Asus PIKE 6480, User Manual

2-2

Chapter 2: RAID configuration

2.1 

Setting up RAID

The RAID card supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 set(s).

2.1.1 

RAID definitions

RAID 0 

(Data striping)

 optimizes two identical hard disk drives to read and write 

data in parallel, interleaved stacks. Two hard disks perform the same work as a 

single drive but at a sustained data transfer rate, double that of a single disk alone, 

thus improving data access and storage. Use of two new identical hard disk drives 

is required for this setup.

RAID 1 

(Data mirroring)

 copies and maintains an identical image of data from 

one drive to a second drive. If one drive fails, the disk array management software 

directs all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of 

the data in the other drive. This RAID configuration provides data protection and 

increases fault tolerance to the entire system. Use two new drives or use an 

existing drive and a new drive for this setup. The new drive must be of the same 

size or larger than the existing drive.

RAID 5

 stripes both data and parity information across three or more hard 

disk drives. Among the advantages of RAID 5 configuration include better 

HDD performance, fault tolerance, and higher storage capacity. The RAID 

5 configuration is best suited for transaction processing, relational database 

applications, enterprise resource planning, and other business systems. Use a 

minimum of three identical hard disk drives for this setup.

RAID 10

 is data striping and data mirroring combined without parity (redundancy 

data) having to be calculated and written. With the RAID 10* configuration you get 

all the benefits of both RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations. Use four new hard disk 

drives or use an existing drive and three new drives for this setup.

If you want to boot the system from a hard disk drive included in a created RAID 

set, copy first the RAID driver from the support CD to a floppy disk before you 

install an operating system to the selected hard disk drive. 

2.1.2 

Installing hard disk drives

The RAID card supports SAS hard disk drives for RAID set configuration. For 

optimal performance, install identical drives of the same model and capacity when 

creating a disk array.

To install SAS hard disk drives for RAID configuration

1.  Install the SAS drives into the drive bays following the instructions in the 

system user guide.

2.  Connect a SAS signal cable to the signal connector at the SAS backplane or 

on the back of the SAS drive.

3.  Connect a power cable to the power connector at the SAS backplane or on 

the back of the SAS drive.