Foxconn RAID 91-187-C51-G0-0E User manual

RAIDUserGuide
Edition
V1.0P/N:91-187-C51-G0-0E
Trademarks
All brandorproductnames mentionedaretrademarksorregistered trade-
marks oftheirrespectiveholders.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

NVIDIARAID........................................................................................1
RAIDArrays...............................................................................................................1
InstallHardDisks....................................................................................................3
BasicConfiguration Instructions...........................................................................3
SettingUptheBIOS.................................................................................................4
EnteringtheRAIDBIOSSetup...............................................................................5
NVIDIARAIDUtilityInstallation...............................................................................9
Initializing and Using theDiskArray...................................................................12
UsingTheNVRAIDMANUtility.............................................................................13
Win2KLimitation withBootableRAID................................................................19
Contents
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

1
SummaryofRAIDConfigurations
RAIDArrays
ThissectiondescribesthefollowingtypesofRAIDarrays thatNVIDIARAID
supports:
RAID0
RAID0defines adisk stripingschemethatimprovesthe diskreadandwrite
timesformanyapplications.
RAID1
RAID1defines techniques formirroring data.
RAID0+1(optional)
RAID0+1 combines thetechniques usedinRAID0and RAID1arrays.
RAID5 (optional)
RAID5Provides datastriping atthebyteleveland alsostripeerrorcorrection
information. Thisresultsinexcellentperformanceandgoodfault tolerance. Level
5isoneofthemostpopularimplementationsofRAID.
Array
RAID0
RAID1
RAID
0+1
RAID5
Advantages
Highdatathroughput.
100%data
redundancy.
Optimizedforboth
100%dataredun-
dancyand
performance.Allows
sparedisks.
Faulttoleranceand
betterutilizationof disk
space.
Drawbacks
Nofaulttolerance.
Requirestwodrives
forthestoragespace
of onedrive.
Requirestwodrives
forthestoragespace
ofonedrive—the
sameasRAIDlevel 1.
Decreasedwriteper-
formanceduetoparity
calculations.Requires
atleast threedrives.
#HardDisks
multiple
2
4+
3+
Fault Tolerance
None
Yes
Yes
Yes
NVIDIARAID
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

2
NVIDIARAIDoffersthefollowing additionalfeatures:
Free Diskand DedicatedSpare Disk
AFreeDiskor DedicatedDisk canbeautomaticallyusedincaseone drive ofafault-
tolerantarrayfails.NVIDIARAIDdefines afault-tolerantarrayas eitherRAID1or
RAID0+1or RAID5. Afree diskcanbeusedbyanyavailablefault-tolerant array,
whileadedicateddisk canbeused onlybythearraytowhich itisassigned.
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

3
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.
BasicConfigurationInstructions
Thefollowing arethebasicstepsfor configuring NVIDIARAID:
Non-BootableRAIDArray
1.ChoosetheharddisksthataretobeRAIDenabledinthesystemBIOS.
2.Specifythe RAIDlevel,eitherMirroring(RAID1),Striping(RAID0),Stripe Mirroring
(RAID0+1), orRAID5and createthedesired RAIDarray.
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), orRAID5and createthedesired RAIDarray.
3.BootfromtheWindowsCD,thenpress F6 whentheWindowsSetup appears.
4.Insert theRAIDdriverfloppytoInstall thenForceRAIDdriver.
5.Initialize theNVRAIDArray.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

4
SettingUptheBIOS
1. Start upthecomputer, thenpress Delete toenter theBIOSsetup.Use thearrow
keystoselect Integrated Peripherals,thenpress Enter.
2.Use thearrowkeystoselectthe RAIDConfig/ RAIDConfiguration ,thenpress
Enter.
3.FromtheRAIDConfig/RAIDConfigurationwindow,enabled theRAIDEnable,
theother itemswouldbelight, thenyou canenablethediskthatyou wanttouseas
RAIDdisks.
4.Press F10tosavetheconfiguration and exit.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

5
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
0:Channel
Adapter-adapter1isusedforSATAdrives
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

6
Inthe exampleabove,1.0.Mmeanstheharddrive isattached toAdapter1,
Channel0,andthedrive issettoMaster.Thefollowing isalistofall possible
combinations:
SerialATA
1.0.M Adapter1, Channel0,Master
1.1.M Adapter1, Channel1,Master
2.0.M Adapter2, Channel0,Master (optional)
2.1.M Adapter2, Channel1,Master (optional)
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], [RAID5],or[StripeMirroring].
•SelectingtheStripingBlock Size
StripingBlocksizeisgiven inkilobytes,andaffectshowdataisarrangedonthe
disk.Itisrecommendedtoleavethisvalueatthedefault[Optimal], which is32KB,
but thevalues can bebetween[4KB]and[128 KB].
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

7
•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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

8
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

9
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
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

10
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”andthen press Enter.
(3)Press S againattheSpecifyDevices screen,thenpress Enter.
(4)Select “NVIDIANForceStorageController”and thenpress Enter. Thefollowing
WindowsSetupscreenappearslistingbothdrivers:
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

11
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

12
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

13
UsingTheNVRAIDMANUtility
Aboutthe NVIDIARAIDManagementUtility
The NVIDIARAIDsoftwareshipswithanapplicationcalled NVRAIDMAN.This
chapterdescribes theNVRAIDMAN tasksinthefollowing sections:
ViewingRAIDArray Configurations
Viewanarrayconfiguration (mirrored,striped,mirrored-striped,RAID5
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:
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

14
Setting UpaSpare RAIDDisk (optional)
Youcandesignateaharddrive tobeused asasparedrivefor aRAID1, RAID5
orRAID0+1array. Thesparedrivecan takeoverforafaileddisk.NVIDIARAID
supportstwotypes ofsparedrives:
Free Disk
Afree diskisadiskthatisnotpart ofanyRAIDarray,butcanbeusedbyany
availableRAID1,RAID5orRAID0+1array thatrequiresaparticulardisk when
one ofitsdiskscrashes orbecomes unusable.Theprocessisautomaticand
doesn’trequireanyuserinteraction.
Forexample,ifyou haveasystemwithfourharddiskswhereonediskisused
tobootthe OS,twoharddrivesaresetupinamirrored array, and afourthhard
disk issetupasafree disk,then ifoneofthemirroredarraydrivesfails,thefree
diskwill be automaticallyassignedtothemirroredarraytobeused instead of
thefaileddisk.
Dedicated Disk
Adedicatedfreedisk isadiskthat isassigned toaRAID1,RAID5orRAID0+1
array andthat diskisused bythatarrayonlywhenneeded, forexampleduringa
systemcrash whereaRAIDmirroreddrive isbroken. Thededicated disk canbe
usedonlybythearraythatit isassignedtoand notbyanyother array,unlike a
freediskwhichcanbeusedbyanyavailableRAID1,RAID5orRAID0+1array.
Note: You must haveatleasttwoRAIDarrays touse thisfeature.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

15
Assigning aFree Disk (optional)
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
Tomarkadiskasdedicated, orreserveit for usebyaspecificarray,youmust have
atleastonefreediskandyoumustalso have atleasttwoRAID1orRAID0+1arrays
created.Inthisexample,therearefourSATAdrives which areRAIDenabled.Two
SATAdrivesareusedtocreatemirroredarrays,whiletwoSATAdrives areusedas
freedisks.
Step1:MarktheDiskas aFree Disk
1.Enter thesystemBIOSsetup and makesurethatthedrivethatyouwant tomark
as freeisRAIDenabled.
2.BootintoWindowsandruntheNVRAIDMANprogram.Ifthe disk isnotpartofany
RAIDarray, thenitwillappear under theFree Disksection oftheRAIDGUI.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

16
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

17
Rebuilding aRAIDArray
Rebuilding isthe processof recoveringdatafromone harddrivetoanother. All data
iscopied fromoneharddrivetoanotherandthenthedataissynchronizedbetween
thetwoharddrives.Thisapplies onlytoRAID1,RAID5andRAID0+1 arrays.
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.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com

18
More AboutRebuilding Arrays (optional)
RebuildingOccursintheBackground
Therebuilding process takes sometimetocomplete,and occursintheback-
ground soas nottoaffecttheperformanceofthesystem.
RebuildingAppliesOnlytoRAID1,RAID5orRAID0+1Arrays
Rebuildingan arrayworks onlywhenusingRAID1,RAID5orRAID0+1.Rebuilding
does not applytoRAID0arrays.
Rebuildingappliestoadegradedfaulttolerantarray
Youcanrebuildadegraded mirroredarrayusing anyavailableFreeDiskorDedi-
catedDisk.
For example, belowpictureshowsamirroredarrayusing two34.48GBdrives while
havingtwoFree Diskseach55.90 GBlarge.
Touse oneofthese availablefree diskstorebuildyourarray,followthesamesteps
as explained in “Rebuilding aRAIDArray”exceptwhenpromptedtoselectadisk,
choose oneofthe twoavailablefreedisks.
PDFcreated withpdfFactoryProtrialversion www.pdffactory.com