LaCie Biggest F800 User manual

How To Use This Manual
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
How To Use This Manual
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Table of Contents
page 2
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
Table of Contents
Foreword 5
Precautions 7
1. Introduction 8
1.1. What Your LaCie Biggest F800 Can Do 8
2. Your LaCie Biggest F800 9
2.1. Minimum System Requirements 9
2.1.1. Mac Users 9
2.1.2. Windows Users 10
2.2. Package Contents 11
2.3. Views Of The Drive 12
2.3.1. Front View 12
2.3.2. Rear View 13
2.4. Cables & Connectors 15
2.4.1. FireWire 15
2.4.2. USB 16
3. Understanding RAID 17
3.1. RAID 0 17
3.2. RAID 0 + 1 18
3.3. RAID 5 And RAID 5 + Hot Spare 19
4. Setting Up Your LaCie Biggest F800 21
4.1. Setting The RAID Level 22
4.1.1. RAID 5 23
4.1.2. RAID 5 + Hot Spare 23
4.1.3. RAID 0 24
4.1.4. RAID 0 + 1 24
4.2. Creating An Array 25
4.3. Connecting To A Host Computer 27
4.3.1. FireWire 800 28
4.3.2. Hi-Speed USB 2.0 29

Table of Contents
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
4.4. Setting The Date & Time 30
4.5. Formatting And Partitioning Your LaCie Biggest F800 31
4.5.1. Mac Users 32
4.5.2. Windows Users 34
5. Using Your LaCie Biggest F800 36
5.1. Disk Status And Activity Indicators 36
5.2. LCD Display Messages 36
5.2.1. Initialization Messages 37
5.2.2. Rebuild Messages 38
5.2.3. Failure And Error Messages 39
5.2.3.1. RAID Failure Messages 39
5.2.3.2. Disk Failure Message 39
5.2.3.3. Fan Failure Message 39
5.2.3.4. RAID Configuration Error Message 40
5.2.3.5. Overheating Error Message 40
5.2.4. RAID And Disk Status Messages 41
5.2.4.1. Power On 41
5.2.4.2. Disk Initialization 41
5.2.4.3. Ready 41
5.2.4.4. RAID Level 41
5.2.5. RAID And Disk Information Messages 42
5.2.5.1. Disk Information 42
5.2.5.2. Firmware Version 42
5.2.5.3. Fan And Temperature Information 42
5.2.5.4. Serial Number 42
6. Maintaining Your LaCie Biggest F800 43
6.1. Removing/Replacing A Disk 43
6.2. Firmware Updates 43
7. Tech Tips 45
7.1. File System Formats 45
7.1.1. Mac Users 45

Table of Contents
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
7.1.2. Windows Users 46
7.2. Available Storage Capacity 47
7.3. Optimizing Data Transfers 47
7.3.1. FireWire 800 Ports And Performance 48
7.3.2. Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Ports And Performance 49
8. FireWire Questions & Answers 50
9. USB Questions & Answers 52
10. Troubleshooting 54
11. Contacting Customer Support 57
12. Warranty 59

Foreword
page 5
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
Copyrights
Copyright © 2004/2005 LaCie. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent
of LaCie.
Trademarks
Apple, Mac, Macintosh and FireWire are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Windows NT, Windows 98,
Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition and Windows XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Sony and iLink are registered trademarks of Sony Electronics. Other trademarks mentioned in this manual are the property of their
respective owners.
Changes
The material in this document is for information only and subject to change without notice. While reasonable efforts have been made in
the preparation of this document to assure its accuracy, LaCie assumes no liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or
from the use of the information contained herein. LaCie reserves the right to make changes or revisions in the product design or the
product manual without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.
FCC Statement:
NOTE: 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 harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try and correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Use only shielded cables to connect I/O devices to this equipment.
Tested To Comply
With FCC standards
FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE
LaCie Biggest F800
Caution! Modifications not authorized by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority to operate this device.
Caution! A shielded-type power cord is required in order to meet FCC emission limits and also to prevent
interference to the nearby radio and television reception. It is essential that only the supplied power cord be used.

Foreword
page 6
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
Canada Compliance Statement
This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Manufacturer’s Declaration for CE Certification
We, LaCie, solemnly declare that this product conforms to the following European standards:
Class B EN60950, EN55022, EN50082-1, EN61000-3-2
With reference to the following conditions:
73/23/EEC Low Voltage Directive
89/336/EEC EMC Directive

Precautions
page 7
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
Health and Safety Precautions
Only qualified persons are authorized to carry out maintenance on this device.
• Read this User's Guide carefully, and follow the correct procedure when setting up the device.
• Do not open your LaCie Biggest F800 or attempt to disassemble or modify it. Never insert any metallic object into the drive
to avoid any risk of electrical shock, fire, short-circuiting or dangerous emissions. Your LaCie Biggest F800 contains no user-
serviceable parts. If it appears to be malfunctioning, have it inspected by a qualified LaCie Technical Support representative.
• Never expose your device to rain, or use it near water, or in damp or wet conditions. Never place objects containing
liquids on the LaCie Biggest F800, as they may spill into its openings. Doing so increases the risk of electrical shock, short-
circuiting, fire or personal injury.
• Make sure that the computer and LaCie Biggest F800 are electrically grounded. If the devices are not grounded, there is an
increased risk of electrical shock.
General Use Precautions
• Do not expose the LaCie Biggest F800 to temperatures outside the range of 0° C to 35° C (32° F to 95° F); or to
operational humidity beyond 5-95%, non-condensing, or storage humidity beyond 5-75%, non-condensing. Doing so may
damage the LaCie Biggest F800 or disfigure its casing. Avoid placing your LaCie Biggest F800 near a source of heat or
exposing it to sunlight (even through a window). Inversely, placing your LaCie Biggest F800 in an environment that is too cold
or humid may damage the unit.
• Always unplug the LaCie Biggest F800 from the electrical outlet if there is a risk of lightning or if it will be unused for an
extended period of time. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting or fire.
• Use only the power supply shipped with the device.
• Do not use the LaCie Biggest F800 near other electrical appliances such as televisions, radios or speakers. Doing so may
cause interference which will adversely affect the operation of the other products.
• Do not place the LaCie Biggest F800 near sources of magnetic interference, such as computer displays, televisions or
speakers. Magnetic interference can affect the operation and stability of your LaCie Biggest F800.
• Do not place heavy objects on top of the LaCie Biggest F800 or use excessive force on it.
• Never use excessive force on your LaCie Biggest F800. If you detect a problem, consult the Troubleshooting section in this
manual.
• Protect your LaCie Biggest F800 from excessive exposure to dust during use or storage. Dust can build up inside the device,
increasing the risk of damage or malfunction.
• Never use benzene, paint thinners, detergent or other chemical products to clean the outside of the LaCie Biggest F800.
Such products will disfigure and discolor the casing. Instead, use a soft, dry cloth to wipe the device.
• Do not attempt to remove a hard disk from a Drive Bay. Removal of a hard disk by anyone other than an authorized LaCie
Technical Support representative will void the warranty.
Caution! The LaCie Biggest F800's warranty may be void as a result of the failure to respect the precautions listed
above.

1. Introduction
page 8
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
1. Introduction
Congratulations on the purchase of your new
LaCie Biggest F800! This high-performance,
extremely flexible RAID (Redundant Array of
Independent/Inexpensive Disks) subsystem is
ideally suited for integration with databases,
imaging systems and e-mail and Web servers.
RAID technology is one of the best means to
protect your data, while providing greater
performance, data integrity and availability
than standard hard disk storage. With the
ability to provide single error detection and
redundant information to recover the original if
a disk fails, a RAID system is an ideal means to
safe-guard valuable data while also stream-
lining performance.
The LaCie Biggest F800 is the ultimate
approach to a flexible RAID solution, with its
ability to manage three different RAID levels (0, 0+1 and 5) and also offer the option of RAID 5 + hot spare. Featuring
intelligent online recovery, the LaCie Biggest F800 allows one drive to be designated a hot spare – that way, if one drive fails,
the LaCie Biggest F800 will seamlessly rebuild the failed drive’s data on the hot spare.
1.1. What Your LaCie Biggest F800 Can Do
• Supports powerful RAID 0, 0+1, 5, and RAID 5+spare
• Hot swappable disk drives for security and recovery
• Easy installation on PC or Mac - no driver required
Important Info: Any loss, corruption or destruction of data while using a LaCie drive is the sole responsibility of the
user, and under no circumstances will LaCie be held liable for the recovery or restoration of this data. To help
prevent the loss of your data, LaCie highly recommends that you keep TWO copies of your data; one copy on your
external hard drive, for instance, and a second copy either on your internal hard drive, another external hard drive
or some other form of removable storage media, such as CD, DVD or Tape. LaCie offers a complete line of CD, DVD
and Tape drives, and if you would like more information on backup, please refer to the LaCie white paper on
backup methods and technology.
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
2.1. Minimum System Requirements
Supported RAID Levels:
• Hardware RAID level 0, 0+1, 5 and 5+spare
• Hot-swappable disks
• Automatic on-line rebuilding
2.1.1. Mac Users
FireWire 800
Hardware Requirements for FireWire 800:
• G4 with a FireWire 800/IEEE 1394b interface card
System Requirements for FireWire 800:
• Mac OS 10.2.8 or higher
FireWire 400
Hardware Requirements for FireWire 400:
• G3 or greater, with FireWire 400/IEEE 1394a interface card
System Requirements for FireWire 400:
• Mac OS 9.x (Apple FireWire support 2.3.3 and greater) and Mac OS10.x
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Hardware Requirements for USB:
• G3 or greater, with USB 2.0 or 1.1 interface card
System Requirements for USB:
• Mac OS 9.x and Mac 10.x (Apple USB support
1.3.5 and greater)
Supported Hard Disks:
• Parallel ATA-100/133
Tech Note: Mac Users! USB Connectivity: For
optimal performance under the Mac OS, it is
recommended that you use the FireWire interface
unless you are using a G5 or are running Mac OS
10.2.8 or later on a computer with a Hi-Speed USB
2.0 PC or PCI card. All versions of the Mac OS
before Mac OS 10.2.8 do not support the transfer
rates of Hi-Speed USB 2.0, and all data transfers will
be made at the slower USB 1.1 rates.
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.1.2. Windows Users
FireWire 800
Hardware Requirements for FireWire 800:
• Pentium III or higher compatible processor, with a
FireWire 800/IEEE 1394b interface card
• 128MB RAM or higher
System Requirements for FireWire 800:
• Windows 2000 and Windows XP
FireWire/IEEE 1394/iLink
Hardware Requirements for FireWire 400:
• Pentium II or higher compatible processor, with a FireWire/IEEE 1394/iLink interface card (SBP-2 compatible)
that supports mass storage devices.
• 64MB RAM or greater
System Requirements for FireWire 400:
• Windows 2000 and Windows XP
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Hardware Requirements for USB:
• Pentium II or higher-compatible processor, with a USB 2.0 or 1.1 interface card
• 32MB RAM or greater
System Requirements for USB:
• Windows 2000 and Windows XP
Tech Note: Windows 2000 Users! In order for the
LaCie Biggest F800 to be recognized by your
computer using the FireWire/IEEE 1394 interface,
you must have Windows Service Pack 3 installed on
your operating system. To ensure that you have the
correct configuration, right click on My Computer
and select Properties. The System Properties dialog
box will appear. Click on the General tab and this
will list which version of the Windows operating
system you are currently running.
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.2. Package Contents
Your LaCie Biggest F800 should ship with the following:
LaCie Biggest F800 RAID subsystem tower and 4 Drive Bays with hard disks
FireWire 800 9-to-9-pin cable
FireWire 800/400 9-to-6-pin cable
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable
Serial/RS-232 cable
Power cable
LaCie Biggest F800 Utilities CD-ROM
LaCie Biggest F800 Quick Install Guide
Important Info: Please keep your box. In the event that the LaCie Biggest F800 RAID subsystem tower should need
to be repaired or serviced, it must be returned in its original packaging. In the event that an individual disk should
need to be repaired or serviced, please refer to section 6.1. Removing/Replacing A Disk.
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.3. Views Of The Drive
2.3.1. Front View
Drive Bays – Each drive bay can hold one-inch high,
3.5-inch form factor Parallel ATA/IDE disk drive.
Disk 1 – This is also the default Hot Spare Disk.
Disk 2 –
Disk 3 –
Disk 4 –
LCD Display – The LCD Display alerts you to the status
and configuration information of your LaCie Biggest
F800’s subsystem and arrays. For more information
about the LCD Display messages, please see section
5.2. LCD Display Messages.
Menu Button – The Menu Button is used to navigate
through the information on the LCD Display, and is
used to select settings for setting the date and time.
Enter Button – The Enter Button is used to set the date
and time, and is also used to mute the alert buzzer.
Disk Status Indicator – Indicates the status of the disk. For more information, please see section 5.1. Disk Status And
Activity Indicators.
Disk Activity Indicator – Indicates when the disk is being accessed. For more information, please see section 5.1. Disk
Status And Activity Indicators.
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.3.2. Rear View
Power Supply Connector
Fan Status Indicator
Power Switch
Ventilation Fan
RAID Level Switch Selectors
Serial/RS-232 Port
FireWire 800 Ports
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Port
Power Status Indicator
ON
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FAN POWER
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
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LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
RAID Level Switch Selectors – The RAID Level Switch Selectors consist of two switches, which are used to set the RAID
level. For more information, please see section 4.1. Setting The RAID Level.
Serial/RS-232 Port – The Serial/RS-232 Port is used to connect the LaCie Biggest F800 to a terminal or a terminal-
equipped PC with terminal emulation software. The status of the LaCie Biggest F800 can then be viewed remotely. For
more information, please see section 6.2. Firmware Updates.
FireWire 800 Ports – This is where you plug in the FireWire 800 cable furnished with the drive. For more information,
please see sections 2.4.1. Cables & Connectors – FireWire, 4.3.1. Connecting To A Host Computer – FireWire 800
and 8. FireWire Questions & Answers.
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Port – This is where you plug in the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable furnished with the drive. For more
information, please see sections 2.4.1. Cables & Connectors – USB, 4.3.1. Connecting To A Host Computer – Hi-
Speed USB 2.0 and 8. USB Questions & Answers.
Power Status Indicator – This LED indicates the power supply status. During normal operation, the LED will light Green;
the LED will be unlit when there is no power to the unit or the unit is turned off.
Power Supply Connector – This is where you plug in the AC adapter supplied with the drive. For more information,
please see section 4.2. Creating An Array.
Fan Status Indicator – This LED indicates the status of the ventilation fan. During normal operation, the LED will remain
off; the LED will light Red if the ventilation fan has failed. For more information, please see sections 5.2.3.4. Fan Failure
Message and 5.2.5.3. Fan And Temperature Information.
Power Switch – The Power Switch is the main on/off switch for the LaCie Biggest F800.
Ventilation Fan – The Ventilation Fan help to keep your drive cool during operation. Be sure not to block these
openings when using your drive.
Caution! To avoid overheating, the LaCie Biggest F800 should be installed in a well-ventilated area and in such
a way as to maintain sufficient airflow across the controller chips. Also ensure that the Ventilation Fan is
not obstructed.
Environmental Requirements:
Temperature: 0 – 35° C (32 – 95° F)
Operation Humidity: 5 – 95%, non-condensing
Storage Humidity: 5 – 75%, non-condensing
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2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
page 15
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.4. Cables and Connectors
2.4.1. FireWire
FireWire 400, also known as IEEE 1394, is a high-speed serial input/output technology for connecting peripheral devices to
a computer or to each other, and FireWire 800 is the implementation of the new IEEE 1394b standard.
Pushing the speed barrier to new limits, FireWire 800 offers increased bandwidth and extended cabling distance between
devices. FireWire 800 is ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications, such as audio, video and graphics. Benefits of FireWire
800 include:
• Resourceful architecture: FireWire 800 reduces delays in arbitration and signal distortion, and increases throughput.
• Backwards compatibility: adapter cables allow FireWire 400 devices to operate under the FireWire 800 port.
FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 also share the following features:
• Hot-pluggable: devices can be added and removed while the bus is active.
• Isochronous data delivery: no dropped frames – FireWire supports real-time data delivery.
• Flexible: up to 63 devices can be connected on a single bus.
Please see section, 8. FireWire Questions And Answers, for a more detailed discussion of FireWire’s uses and capabilities.
FireWire Cables
There are two categories of FireWire cables on the market: FireWire 800 cables, which feature the 9-to-9-pin, 9-to-6-pin,
and 9-to-4-pin (sold separately) cables; and the original FireWire cables which feature the 6-to-6-pin (sold separately) and 6-
to-4-pin (sold separately) cables.
FireWire 800 9-to-9-pin cable:
Connects FireWire 800 devices to FireWire 800 ports.
FireWire 800/400 9-to-6-pin cable:
Connects FireWire 800 devices to FireWire 400 ports.

2. Your LaCie Biggest F800
page 16
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
2.4.2. USB
USB is a serial input/output technology for connecting peripheral devices to a computer or to each other. Hi-Speed USB 2.0 is
the latest implementation of this standard, and it provides the necessary bandwidth and data transfer rates to support high-
speed devices such as hard drives, CD/DVD drives and digital cameras.
Benefits of the USB standard include:
• Backwards compatibility: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 works with the original USB specifications.
• Hot-swappable: no need to shut down or restart your computer when adding or removing devices.
Please see section 9. USB Questions And Answers, for a more detailed discussion of USB’s uses and capabilities.
USB Cables
Your LaCie drive is shipped with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable, to ensure maximum data transfer performance when connected
to a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port. The cable will also work when connected to a USB port, but drive performance will be limited to
USB 1.1 transfer rates.
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable:
Connects USB devices to USB ports.

3. Understanding RAID
page 17
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
3. Understanding RAID
Your LaCie Biggest F800 is shipped with a pre-configured RAID level of 5, but it supports four different RAID levels: 0, 0 + 1,
5 and 5 + Hot Spare. This section will help you decide which RAID level is right for your application.
3.1. RAID 0
Striped Disk Array Without Fault Tolerance
Also called striping, this level offers high transfer rates and is ideal for large blocks of data where speed is of the utmost
importance. RAID 0 implements a striped disk array, where all of the hard disks are linked together to form one large
aggregate hard disk. In this configuration, data is broken down into blocks and each block is written to a separate disk drive
within the array; I/O performance is greatly improved by spreading the I/O load across several drives. In this array,
however, when one disk fails, all of the data on the array is lost.
Storage capacity is determined by the smallest disk in the array, and the smallest disk’s capacity is applied to all of the other
disks in the array. So, for instance, if you had four disks installed, ranging in capacity from 40GB to 80GB, when the RAID 0
array is built your system will see one, 160GB (40GB x 4) hard disk.
While this is a very simple and easily implemented design, RAID 0 should never be used in mission critical environments.
When even just one disk in the array fails, all of the data on the entire array will be lost.
Characteristics & Advantages
• Data is broken down into blocks and each block is written
to a separate disk drive
• I/O performance improved by spreading the load across
multiple drives
• Overhead is lowered due to no calculations for parity
• Simple design and easily implemented
Recommended Uses
• Video production and editing
• Image editing
• Pre-press applications
• Applications requiring high-bandwidth
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Etc...
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CONTROLLER
This diagram represents a
RAID 0 array, consisting of
four disks, which are
connected to the Controller.
Data blocks are distributed
across all of the disks in the
array.

3. Understanding RAID
page 18
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
3.2. RAID 0 + 1
High Data Transfer Performance
This level combines striping and mirroring, which provides full data redundancy and protects data in the event that multiple
drives fail (provided that the data on one of each mirrored pair of drives is intact).
Storage capacity in this configuration is determined by multiplying the capacity of the smallest disk by two. If, for instance,
there were four drives installed that ranged in capacity from 40GB to 70GB, as a RAID 0+1 array, the total available
capacity would be 80GB (40GB x 2). In this configuration, you must have an even number of disks, so in the case of the
LaCie Biggest F800, you would need to have four hard disks installed.
Characteristics & Advantages
• Implemented as a mirrored array with RAID 0 arrays
as the segments
• The same fault tolerance as RAID level 5
• Fault-tolerance overhead is the same as that of
mirroring
• High I/O rates are achieved thanks to multiple
striped segments
• Excellent design for those seeking high performance,
without achieving maximum reliability
Recommended Uses
• Imaging Applications
• General Fileserver
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CONTROLLER
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F
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R0 R0
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B
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F
G
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R1
This diagram represents a
RAID 0 +1 array, consisting of
four disks, which are
connected to the Controller.
The Controller creates two
matching RAID 0 arrays on
the four disks.

3. Understanding RAID
page 19
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
3.3. RAID 5 And RAID 5 + Hot Spare
Independent Data Disks With Distributed Parity Blocks
This is the most versatile RAID level and offers high I/O transaction rates, which greatly helps applications that perform large
numbers of concurrent requests. If one drive in a RAID 5 array fails, the lost data can be rebuilt from data on the remaining,
functional disks.
Essentially, RAID level 5 is a striped set with parity, and requires at least three disks to implement. In this configuration, data is
saved across several hard disks, as in a RAID 0 array, but parity information is also saved across the disks. It is this parity
information which provides the fault-tolerance protection; if one hard disk in the set fails, the data that it contains can be
rebuilt by utilizing the parity information from the other hard disks. With the parity data being stored across the array, this
also serves to maximize the amount of storage capacity available amongst the disks in the array while still providing data
redundancy.
Storage capacity in a RAID level 5 configuration is the result of a mathematical expression that compares data from the drives
and a calculates another piece of data called parity. In this situation, then, storage capacity is calculated by multiplying the
number of disks in the array, minus one, by the capacity of the smallest disk in the array. So, for instance, if a RAID 5 array is
created with four drives of varying capacities of 40GB, 50GB, 60GB and 70GB, the total capacity of the array would be
120GB [3 (4 disks – 1 disk) x 40 = 120].
Characteristics & Advantages
• Highest Read data transaction rate
• Medium Write data transaction rate
• High efficiency through a low ratio of ECC (Parity) disks
to data
• Good aggregate transfer rate
Recommended Uses
• File and Application Servers
• Database Servers
• Web, E-mail and News Servers
• Intranet Servers
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CONTROLLER
PABC
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PDEF
This diagram represents a
RAID 5 array, consisting of
four disks, which are
connected to the Controller.
Parity blocks are represented
by the letter P.

3. Understanding RAID
page 20
LaCie Biggest F800
User’s Manual
RAID 5 + Hot Spare
This level is the same as RAID 5, but one disk is designated
as a “Hot Spare,” which means that in the event of a disk
failure, the “Hot Spare” disk would automatically be activated
to replace the failed disk.
The storage capacity of a RAID 5+ Hot Spare array follows
the same logic as that of RAID 5, but with the difference
being that there is one less disk in the array. So, for instance,
if there was a RAID 5+ Hot Spare array with three drives of
varying capacities of 40GB, 50GB and 60GB, and one disk
designated as the hot spare with a capacity of 70GB, the
total capacity of the array would be 80GB [2 (3 disks – 1
disk) x 40 = 80].
E
D
C
B
A
CONTROLLER
A
C
PEF
G
B
H
PCD
EF
PAB
PGH
D
H
O
T
S
P
A
R
E
This diagram represents a
RAID 5 + Hot Spare array,
consisting of four disks, which
are connected to the
Controller. Parity blocks are
represented by the letter P.