Areca ARC-5030 Series User manual

ARC-5030/6020 Series
User’s Manual
RAID Subsystem
Copyright Statement
Areca Technology Corporation
© COPYRIGHT 2004
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. First Edition.
All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. No por-
tion of this document may be reproduced, altered, adapted or trans-
lated without the prior written approval.
Version: 1.00
Issue Date: March, 2006

WARRANTY
The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
We make no warranty of any kind regarding this material, including, but
not limited to, the implied warranties or merchantability and tness for
a particular purpose. Furthermore, we shall not be liable for errors con-
tained herein or for incidental or consequential damage in connection
with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
FCC STATEMENT
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against interfer-
ence in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and
can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in ac-
cordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation.
CE Mark
This equipment is in conrmity with EM directive.

Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................. 12
1.1 System Architecture ......................................................... 13
1.1.1 Ultra ATA/133 & SATA 1.0 Host Interface ....................... 13
1.1.2 Ultra 320 Host Interface .............................................. 13
1.1.3 Serial ATA ll Drive Interface ......................................... 13
1.2 RAID subsystem Controller Board ...................................... 14
1.2.1 Cache Memory Subsystem ........................................... 14
1.2.2 User Interface............................................................. 14
1.2.3 Controller Firmware ..................................................... 15
1.3 RAID Concept .................................................................. 15
1.3.1 RAID Set.................................................................... 15
1.3.2 Volume Set................................................................. 16
1.3.3 Easy of Use Features .................................................. 16
1.3.3.1 Instant Availability/Background Initialization ............. 16
1.3.3.2 Array Roaming ...................................................... 17
1.3.3.3 Online Capacity Expansion ...................................... 17
1.3.3.4 Online RAID Level and Stripe Size Migration .............. 19
1.3.3.5 Online Volume Expansion......................................... 19
1.4 High availability ............................................................... 20
1.4.1 Global Hot Spares ....................................................... 20
1.4.2 Hot-Swap Disk Drive Support........................................ 21
1.4.3 Auto Declare Hot-Spare ............................................... 21
1.4.4 Auto Rebuilding .......................................................... 21
1.4.5 Adjustable Rebuild Priority............................................ 22
1.5 High Reliability................................................................. 23
1.5.1 Hard Drive Failure Prediction......................................... 23
1.5.2 Auto Reassign Sector ................................................... 23
1.5.3 Consistency Check....................................................... 24
1.6 Data Protection................................................................ 24
1.6.1 RECOVERY ROM .......................................................... 24
1.7 Understanding RAID ......................................................... 24
1.7.1 RAID 0....................................................................... 25
1.7.2 RAID 1....................................................................... 26
1.7.3 RAID 10..................................................................... 26
1.7.4 RAID 3....................................................................... 27
1.7.5 RAID 5....................................................................... 28
1.7.6 RAID 6....................................................................... 28

2. Hardware Installation ............................................... 31
2.1 Overview ........................................................................ 31
2.2 RAID Subsystem Requirements ......................................... 31
2.3 Step Action ..................................................................... 31
2.4 Hot-plug Drive Replacement .............................................. 38
2.4.1 Recognizing a Drive Failure ........................................... 39
2.4.2 Replacing a Failed Drive ............................................... 39
3. Conguration Methods .............................................. 40
3.1 Using local front panel touch-control keypad........................ 40
3.2 VT100 terminal (Using the controller’s serial port) ................ 42
3.2.1 RAID Subsystem RS-232C Port Pin Assignment ............... 42
3.2.2 Start-up VT100 Screen................................................. 43
3.3 Bootable CD VT100 utility (Using the controller’s serial port).. 45
3.3.1 Bootable CD VT100 terminal emulation setting value require-
ment ................................................................................. 46
3.3.2 Start-up ROM-DOS VT100 Screen.................................. 46
3.4 Web browser-based RAID manager..................................... 48
3.4.1 Web browser-based RAID manager via HTTP Proxy (Using
the controller’s serial port).................................................... 48
3.4.1.1 Start-up Web Browser-based RAID Management for Local
Administration..................................................................... 49
3.4.1.1.1 For Windows ...................................................... 49
3.4.1.1.2 For Linux ........................................................... 52
3.4.1.2 Start-up Web Browser-based RAID Management for Re-
mote Administration........................................................... 52
3.4.2 Firmware-embedded TCP/IP & web browser-based RAID
manager (using the controller’s 10/100 Ethernet LAN port) ....... 53
3.5 Conguration Menu Tree ................................................... 53
4. LCD Conguration Menu ............................................ 55
4.1 Installing the LCD Module.................................................. 55
4.2 Starting LCD Conguration Utility ...................................... 56
4.3 LCD Conguration Utility Main Menu Options........................ 56
4.4 Conguring Raid Sets and Volume Sets ............................... 57
4.5 Designating Drives as Hot Spares....................................... 57
4.6 Using Quick Volume and Raid Set Setup ............................. 58
4.7 Using Raid Set and Volume Set Functions ........................... 60
4.8 Navigation Map of the LCD For ARC-5030/6020.................... 61
4.8.1 Quick Volume/Raid Setup ............................................. 62
4.8.2 Raid Set Function ........................................................ 63
4.8.2.1 Create A New Raid Set ........................................... 64
4.8.2.2 Delete Existed Raid Set ........................................... 64

4.8.2.3 Expand Existed Raid Set .......................................... 64
4.8.2.4 Activate Incomplete RaidSet..................................... 65
4.8.2.5 Create Hot Spare Disk............................................. 65
4.8.2.6 Delete Hot Spare Disk ............................................. 65
4.8.2.7 Display Raid Set Information.................................... 65
4.8.3 Volume Set Function .................................................... 66
4.8.3.1 Create Raid Volume Set .......................................... 66
4.8.3.1.1 Capacity ............................................................ 68
4.8.3.1.2 Raid Level ......................................................... 68
4.8.3.1.3 Strip Size........................................................... 68
4.8.3.1.4 Volume Name..................................................... 68
4.8.3.1.5 IDE Host Channel (ARC-5030) .............................. 68
4.8.3.1.6 IDE Drive Select (ARC-5030) ................................ 68
4.8.3.1.7 SCSI Channel (ARC-6020).................................... 69
4.8.3.1.8 SCSI ID (ARC-6020) ........................................... 69
4.8.3.1.9 SCSI LUN (ARC-6020) ......................................... 69
4.8.3.1.10 Cache Mode ..................................................... 69
4.8.3.1.11 Tag Queuing ..................................................... 69
4.8.3.1.12 IDE Xfer Mode (ARC-5030) ................................. 70
4.8.3.1.13 Max Sync Rate (ARC-6020) ................................ 70
4.8.3.2 Delete Volume Set .................................................. 70
4.8.3.3 Modify Volume Set .................................................. 71
4.8.3.3.1 Volume Set Migration .......................................... 72
4.8.3.4 Check Volume Set Consistency ................................. 72
4.8.3.5 Stop Volume Set Consistency Check.......................... 72
4.8.3.6 Display Volume Set Information................................ 72
4.8.4 Physical Drive ............................................................ 73
4.8.4.1 Display Drive Information ....................................... 75
4.8.4.2 Create Pass-Through .............................................. 75
4.8.4.3 Modify Pass-Through .............................................. 76
4.8.4.4 Delete Pass-Through .............................................. 77
4.8.4.5 Identify Selected Drive ............................................ 77
4.8.5 Raid System Function .................................................. 77
4.8.5.1 Mute The Alert Beeper ............................................ 78
4.8.5.2 Alert Beeper Setting ............................................... 78
4.8.5.3 Change Password ................................................... 79
4.8.5.4 JBOD/RAID Conguration ........................................ 79
4.8.5.5 RAID Rebuild Priority............................................... 79
4.8.5.6 Maximum SATA Mode ............................................. 80
4.8.5.7 HDD Read Ahead Cache.......................................... 80
4.8.5.8 Stagger Power On................................................... 80
4.8.5.9 HDD SMART Status Polling ....................................... 81

4.8.5.10 Disk Capacity Truncation Mode................................ 81
4.8.5.11 Terminal Port Conguration .................................... 82
4.8.5.12 Restart Controller ................................................. 82
4.8.6 U320 SCSI Target Conguration(ARC-6020).................... 83
4.8.7 Ethernet Conguration ................................................. 83
4.8.8 Show System Events ................................................... 83
4.8.9 Clear all Event Buffers.................................................. 83
4.8.10 Hardware Information ................................................ 83
4.8.11 System Information ................................................... 84
5. VT-100 Utility Conguration ..................................... 85
5.1 Conguring Raid Sets and Volume Sets ............................... 85
5.2 Designating Drives as Hot Spares....................................... 86
5.3 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Conguration ..................... 86
5.4 Using Raid Set/Volume Set Function Method ........................ 88
5.5 Main Menu ..................................................................... 90
5.5.1 Quick Volume/RAID Setup ............................................ 91
5.5.2 Raid Set Function ........................................................ 94
5.5.2.1 Create Raid Set ..................................................... 94
5.5.2.2 Delete Raid Set ...................................................... 95
5.5.2.3 Expand Raid Set ..................................................... 96
• Migrating ....................................................................... 97
5.5.2.4 Activate Incomplete Raid Set.................................... 97
5.5.2.5 Create Hot Spare.................................................... 98
5.5.2.6 Delete Hot Spare .................................................... 98
5.5.2.7 Raid Set Information ............................................... 99
5.5.3 Volume Set Function .................................................. 100
5.5.3.1 Create Volume Set................................................ 100
5.5.3.1.1 For ARC-6020................................................... 100
5.5.3.1.1.1 Volume Name ................................................ 102
5.5.3.1.1.2 Capacity ....................................................... 103
5.5.3.1.1.3 Raid Level ..................................................... 103
5.5.3.1.1.4 Strip Size ...................................................... 104
5.5.3.1.1.5 SCSI Channel ................................................ 104
5.5.3.1.1.6 SCSI ID ........................................................ 105
5.5.3.1.1.7 SCSI LUN...................................................... 105
5.5.3.1.1.8 Cache Mode .................................................. 106
5.5.3.1.1.9 Tag Queuing .................................................. 106
5.5.3.1.1.10 Max Sync Rate ............................................. 107
5.5.3.1.2 For ARC-5030................................................... 107
5.5.3.1.2.1 Volume Name ................................................ 109
5.5.3.1.2.2 Capacity ....................................................... 110

5.5.3.1.2.3 Raid Level ..................................................... 110
5.5.3.1.2.4 Strip Size ...................................................... 111
5.5.3.1.2.5 IDE Channel .................................................. 111
5.5.3.1.2.6 Drive Select .................................................. 112
5.5.3.1.2.7 Cache Mode .................................................. 113
5.5.3.1.2.8 Tag Queuing .................................................. 113
5.5.3.1.2.9 IDE Xfer Mode ............................................... 114
5.5.3.2 Delete Volume Set ................................................ 114
5.5.3.3 Modify Volume Set ................................................ 115
5.5.3.3.1 Volume Expansion............................................. 115
5.5.3.3.2 Volume Set Migration ........................................ 117
5.5.3.4 Check Volume Set................................................. 117
5.5.3.5 Stop Volume Set Check ......................................... 118
5.5.3.6 Display Volume Set Info. ....................................... 118
5.5.3.6.1 For ARC-6020................................................... 119
5.5.3.6.2 For ARC-5030................................................... 119
5.5.4 Physical Drives.......................................................... 119
5.5.4.1 View Drive Information ......................................... 120
5.5.4.2 Create Pass-Through Disk ...................................... 120
5.5.4.2.1 For ARC-6020................................................... 120
5.5.4.2.2 For ARC-5030................................................... 121
5.5.4.3 Modify Pass-Through Disk ...................................... 122
5.5.4.4 Delete Pass-Through Disk ...................................... 122
5.5.4.5 Identify Selected Drive .......................................... 123
5.5.5 Raid System Function ................................................ 123
5.5.5.2 Alert Beeper Setting.............................................. 124
5.5.5.1 Mute The Alert Beeper .......................................... 124
5.5.5.3 Change Password ................................................. 125
5.5.5.4 JBOD/RAID Conguration ...................................... 125
5.5.5.5 Raid Rebuild Priority.............................................. 126
5.5.5.6 Maximum SATA Mode ............................................ 127
5.5.5.7 HDD Read Ahead Cache......................................... 127
5.5.5.8 Stagger Power On................................................. 128
5.5.5.9 HDD SMART Status Polling ..................................... 129
5.5.5.10 Disk Capacity Truncation Mode.............................. 130
5.5.5.11 Terminal Port Conguration .................................. 131
5.5.5.12 Update Firmware ................................................ 131
5.5.5.13 Restart Controller ............................................... 132
5.5.6 U320 SCSI Target Conguration (ARC-6020 only) .......... 133
5.5.7 Ethernet Conguration .............................................. 133
5.5.7.1 DHCP Function ..................................................... 133
5.5.7.2 Local IP address ................................................... 134

5.5.7.3 Ethernet Address .................................................. 135
5.5.8 View System Events .................................................. 136
5.5.9 Clear Events Buffer.................................................... 136
5.5.10 Hardware Monitor Information................................... 136
5.5.11 System Information ................................................. 137
6. Web Browser-based Conguration ......................... 138
6.1 Firmware-embedded TCP/IP & web browser-based RAID man-
ager (using the controller’s 10/100 Ethernet LAN port) ............. 138
6.2 Conguring Raid Sets and Volume Sets ............................. 139
6.3 Designating Drives as Hot Spares..................................... 139
6.4 Using Quick Volume /Raid Setup Conguration ................... 139
6.5 Using Raid Set/Volume Set Function Method ...................... 141
6.6 Conguring Raid Sets and Volume Sets ............................. 143
6.6.1 Main Menu ............................................................... 144
6.7 Quick Create ................................................................. 144
6.8 Raid Set Functions ......................................................... 145
6.8.1 Create Raid Set ........................................................ 145
6.8.2 Delete Raid Set ......................................................... 146
6.8.3 Expand Raid Set........................................................ 146
6.8.4 Activate Incomplete Raid Set ...................................... 147
6.8.5 Create Hot Spare ...................................................... 148
6.8.6 Delete Hot Spare....................................................... 148
6.8.7 Rescue RaidSet ....................................................... 148
6.9 Volume Set Functions ..................................................... 149
6.9.1 Create Volume Set .................................................... 149
6.9.1.1 For ARC-6020 ...................................................... 149
6.9.1.2 For ARC-5030 ...................................................... 151
6.9.2 Delete Volume Set..................................................... 153
6.9.3 Modify Volume Set..................................................... 154
6.9.3.1 For ARC-6020 ...................................................... 154
6.9.3.2 For ARC-5030 ...................................................... 155
6.9.3.3 Volume Expansion ................................................ 155
6.9.3.4 Volume Set Migration ............................................ 155
6.9.4 Check Volume Set ..................................................... 156
6.9.5 Stop VolumeSet Check ............................................... 156
6.10 Physical Drive ............................................................. 156
6.10.1 Create Pass-Through Disk ......................................... 157
6.10.1.1 For ARC-6020..................................................... 157
6.10.1.2 For ARC-5030..................................................... 157
6.10.2 Modify Pass-Through Disk ......................................... 158
6.10.2.1 For ARC-6020..................................................... 158

6.10.2.2 For ARC-5030..................................................... 158
6.10.3 Delete Pass-Through Disk ......................................... 159
6.10.4 Identify Drive.......................................................... 159
6.11 System Controls........................................................... 159
6.11.1 System Conguration............................................... 159
6.11.1.1 For ARC-6020..................................................... 159
6.11.1.2 For ARC-5030..................................................... 163
6.11.2 U320 SCSI Target Cong (ARC-6020) ......................... 165
6.11.3 EtherNet Cong ...................................................... 166
6.11.4 Alert By Mail Cong ................................................ 166
6.11.5 SNMP Conguration ................................................ 167
6.11.6 NTP Conguration ................................................... 168
• NTP Sever Address........................................................ 168
• Time Zone.................................................................... 168
• Automatic Daylight Saving ............................................. 169
6.11.7 View Events/ Mute Beeper ........................................ 169
6.11.8 Generate Test Event................................................. 169
6.11.9 Clear Events Buffer .................................................. 170
6.11.10 Modify Password .................................................... 170
6.11.11 Upgrade Firmware.................................................. 170
6.11.12 Restart Controller ................................................. 170
6.12 Information Menu......................................................... 171
6.12.1 RaidSet Hierarchy .................................................... 171
6.12.2 System Information ................................................. 171
6.12.3 Hardware Monitor .................................................... 171
APPENDIX A ................................................................ 173
Specications...................................................................... 173
Adapter Architecture .......................................................... 173
RAID Features................................................................... 173
Disk Bus Interface ............................................................. 173
IDE/SATA to SATA ll Host Bus Interface................................. 173
SCSI to SATA ll Host Bus Interface ....................................... 174
RAID Management ............................................................ 174
Software Drivers ............................................................... 174
Mechanical ....................................................................... 174
Environmental ................................................................. 175
Electrical .......................................................................... 175
Appendix B ................................................................. 176
Upgrading Flash Firmware Programming Utility ........................ 176
Establishing the Connection for the RS-232............................. 176
Upgrade Firmware Through ANSI/VT-100 Terminal Emulation .... 177

Upgrade Firmware Through HTTP Proxy Web Browser Manager .. 179
Appendix C .................................................................. 181
Connector and Pin Denitions ............................................... 181
ARC-5030 Controller Backplane Diagram .............................. 181
ARC-6020 Controller Backplane Diagram .............................. 183
Appendix D.................................................................. 185
SNMP Operation & Denition ................................................. 185
Appendix E .................................................................. 187
Technical Support ................................................................ 187

INTRODUCTION
12
1. Introduction
The RAID subsystem controller is designed to t in a three 5.25”
half-height drive bay for easy integration in any disk array enclosure
or server. The controller host base module depends on vary model
with different conguration. For ARC-5030 controller host come with
ATA/133 & SATA and ve SATA ll channels for disk drives. For (ARC-
6020) controller host support 320 SCSI channel and ve SATA ll chan-
nels for disk drives. The RAID subsystem is a high-performance SATA
ll drive bus disk array Controller. When properly congured, the RAID
subsystem can provide non-stop service with a high degree of fault tol-
erance through the use of RAID technology and advanced array man-
agement features. The RAID subsystem controller connects to the host
system through an IDE or SCSI interface. The HOST interface on the
host may be located either on the system board, or on a plug-in host
bus adapter (HBA) card.
The RAID subsystem allows easy scalability from JBOD to RAID. It can
be congured to RAID levels 0, 1, 10, 3, 5 and 6. The RAID function
allows two HDD failure without impact on the existing data and failed
drive Data can be reconstructed from the remaining data and parity
drives. RAID conguration and monitoring can be done through the
LCD front control pane (option) or serial port/LAN port.
The controller unit is most cost-effective SATA disk drive RAID subsys-
tems with completely integrated high-performance and data-protection
capabilities, which meet the performance and features of a midrange
storage product at an entry-level price.
The IDE/SATA to SATA ll subsystem controller is the only available
RAID solution that does not require a conventional PCI slot. It uses the
standard IDE protocol to connect the host system IDE controller. The
IDE/SATA to SATA ll don’t need an extra controller card and can fully
utilize the IDE bus (100MB/s) performance. With Intel Accelerated Hub
Architecture and VIA Link architecture (It provides twice the bandwidth
of the traditional PCI bus architecture at 266 MB per second.) the IDE
bus bandwidth is independent of the PCI bus in the chip set design,
giving the best PCI performance for Ethernet Card The IDE driver is
also a standard part of all major operating systems such as Windows
95/98/2000/NT/ME/XP, Novell, MAC, Linux, UNIX, etc., the host sys-
tem does not require additional or proprietary software to work with

INTRODUCTION
13
the controller.
1.1 System Architecture
Host RAID SubSystem
Controller board
SATAll Drives
(Max 5)
ARC-5030
IDE-RAID-IDE
1.1.1 Ultra ATA/133 & SATA 1.0 Host Interface
The IDE/SATA to SATA ll controller board’s host interface appears
to the host system as an Ultra ATA/133 & SATA 1.0 target device.
The Ultra ATA/133 can support transfer rates up to 133MB per
second. The SATA can support transfer rates up to 150MB per
second. Both Ultra ATA/133 and SATA 1.0 can concurrently access
different volume sets (logical drives).
1.1.2 Ultra 320 Host Interface
The SCSI to SATA ll controller board’s host interface appears to
the host system as an Ultra 320 target device. The Ultra 320 can
support transfer rates up to 320MB per second.
1.1.3 Serial ATA ll Drive Interface
The controller board communicates directly with the array’s 5
Serial ATA ll drives via a built-in SATA interface. When the host is
directly controlling the drives. The RAID subsystem uses the RAID
subsystem SATA ll I/O controller chip on each SATA channel to
allow the controller to simultaneously communicate with the host
ARC-6020
SCSI-RAID-IDE Ultra 320 Host Interface
Host RAID SubSystem
Controller board
SATAll Drives
(Max 5)
Ultra ATA/133
& SATA 1.0 Host Interface

INTRODUCTION
14
system, and read or write data on several drives. Up to ve disk
drives can be connected to each RAID controller.
1.2 RAID subsystem Controller Board
ARC-5030/6020 controller have an SATA ll controller which sup-
ports SATA ll support up to 5 SATA ll Hard drives. The RAID 6 en-
gine supports a XOR engine and RAID 6 engine for P+Q and parity
generator/checker, one RS-232 and LAN port interface for system
management (Remote Control, and Local Monitor) and an interface
to a display/operation panel.
1.2.1 Cache Memory Subsystem
The ARC-5030/6020 controller new high-performance architecture
comes from Intel 80219 I/O processor, a 133MHz/64-bit PCI-X,
and DDR200 memory architecture. The data ow at 133MHz/64
bit PCI-X bus and 64-bit 200Mhz ECC DDR SDRAM makes its high
data throughput. Data can be transferred between the control-
ler and the drives through a high-speed 133MHz/64-bit path at a
burst rate up to 1000MB/S. The system’s overall performance can
support up to Ultra320 SCSI host channels. The controller default
supports 128MB on-board cache.
1.2.2 User Interface
Manual conguration and monitoring can be done through the
LCD front control pane (option). The rmware also contains an
embedded management program that can support the RS-232C
(Serial Console) port out-of-band management. The controller
can use any of the interfaces to simplify the setup and manage-
ment of their associated disk drives. This out-of-band method
is a convenient platform-independent management utility. User
can through this port to implement Bootable CD VT-100, VT-100
Terminal and HTTP Proxy browser-based management utility.The
controller has embedded the web browser-based RAID manager
in the rmware. User can remote manage the RAID system with-
out adding any user specic software (platform independent) via
standard web browsers directly connected to the 10/100 Ethernet
JP2 LAN port.

INTRODUCTION
15
1.2.3 Controller Firmware
The system provides RAID levels 0, 1, 10, 3, 5 and 6 RAID cong-
urations. It can be managed either through the LCD control panel
or by the system-embedded conguration utilities. Its high data
availability and protection derives from the following capabilities:
Online Capacity Expansion, Online RAID Level Migration, Dynamic
Volume Extension, Array Roaming, Global Online Spare, Automat-
ic Drive Failure Detection, Automatic Failed Drive Rebuilding, Disk
Hot Spare, and Instant Availability/Background Initialization.
The RAID subsystem rmware is stored on the controller ash
ROM and is executed by the Intel 80219 I/O processor. The rm-
ware can also be updated through the RS-232or LAN port without
the need to replace any hardware chips. During the controller
ROM ash process, it is possible for a problem to occur resulting
in corruption of the controller rmware. A corrupted rmware in
the controller rmware would make the controller inoperable and
bring the system down. The Redundant Flash provides a unique
redundancy feature that helps ensure against controller availabil-
ity. This reduces the risk of system failure due to rmware crash.
In addition to the stored programs in ROM. The NVRAM store
the event log and lists of pending write operation issued to any
drives. These data are checksum protected so that after a power
failure, the controller will consistency for all check outstanding
writes on region.
1.3 RAID Concept
1.3.1 RAID Set
A Raid Set is a group of disk containing one or more volume sets.
It has the following features in the RAID controller. A volume Set
must be created either on an existing raid set or on a group of
available individual disks (disks that are not yet a part of an raid
set). If there are pre-existing raid sets with available capacity and
enough disks for specied RAID level desired, then the volume
set will be created in the existing raid set of the user’s choice. If
physical disk of different capacity are grouped together in a raid
set, then the capacity of the smallest disk will become the effec-

INTRODUCTION
16
tive capacity of all the disks in the raid set.
1.3.2 Volume Set
A Volume Set is seen by the host system as a single logical de-
vice. It is organized in a RAID level with one or more physical
disks. RAID level refers to the level of data performance and
protection of a Volume Set. A Volume Set capacity can consume
all or a portion of disk capacity available in a RAID Set. Multiple
Volume Sets can exist on a group of disks in a Raid Set.
In the illustration below, Volume 1 can be assigned a RAID 5 level
of operation while Volume 0 might be assigned a RAID 10 level of
operation.
1.3.3 Easy of Use Features
1.3.3.1 Instant Availability/Background Initializa-
tion
RAID 0 and RAID 1 volume sets can be used immediately after
creation because they do not create parity data. However, RAID
3, 5 and 6 volume sets must be initialized to generate parity
information. In Normal Initialization, the initialization proceeds
as a background task, and the volume set is fully accessible for
system reads and writes. The operating system can instantly
access the newly created arrays without requiring a reboot and
without waiting for initialization to complete. Furthermore, the
RAID volume set is protected against a single disk failure while
initialing. If using Fast Initialization, the initialization process

INTRODUCTION
17
must be completed before the volume set is ready for system
accesses.
1.3.3.2 Array Roaming
The ARC-5030/6020 store RAID conguration information on
the disk drives. The adapters therefor protect the conguration
settings in the event of controller failure. Array roaming allows
the administrators the ability to move a completele raid set to
another system without losing RAID conguration information or
data on that raid set. So, if a server fails, the raid set disk drives
can be moved to another server with an identical RAID card and
the disks can be inserted in any order.
1.3.3.3 Online Capacity Expansion
Online Capacity Expansion makes it possible to add one or
more physical drives to a volume set without interrupting
server operation, eliminating the need to backup and restore
after reconguration of the raid set. When disks are added to
a raid set, unused capacity is added to the end of the raid set.
Then, data on the existing volume sets (residing on the newly
expanded raid set) is redistributed evenly across all the disks.
A contiguous block of unused capacity is made available on the
raid set. The unused capacity can be used to create additional
volume sets.
A disk, to be added to a Raid set, must be in normal mode (not
failed), free (not spare, in a raid set, or passed through to host)
and must have at least the same capacity as the smallest disk
capacity already in the Raid set.
Capacity expansion is only permitted to proceed if all volumes
on the Raid set are in the normal status. During the expansion
process, the volume sets being expanded can be accessed by the
host system. In addition, the volume sets with RAID levels 0, 1,
10, 3, 5 or 6 are protected against data loss in the event of disk
failure(s). In the case of disk failure, the volume set transitions
from “migrating” state to “migrating+degraded“ state. When the
expansion is completed, the volume set would then transition to
“degraded” mode. If a global hot spare is present, then it further

INTRODUCTION
18
The RAID subsystem controller redistributes the original volume
set over the original and newly added disks, using the same
fault-tolerance conguration. The unused capacity on the expand
raid set can then be used to create an additional volume set,
with a different fault tolerance setting (if required by the user.)
The RAID subsystem controller redistributes the original volume
set over the original and newly added disks, using the same
fault-tolerance conguration. The unused capacity on the expand
raid set can then be used to create an additional volume sets,
with a different fault tolerance setting if user need to change.
transitions to the “rebuilding” state.
The expansion process is illustrated as following gure.

INTRODUCTION
19
1.3.3.4 Online RAID Level and Stripe Size Migration
For those who wish to later upgrade to any RAID capabilities, a
system with Areca online RAID level/stripe size migration allows
a simplied upgrade to any supported RAID level without having
to reinstall the operating system.
ARC-5030/6020 can migrate both the RAID level and stripe size
of an existing volume set, while the server is online and the
volume set is in use. Online RAID level/stripe size migration
can prove helpful during performance tuning activities as well
as when additional physical disks are added to the SATA RAID
controller. For example, in a system using two drives in RAID
level 1, it is possible to add a single drive and add capacity and
retain fault tolerance. (Normally, expanding a RAID level 1 array
would require the addition of two disks). A third disk can be
added to the existing RAID logical drive and the array can then
be migrated from RAID level 1 to 5. The result would be parity
fault tolerance and double the available capacity without taking
the system down. A forth disk could be added to migrate to
RAID level 6. It is only possible to migrate to a higher RAID level
by adding a disk; disks in an existing array can’t be recongured
for a higher RAID level without adding a disk.
Online migration is only permitted to begin If all volume to
be migrated are in the normal mode. During the migration
process, the volume sets being migrated are accessed by the
host system. In addition, the volume sets with RAID levels 1,
10, 3, 5 or 6 are protected against data loss in the event of disk
failure(s). In the case of disk failure, the volume set transitions
from migrating state to (migrating+degraded) state. When the
migration is completed, the volume set transitions to degraded
mode. If a global hot spare is present, then it further transitions
to rebuilding state.
1.3.3.5 Online Volume Expansion
Performing a volume expansion on the controller is the process
of growing the size of a volume. A more exible option is for the
array to concatenate an additional drive into the RAID set and
then expand the volumes on the y. This happens transparently

INTRODUCTION
20
while the volumes are online, but, at the end of the process,
the operating system will detect free space at after the existing
volume; the free space will not automatically be incorporated
into the existing operating system partition.
Windows, NetWare, and other advanced operating systems
support volume expansion, which enables you to incorporate
the additional free space within the volume into the operating
system partition. The operating system partition is extended to
incorporate the free space so it can be used by the operating
system without creating a new operating system partition.
You can use the Diskpart.exe command line utility, included with
Windows Server 2003 or the Windows 2000 Resource Kit, to
extend an existing partition into free space in the Dynamic disk.
Third-party software vendors have created utilities that can be
used to repartition disks without data loss. Most of these utilities
work ofine. Partition Magic is one such utility.
1.4 High availability
1.4.1 Global Hot Spares
A Global Hot Spare is an unused online available drive, which is
ready for replacing the failure disk. The Global Hot Spares is one
of the most important features that ARC-5030/6020 subsystem
RAID controller provide to deliver a high degree of fault-tolerance.
A global Hot Spare is a spare physical drive that has been marked
as a global hot spare and therefore is not a member of any Raid
set. If a disk drive used in a RAID Volume Set fails, then the
Global Hot spare will automatically take its place and he data
previously located on the failed drive is reconstructed on the
Global Hot spare.
For this feature to work properly, the global hot spare must have
at least the same capacity as the drive it replaces. Global Hot
spares only work with RAID level 1, 10, 3, 5, or 6 volume set. You
can congure up to three Global hot spares with ARC-5030/6020.