and Firmware	193
Updating the Firmware Through 3DM 2	194
Updating the Firmware Through DOS Using the 3ware Bootable CD	195
Updating the 3ware Driver and Firmware Under Windows	196
Using the Update Utility With Multiple Controllers	200
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Windows	201
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Red Hat or Fedora Core	207
Updating the 3ware Driver Under SuSE	209
Updating 3ware Drivers under FreeBSD	211
Updating the Kernel with the New Driver Source	211
Updating the 3ware Kernel Driver Module Under FreeBSD	212
Compiling and Loading the Driver as a Module using kldload	212
Updating 3ware Drivers under VMware	214
Viewing Battery Information	214
Testing Battery Capacity	215
Managing an Enclosure	218
Viewing a List of Enclosures	219
Checking Enclosure Component Status	220
Fan Status	221
Temp Sensor Status	222
Power Supply Status	222
Slot Summary	222
Locating a Specific Enclosure Component	223
Downloading an Enclosure Diagnostic Log	223
3DM 2 Reference	224
Controller Summary page	225
Controller Details page	226
Unit Information page	227
Unit Details page	229
Drive Information page	231
Drive Details window	233
Extra Drive Information	233
SMART Data	234
Controller Phy Summary page	235
Controller Settings page	236
Scheduling page	240
Task Schedules	241
Self-test Schedules	242
Maintenance page	243
Drive Information	245
Maintenance Task Buttons	246
Create Unit	249
Alarms page	252
Battery Backup page	253
Enclosure Summary page	255
Enclosure Details page	256
3DM 2 Settings page	259
E-mail Notification	260
Password	260
Page Refresh	261
Remote Access	261
HTTP Settings	261
Troubleshooting	262
Web Resources	262
Before Contacting Customer Support	263
Basic Troubleshooting: Check This First	263
Command Logging	264
Drive Performance Monitoring	265
Types of DPM Statistics	265
Available DPM Commands	265
Problems and Solutions	267
Enclosure-Related Problems	267
Hardware Installation Problems	267
Software Installation Problems	268
Problems in 3DM and 3BM	269
Error and Notification Messages	270
Error and Notification Message Details	276
Appendices	325
Glossary	326
Software Installation	334
Installing Software	334
Installing Software from a Graphical User Interface (GUI)	335
Installing Software on Linux from the Command Line	341
Installing Software on FreeBSD	342
Installing Software on FreeBSD 6.x or 7.x and later from the Command Line	343
Installing Software on FreeBSD 5.x	343
Installing Software for VMware	344
Uninstalling 3ware Software	345
Uninstalling 3ware Software under Microsoft Windows	345
Uninstalling 3ware Software under Linux and FreeBSD	345
Uninstalling 3DM Software on VMware	346
Compliance and Conformity Statements	347
FCC Radio Frequency Interference Statement	347
Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Lab	348
European Community Conformity Statement	348
Warranty, Technical Support, and Service	349
Limited Warranty	349
Warranty Service and RMA Process	350
AMCC Technical Support and Services	351
Sales and ordering information	351
Feedback on this manual	351

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Introducing the 3ware® SAS/SATA RAID Controller

3ware SAS/SATA RAID Software User Guide, Version 9.5.1

•

Distributed Parity

. Parity works in combination with striping on RAID 5,

RAID 6, and RAID 50. Parity information is written to each of the striped

drives, in rotation. Should a failure occur, the data on the failed drive can

be reconstructed from the data on the other drives.

•

Hot Swap

. The process of exchanging a drive without having to shut

down the system. This is useful when you need to exchange a defective

drive in a redundant unit.

•

Array Roaming.

The process of removing a unit from a controller and

putting it back later, either on the same controller, or a different one, and

having it recognized as a unit. The disks may be attached to different ports

than they were originally attached to, without harm to the data.

For definitions of other terms used throughout the documentation, see the

“Glossary”.

Available RAID Configurations

RAID is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. It offers

fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a single hard drive or group

of independent hard drives. RAID levels 0, 1, 10 and 5 are the most popular.

AMCC's 3ware controllers support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and Single Disk.

The information below provides a more in-depth explanation of the different

RAID levels.

For how to configure RAID units, see “Configuring a New Unit” on page 101.

RAID 0

RAID 0 provides improved performance, but no fault tolerance. Since the

data is striped across more than one disk, RAID 0 disk arrays achieve high

transfer rates because they can read and write data on more than one drive

simultaneously. The stripe size is configurable during unit creation. RAID 0

requires a minimum of two drives.

When drives are configured in a striped disk array (see Figure 2), large files

are distributed across the multiple disks using RAID 0 techniques.

Striped disk arrays give exceptional performance, particularly for data

intensive applications such as video editing, computer-aided design and

geographical information systems.

RAID 0 arrays are not fault tolerant. The loss of any drive results in the loss of

all the data in that array, and can even cause a system hang, depending on

your operating system. RAID 0 arrays are not recommended for high

availability systems unless additional precautions are taken to prevent system

hangs and data loss.