Foxconn RAID User manual
NVIDIARAID........................................................................................1
RAIDArrays...............................................................................................................1
InstallHardDisks....................................................................................................3
BasicConfiguration Instructions...........................................................................4
SettingUptheBIOS.................................................................................................5
EnteringtheRAIDBIOSSetup...............................................................................6
NVIDIARAIDUtilityInstallation............................................................................10
Initializing and Using theDiskArray...................................................................13
UsingTheNVRAIDMANUtility.............................................................................14
Win2KLimitation withBootableRAID................................................................20
SiIicon3132 SATARAID(optional)
Introduction............................................................................................................22
Creating and Deleting RAIDSets.......................................................................22
InstallWindows2000/XPwithRAID...................................................................28
Install RAIDDriver.................................................................................................28
Contents
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1
Summary ofRAIDConfigurations
RAIDArrays
ThissectiondescribesthefollowingtypesofRAIDarrays thatNVIDIARAID
supports:
RAID0
RAID0defines adisk stripingschemethatimprovesthe diskreadandwrite
timesformanyapplications.
RAID1
RAID1defines techniques formirroring data.
RAID0+1
RAID0+1 combines thetechniques usedinRAID0and RAID1arrays.
Spanning(JBOD)
JBOD provides amethod forcombining drives ofdifferentsizes intoonelarge
disk.
RAID5
RAID5stripes bothdataand parityinformationacross three ormoredrives.
Array
RAID0
RAID1
RAID
0+1
JBOD
RAID5
NVIDIARAID
Advantages
Highdatathroughput.
100% data
redundancy.
Optimized forboth
100% dataredun-
dancyand
performance.Allows
sparedisks.
Combinesand uses
thecapacityofodd
sizedrives.
Faulttoleranceand
betterutilizationof
diskspace.
Drawbacks
Nofaulttolerance.
Requirestwodrivesfor
thestorage space
of onedrive.
Requirestwodrivesfor
thestorage space
ofone drive—thesame
asRAIDlevel 1.
Decreasesperformance
becauseof thedifficulty
in using drives
concurrentlyortoopti-
mizedrivesfordifferent
uses.
Decreasedwriteperfor-
manceduetoparity
calculations.Requiresat
reastthreedrives.
#HardDisks
multiple
2
4+
multiple
3+
Fault Tolerance
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
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NVIDIARAIDoffersthefollowing additionalfeatures:
Free Diskand DedicatedSpare Disk
AFreeDiskor DedicatedDisk canbeautomaticallyusedincaseone drive ofafault-
tolerantarrayfails.NVIDIARAIDdefines afault-tolerantarrayas eitherRAID1or
RAID0+1. Afreediskcanbeusedbyanyavailablefault-tolerantarray,whilea
dedicateddiskcanbeusedonlybythe arraytowhichitisassigned.
RAIDAcross PATAand SATA
NVIDIARAIDcan spanacrossbothParallelATAas well as SerialATA controllers.
RAIDoperations can beperformed onParallel ATAharddrives,SerialATAhard
drives,orbothParalleland Serial ATAharddrives.
BootableRAID
NVIDIARAIDcanbe configured inawaytomakeit bootable. Forexample, twohard
drives canbeconfiguredasabootablemirroredRAIDarray.
RAIDonMultipleDiskControllers
UnlikeotherRAIDsolutions thatlimitstheusertoadedicated RAIDcontroller,
NVIDIARAIDsoftwarecanuseadriveon oneRAIDcontroller and another driveon
asecond RAIDcontroller.
Morphing
Morphing istheabilitytoconvert fromoneRAIDmodetoanotherRAIDmode.This
allowstheuser toupgradetheircurrent diskorarrayfor betterperformance,higher
security,andincreasedcapacity.Moreimportantly,thisisaccomplishedwithout
having togo through multiplesteps.Themorphing featuregives theuseran
upgradeableoptiontomanage storageeasily.
HotPlug Array
Hotplug,withrespect toRAID, isthe abilitytoaddadisk toasystemsafelyand
withoutcausingproblemsfortheRAIDsoftware. Forexample,whenadrive ina
mirroredarrayfails, auser canlaunch the HotPlug ArrayWizardwhichinstructsthe
userastowhenadrivecan beaddedsafelytothesystem.Assoonas thedriveis
added,the usercan then finishrunning theRAIDwizardandthe drivebecomes
useablebythesystem.
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Install HardDisks
InstallSATAharddisks:
STEP1: Install oneSATAharddiskintoonedrivebay.
STEP 2:Connect oneendoftheSATAdatacabletothemotherboard’soneof
SATAconnectors.
STEP 3: Connectthe otherend of theSATAdatacabletotheSATA harddisk.
STEP4: Connectthe power cabletotheSATAharddisk.
STEP 5: Followingstep 1/2/3/4toinstallthe otherSATAharddisks.
InstallParallel harddisks:
STEP 1:Setting oneIDE harddisksas Master/Slavemode.
STEP 2:Install theharddisks intoone drive bay.
STEP3:Connectone end of theIDEcabletothemotherboard’sone of IDE
connectors.
STEP4: Connectthe otherendof theIDEcabletotheIDEharddisk.
STEP5:Connect thepower cabletothe IDEharddisk.
STEP6: Followingstep1/2/3/4toinstallthe otherIDEharddisks.
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BasicConfigurationInstructions
Thefollowing arethebasicstepsfor configuring NVIDIARAID:
Non-BootableRAIDArray
1.ChoosetheharddisksthataretobeRAIDenabledinthesystemBIOS.
2.Specifythe RAIDlevel,eitherMirroring(RAID1),Striping(RAID0),Stripe Mirroring
(RAID0+1), Spanning (JBOD), orRAID5and createthedesiredRAIDarray.
3.Install theoperating systemon one harddisk,thenrebootthecomputer.
4.Run theWindowsnForceSetup application and installtheRAIDdriver.
5.Initialize theNVRAIDArray.
BootableRAIDArray
1.ChoosetheharddisksthataretobeRAIDenabledinthesystemBIOS.
2.Specifythe RAIDlevel, eitherMirroring (RAID1), Striping(RAID0),MirroredStrip-
ing (RAID0+1), Spanning (JBOD),or RAID5andcreatethedesiredRAIDarray.
3.BootfromtheWindowsCD,thenpress F6 whentheWindowsSetup appears.
4.Insert theRAIDdriverfloppytoInstall thenForceRAIDdriver.
5.Initialize theNVRAIDArray.
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SettingUptheBIOS
1. Start upthecomputer, thenpress Delete toenter theBIOSsetup.Use thearrow
keystoselect Integrated Peripheras,thenpress Enter,use thearrowkeystoselect
theIDE Function Setup,thenpress Enter.
2.Usethe arrowkeys toselectthe RAIDConfiguration,thenpress Enter.
3.Fromthe RAIDConfiguration window,enabledthe RAIDEnable,the otheritems
wouldbelight, thenyou canenablethediskthatyou wanttouse as RAIDdisk.
4.Press F10tosavetheconfiguration and exit.
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EnteringtheRAIDBIOSSetup
1. After rebootingyourPC,wait until youseethe RAIDsoftwarepromptingyouto
press F10.TheRAIDpromptappearsaspartofthe systemPOSTandbootprocess
priortoloading OS.
2.Press <N>, andtheNVIDIARAIDUtility--- Define aNewArray windowwill appear.
Thedefault RAIDMode issetto Mirroring andthedefault Striping Block issetto
Optimal.
Understandingthe DefineaNewArray”Window
Use theDefineaNewArraywindowto
SelecttheRAIDMode
Set up theStriping Block
Specifywhichdiskstouse fortheRAIDArray
Depending ontheplatformused,thesystemhaveoneormorechannels.Ina
typicalsystemthereareusuallyonecontrollerandmultiplechannels,andeach
channelhave aslaveandamaster.
Thechannel/controller/master/slavestatusofeach harddisk isgivenintheLoc
(location) columns oftheFreeDisksand ArrayDiskslists.
1.0.M
M: Master
S:Slave
0:Channel
Adapter-adapter0isusedforPATAdrives
1andabove isusedforSATAdrives.
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Inthe exampleabove,1.0.Mmeanstheharddrive isattached toAdapter1,
Channel0,andthedrive issettoMaster.Thefollowing isalistofall possible
combinations:
ParallelATA
0.0.M Adapter0,Channel0,Master
0.0.S Adapter 0,Channel0,Slave
0.1.M Adapter0,Channel1,Master
0.1.S Adapter 0,Channel1,Slave
SerialATA
1.0.M Adapter1, Channel0,Master
1.1.M Adapter1, Channel1, Slave
2.0.M Adapter2, Channel0,Master
2.1.M Adapter2, Channel1, Slave
Note: Thereisno such thing asSlave drive inSerial ATA.All drives areconsid-
eredtobe Master sincethereisaone toone connection betweenthedriveand
thecontroller.
UsingtheDefineaNewArrayWindow
Ifnecessary, pressthetabkeytomovefromfieldtofielduntiltheappropriatefieldis
highlighted.
•SelectingtheRAIDMode
Bydefault,thisissetto[Mirroring].Change toadifferentRAIDmode,pressthe
downarrowkeysuntilthemodethatyouwantappearsinthe RAIDModebox—
either [Mirroring],[Striping], [Spanning], [StripeMirroring],or[RAID5].
•SelectingtheStripingBlock Size
StripingBlocksizeisgiven inkilobytes,andaffectshowdataisarrangedonthe
disk.Itisrecommendedtoleavethisvalueatthedefault[Optimal], which is32KB,
but thevalues can bebetween[4KB]and[128 KB].
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•Assigning the Disks
The disksthatyou enabledfromthe RAIDConfigBIOSsetup page appearinthe
Free Disks block.These arethedrives thatareavailablefor use as RAIDarray.
Todesignateafree disktobeusedas aRAIDarray:
1. Tabtothe Free Disks section. The firstdiskinthelistisselected.
2. Move itfromtheFree Disksblock tothe ArrayDisksblock bypressing theright
arrowkey(→).Thefirstdisk inthelistismoved,andthenextdiskinthelistis
selectedandreadytobemoved.
3. Continuepressing the right-arrowkey(→)until all thedisksthatyou wanttouse
as RAIDarrayappearinthe ArrayDisks block.
Completing the RAIDBIOSSetup
1.Afterassigning yourRAIDarraymode,press F7. TheCleardiskdatawindows
promptappears.
Itshowsthattwodiskshavebeenassignedas RAID1arraydisksinthefigure
above.
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2. Press Y ifyou want towipe outall thedatafromtheRAIDarray,otherwise press
N. You must choose Yes ifthedriveswerepreviouslyusedasRAIDdrives.
The Array List windowappears,whereyoucan reviewtheRAIDarrays thatyou
havesetup.
3.Usethearrowkeystoselectthearraythatyou want tosetup,thenpress Enter.
The ArrayDetail windowappears.
4.Ifyou wanttomarkthisdiskas emptyand wipeoutall itscontentsthenpress C.
5.Attheprompt, press Y towipeoutall thedata,otherwise press N.
6. Press Enter againtogo back tothepreviouswindowand thenpress [Ctrl+X] to
exit theRAIDsetup.
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2. Selectthe modulesthat youwanttoinstall.Selectthe relative optionsthatyou
have configured.
3. Click Next and thenfollowtheinstructions.
4.Aftertheinstallationiscompleted, besuretoreboot thePC.
5.After thereboot, initialize thenewlycreated array.
Installingthe NVIDIARAIDSoftwareUnderWindows(forNon-bootableRAIDArray)
Thissectiondescribeshowtosetuptheapplicationand installtheRAIDsoftware
which will upgrade theWindowsIDE driver and installtheRAIDdriver.
1. Startthe nForceSetupprogramtoopen the NVIDIAWindowsnForceDrivers
page.
NVIDIARAIDUtilityInstallation
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InstallingtheRAIDDriver(forbootableRAIDArray)
1.Afteryou completethe RAIDBIOSsetup,boot fromtheWindowsCD,and the
WindowsSetupprogramstarts.
2. Press F6 and waitfortheWindowsSetup screentoappear.
3.SpecifytheNVIDIAdrivers:
(1) Insertthefloppythathas theRAIDdriver, press S, thenpress Enter. TheWin-
dowsSetupscreen appearsasbelow:
(2) Select “NVIDIARAIDCLASSDRIVER(required)”andthenpress Enter.
(3)Press S againattheSpecifyDevices (required)screen, thenpress Enter.
(4)Select “NVIDIANForceStorageController”and thenpress Enter. Thefollowing
WindowsSetupscreenappearslistingbothdrivers:
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4. PressEntertocontinuewithoperating systemInstallation.Besuretocopythe
files fromthefloppyiscomplete,thentakeoutthefloppy.
5.Followtheinstructions on howtoinstall operatingsystem. During theGUIportion
oftheinstallationyou might bepromptedtoclick Yes toinstall theRAIDdriver.Click
Yesasmanytimesasneeded inordertofinishtheinstallation. Thiswill notbean
issuewithasigned driver.
Note: Each timeyouaddanewharddrive toaRAIDarray,theRAIDdriverwillhave
tobeinstalledunderWindowsonceforthatharddrive.Afterthat, thedriverwill not
havetobeinstalled.
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InitializingandUsingtheDisk Array
TheRAIDarrayisnowreadytobeinitializedunderWindows.
1. LaunchComputerManagementbyclicking “Start”→“Settings”→“Control
Panel”then openthe “AdministrativeTools”folderand doubleclickon “Computer
Management”.
Theactualdiskslistedwill depend on yoursystem,and the unallocatedpartitionis
thetotalcombinedstorageoftwoharddisks. You must formattheunallocateddisk
spaceinordertouse it.
3. Formattheunlocateddiskspace.Rightclick “Unallocatedspace”, select “New
Partition…” and followthewizard.Afterthedrivehas beenformatted,itisreadyfor
use.
2.Followscreeninstructionstoinstall.Whilefinished,the “ComputerManage-
ment”windowappears.
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UsingTheNVRAIDMANUtility
Aboutthe NVIDIARAIDManagementUtility
The NVIDIARAIDsoftwareshipswithanapplicationcalled NVRAIDMAN.This
chapterdescribes theNVRAIDMAN tasksinthefollowing sections:
ViewingRAIDArray Configurations
Viewanarrayconfiguration (mirrored,striped,mirrored-striped,JBOD,or
anysupportedcombination)
Setting UpaSpareRAIDDisk
Viewfreeand/or dedicated freedisks
Designateafreedisk toaparticulararray
RebuildingaRAIDArray
Rebuildabrokenmirroredarray
Watch theprogress of rebuildingofanarray
ViewingRAIDArrayConfigurations
Toviewyour RAIDconfiguration fromWindows,launch theNVIDIARAIDManage-
mentutilitybydouble-clicking NVRAIDMAN that inthedriver cd.
The RAIDconfigurationinformationappearsintheright-side pane,asshownin
followingpicture:
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Setting UpaSpare RAIDDisk
Youcan designateaharddrivetobe usedasasparedrive foraRAID1orRAID
0+1array2.Thesparedrive cantake overforafaileddisk. NVIDIARAIDsupports
twotypes ofsparedrives:
Free Disk
Afree diskisadiskthatisnotpart ofanyRAIDarray,butcanbeusedbyany
availableRAID1orRAID0+1array thatrequiresaparticulardiskwhenoneofits
disks crashesorbecomesunusable.The process isautomaticanddoesn’t
requireanyuserinteraction.
Forexample,ifyou haveasystemwithfourharddiskswhereonediskisused
tobootthe OS,twoharddrivesaresetupinamirrored array, and afourthhard
disk issetupasafree disk,then ifoneofthemirroredarraydrivesfails,thefree
diskwill be automaticallyassignedtothemirroredarraytobeused instead of
thefaileddisk.
Dedicated Disk
Adedicatedfreediskisadiskthat isassigned toaRAID1orRAID0+1 arrayand
thatdiskisusedbythatarrayonlywhenneeded,forexampleduring asystem
crashwhereaRAIDmirroreddriveisbroken.Thededicateddiskcanbeused
onlybythearraythatitisassignedtoand notbyanyotherarray,unlikeafree
diskwhichcan beusedbyanyavailableRAID1orRAID0+1 array.
Note: You must haveatleasttwoRAIDarrays touse thisfeature.
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AssigningaFreeDisk
Tomarkadiskas free,ornot apart of anyarray,
1.Enter thesystemBIOSsetup and makesurethatthedrivethatyouwant tomark
as freeisRAIDenabled.
2.Enter theRAIDBIOSand makesurethat thedriveisnot part of anyarray(if one
exists).
3.Boot intoWindowsandrun theNVRAIDMANprogram.Thedrive appearsunder
theFree Disksection.
AssigningaDedicatedDisk
Tomarkadiskas dedicated, orreserveit foruse byaspecificarray,you musthave
atleast onefreediskandyoumustalsohaveatleasttwoRAID1or RAID0+1arrays
created.Inthisexample,therearefour SATAdrives and twoPATAdrives which are
RAIDenabled.FourSATAdrives areusedtocreatetwomirroredarrays,whiletwo
PATAdrivesareusedas free disks.
Step1:MarktheDiskas aFree Disk
1.Enter thesystemBIOSsetup and makesurethatthedrivethatyouwant tomark
as freeisRAIDenabled.
2.BootintoWindowsandruntheNVRAIDMANprogram. If thedisk isnot partofany
RAIDarray, thenitwillappear under theFree Disksection oftheRAIDGUI.
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Step2: DedicatetheFree DisktoanArray
Whilerunning NVRAIDMAN,dedicateafreedisktoanarraybydoing thefollowing:
1.Rightclick oneoftheavailablefree disksunderthe Free Disksection.
2.SelectDesignateSparefromthemenutolaunchtheSpareDisk AllocationWizard.
3. Click Next. TheRAIDArraySelection pageappears.
4.Fromthe RAIDArraySelection page,select oneofthearrays fromthelist. Thisis
thearraytowhich you wanttoallocatethededicatedfree disk.
5. Click Next. TheCompleting theNVIDIASpareDiskAllocation pageappears.
6. Click Finish.
Removing aDedicatedDisk
Onceadedicated diskhas beenassignedtoaparticular array,it canberemovedat
anytime.Toremovethedisk, rightclick on thededicateddiskand selecttheoption
toremoveit.
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Rebuilding aRAIDArray
Rebuilding istheprocess ofrecovering datafromoneharddrivetoanother.All data
iscopied fromoneharddrivetoanotherandthenthedataissynchronizedbetween
thetwoharddrives.Thisapplies onlytoRAID1as well as aRAID0+1arrays.
RebuildingInstructions
After creating amirrored array,you canrebuildthe arrayusing thefollowing steps:
1.GotoWindowsandruntheNVIDIARAIDManagementutility. Belowpictureshows
anexampleofasystemwithone mirroredarrayandtwofreedisks.
2.Right-click onMirroring.Thepop-up menu appears.
3.Fromthepopupmenu,clickRebuildArray.TheNVIDIARebuildArrayWizard
appears.
4.Click Next.TheDiskSelection pageappears.
5.Selectthedrive thatyou want torebuildbyclicking itfromthelist, thenclick Next.
TheCompletingtheNVIDIARebuildArraypageappears.
6. Click Finish.
Thearrayrebuilding startsafterafewseconds,and asmall pop-up message
appearstowards thebottomrightcornerof thescreen.When therebuildingpro-
cess isfinishedyou willseethepop upbox.
Duringtherebuilding process, theNVIDIARAIDManagementutilityscreenshows
thestatusundertheSystemTasksandDetailssections.
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