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HP Dc5850 AHCI and RAID on HP Compaq dc5850 Business PCs - 2nd Edition - Page 2

Introduction, Basics of AHCI and RAID Technology - desktop pc

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Introduction A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a data storage scheme that uses two or more drives accessed in combination to improve fault tolerance. Initially used with servers, desktop PCs are increasingly using RAID controllers and extra ATA or SCSI disks. Newer system boards often have RAID controllers. The HP Compaq dc5850 Business PC takes advantage of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) and the integration of RAID into AMD's RS780 and SB700 chipsets. The HP Compaq dc5850 Business PC products incorporate RAID drive support through factory configurations. This white paper provides a basic overview of RAID technology, supported factory configurations of HP Compaq dc5850 Business PCs, and other supported RAID configurations. Mirroring and Parity Fault tolerance is achieved by mirroring or parity. Mirroring is 100% duplication of the data on two drives (RAID 1). Parity is used to calculate the data in two drives and store the results on a third drive (RAID 5). After a failed drive is replaced, the RAID controller automatically rebuilds the lost data from the other two drives. RAID systems may have a spare drive (hot spare) ready and waiting to be the replacement for a drive that fails. Disk Striping RAID improves performance by disk striping, which interleaves bytes or groups of bytes across multiple drives, so more than one disk is reading and writing simultaneously.MBR = Master Book Record Basics of AHCI and RAID Technology Definitions Table 1 Basic AHCI and RAID Definitions AHCI ATA BIOS Chipset HDD IDE Advanced Host Controller Interface, a specification for hardware and software, is a register interface for SATA, intended to add higher speed, NCQ and other features. Advanced Technology Attachment. Basic Input/Output System, also known as system ROM. Term used to define a collection of integrated components required to make a PC function. Hard disk drive. Integrated Drive Electronics. 2

Section	Page
Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) and Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) on HP Compaq dc5850 Business PCs	1
Using AMD Array Management Software (RAIDXpert)	1
Introduction	2
Mirroring and Parity	2
Disk Striping	2
Basics of AHCI and RAID Technology	2
Definitions	2
Table 1 Basic AHCI and RAID Definitions	2
Table 2 RAID Drives	3
Single Drive AHCI Configuration	4
1. Turn on or restart the computer by clicking Start > Shut Down > Restart the Computer.	4
2. Press F10 as soon as the monitor light turns green.	4
3. Select your language from the list, and then press Enter.	4
4. Use the arrow keys to select Storage.	4
5. Use the down arrow key to select Storage Options, and then press Enter.	4
6. Change SATA Emulation from IDE to AHCI RAID.	4
Basic RAID Types	4
RAID 0 with two hard drives (Striped)	4
Table 3 RAID 0 with two hard drives (Striped)	5
Figure 1 Performance - RAID 0 with two hard drives	5
Figure 2 RAID 0 - Three hard drives	6
RAID 1 with two hard drives (Mirror)	6
Table 4 RAID 1 with two hard drives (Mirror)	6
Figure 3 Reliability: RAID 1 - Mirroring	7
Configurations	8
Recommended configurations	8
HP Backup and Recovery interactions	8
1. Click Start > Search.	8
2. Click All files and folders.	8
3. Type supp*.ini in the name field.	8
4. Enter the drive letter of the HP Recovery partition and \\isos. Example: d:\\isos.	9
5. Click Search. Search results may locate more than one .ini file. Double click to open the .ini files until you locate the file containing HP Backup and Recovery.	9
Other supported configurations	9
Unsupported configurations	10
Non-RAID Drive Detection Scheme	11
Configuring RAID on non-factory preinstalled configurations	12
Enabling RAID through F10 System BIOS	12
1. Turn on or restart the computer by clicking Start > Shut Down > Restart the Computer.	12
2. Press F10 as soon as the monitor light turns green.	12
3. Select your language from the list, and then press Enter.	12
4. Use the arrow keys to select the Storage menu.	12
5. Use the down arrow key to select Storage Options, and then press Enter.	12
6. On the Storage Options menu, use the down arrow key to select SATA Emulation.	12
7. Press the right arrow key until AHCI RAID displays, and then press F10 to accept.	12
8. To apply and save changes, select File > Save Changes and Exit.	12
Configuring RAID Option ROM	13
1. Turn on or restart the computer by clicking Start > Shut Down > Restart the Computer.	13
2. Press Ctrl + F as soon as the monitor light turns green to enter the RAID configuration utility. If you do not press Ctrl + F at the appropriate time, you must restart the computer, and then press Ctrl + F again to access the utility.	13
Configuring RAID Volume using the Option ROM	14
1. From the Main Menu press 3 to access the Delete LD screen. Use the arrow keys to select the drives. Press Del or Alt + D to delete the drives. At the prompt, press Ctrl + Y to delete or any other key to abort. Repeat until all drives are d...	14
2. From the Main Menu press 1 to access the View Drives Assignments screen. The screen displays a detailed description of available physical drives, including channel, size and status. Press Esc to exit and return to the main menu.	15
3. From the Main Menu press 2 to access the Define LD screen. This screen allows you to configure RAID settings and assignments.	15
4. Use the arrow keys to scroll to the desired LD number and press Enter. The following screen appears. RAID 1 configurations should accept HP default settings. For all other configurations:	15
5. Press Esc to exit. At system prompt, press Y to reboot or any other key to go back.	16
Select boot order	16
1. Turn on or restart the computer by clicking Start > Shut Down > Restart the Computer.	16
2. Press F10 as soon as the monitor light turns green.	16
3. Select your language from the list, and then press Enter.	16
4. Use the arrow keys to select Storage.	16
5. Use the down arrow key to select Boot Order, and then press Enter.	16
6. Use the down arrow key to select ATAPI CD-ROM Drive, and then press Enter. Press the arrow key up to the desired position in the boot order. Press Enter again and F10 to accept the change.	16
7. To apply and save changes, select File > Save Changes and Exit.	16
Notes for operating system installation	17
1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM or Microsoft Vista DVD and reboot the computer.	17
2. Press F9 at the prompt to begin installation.	17
3. Select CD-ROM from the boot device list.	17
4. Remove the Windows XP CD-ROM or Microsoft Vista DVD, and insert the Restore Plus CD-ROM.	17
5. When prompted, remove the Restore Plus CD-ROM and reinsert the operating system CD or DVD.	17
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to select your language and preferences.	17
7. Insert the RAID driver diskette and press ENTER to select the RAID driver.	17
8. Press ENTER to complete the Microsoft Windows installation.	17
AMD Array Management Software (RAIDXpert)	18
Java Runtime Environment	18
Console Software Installation	18
Log-in to RAIDXpert	18
1. Double-click on the RAIDXpert icon on your desktop.	18
2. When the opening screen appears, type admin in the Login ID field. Type admin in the Password field. Note: The RAIDXpert login and password are case sensitive.	19
3. Click the Sign in button.	19
Recommended Initial Settings	19
Administrator’s Settings	19
1. In Tree view, under Administrative Tools, click on the User Management icon.	19
2. In the User Management Window, click on the admin link.	19
3. Click on the Settings tab.	20
4. If you want to change the default password, type the new password into the New Password field.	20
5. Type the same password into the Retype Password field.	20
6. If you plan to set up Event Notification, type the Administrator’s email address in the Email field.	20
7. Click on the Submit button. If the action was successful, the Management Window will display the message “Update Success.”	20
8. If you plan to set up Event Notification, click on the Events tab.	20
9. Check the boxes of the notification events that you want to have reported to you via email and popup messages. To select events by their severity, check one of the four Select Events boxes at the top of the window.	21
10. Click the Submit button.	21
Utility Configuration	21
1. In Tree View, under Administrative Tools, click on the Utility Configuration icon.	21
2. Enter the Sender’s address in the Email Sender field. Be sure the sender has an account in your email system.	21
3. Enter your email server in the Email Server field.	21
4. Keep or change the Email Subject line.	21
5. Click the Submit button when you are done.	21
Degradation	21

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Introduction

A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a data storage scheme that uses two or more drives

accessed in combination to improve fault tolerance. Initially used with servers, desktop PCs are increas-

ingly using RAID controllers and extra ATA or SCSI disks. Newer system boards often have RAID control-

lers.

The HP Compaq dc5850 Business PC takes advantage of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment

(SATA) and the integration of RAID into AMD’s RS780 and SB700 chipsets. The HP Compaq dc5850

Business PC products incorporate RAID drive support through factory configurations. This white paper

provides a basic overview of RAID technology, supported factory configurations of HP Compaq dc5850

Business PCs, and other supported RAID configurations.

Mirroring and Parity

Fault tolerance is achieved by mirroring or parity. Mirroring is 100% duplication of the data on two drives

(RAID 1). Parity is used to calculate the data in two drives and store the results on a third drive (RAID 5).

After a failed drive is replaced, the RAID controller automatically rebuilds the lost data from the other two

drives. RAID systems may have a spare drive (hot spare) ready and waiting to be the replacement for a

drive that fails.

Disk Striping

RAID improves performance by disk striping, which interleaves bytes or groups of bytes across multiple

drives, so more than one disk is reading and writing simultaneously.

MBR = Master Book Record

Basics of AHCI and RAID Technology

Definitions

Table 1

Basic AHCI and

RAID Definitions

AHCI

Advanced Host Controller Interface, a specification for hardware and software, is a register

interface for SATA, intended to add higher speed, NCQ and other features.

ATA

Advanced Technology Attachment.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System, also known as system ROM.

Chipset

Term used to define a collection of integrated components required to make a PC function.

HDD

Hard disk drive.

IDE

Integrated Drive Electronics.