Silicon Image SATA RAID FOR SILICON IMAGE User manual

SATARaid™
Serial ATA
RAID Management Software
09/26/03
Silicon Image, Inc.
1060 East Arques Ave.
Sunnyvale CA 94085
[phone]
www.siliconimage.com

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Copyright © 2003, Silicon Image, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
transcribed, or translated into any language or computer format, in any form or by any means without prior written
permission of:
Silicon Image, Inc.
1060 East Arques Ave.
SunnyvaleCA 94085
Silicon Image, Inc. reserves the right to make changes to the product(s) or specifications to improve performance, reliability,
or manufacturability. Information furnished is believed to be accurate and reliable, but Silicon Image, Inc. shall not be
responsible for any errors that may appear in this document. Silicon Image, Inc. makes no commitment to update or keep
current the information contained in this document.
However, no responsibility is assumed for its use; nor any infringement of patentsor other rights of third parties which may
result from its use. No liability is assumed as a result of their use or application. No rights under any patent accompany the
sale of any such product(s) or information.
Silicon Image, Inc. products are not designed or intended for use in Life Support Systems. A Life Support System is a
product or system intended to support or sustain life, which if it fails, can be reasonably expected to result in significant
personal injury or death. If Buyer or any of its direct or indirect customers applies any product purchased or licensed from
Silicon Image, Inc. to any such unauthorized use, Buyer shall indemnify and hold Silicon Image, Inc., its affiliates and their
respective suppliers, harmless against all claims, costs, damages and expenses arising directly or indirectly, out of any
such unintended or unauthorized use, even if such claims alleges that Silicon Image, Inc. or any other person or entity was
negligent in designing or manufacturing the product.
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
SATARaid is a trademark of Silicon Image, Inc. JAVA is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Windows is a trademark of
Microsoft Corp. for their family of computer operating systems.
Revision History:
Revision Comment Date
1.00 Initial creation of document 09/26/03

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Table of Contents
1Welcome .............................................................................................................................................4
SATARaid Features..................................................................................................................................4
2An Introduction to RAID....................................................................................................................5
3Installing Drivers for Windows XP/2000/98/NT..............................................................................6
4JAVA 2 Runtime Environment Installation .....................................................................................7
5SATARaid GUI Installation ...............................................................................................................9
6Creating and Deleting RAID Sets .................................................................................................11
Creating RAID Sets................................................................................................................................ 13
Deleting RAID Sets................................................................................................................................. 14
Rebuild RAID 1 Set................................................................................................................................ 15
Resolving Conflicts................................................................................................................................ 16
Low Level Formatting............................................................................................................................ 18
Logical Drive Information...................................................................................................................... 18
7Allocating Partitions........................................................................................................................19
Windows XP & 2000............................................................................................................................... 19
Windows NT........................................................................................................................................... 24
Windows 98 & Me .................................................................................................................................. 27
8SATARaid GUI Overview...............................................................................................................32
Devices and Information Windows........................................................................................................ 32
Event Viewer and Events Windows........................................................................................................ 34
SATARaid Toolbar and Menu Commands.............................................................................................. 34
RAID Management................................................................................................................................. 35
System View.......................................................................................................................................... 35
Configure SATARaid.............................................................................................................................. 35
Send Configuration................................................................................................................................ 35
Save Configuration................................................................................................................................ 35
Copy Configuration................................................................................................................................ 35
SATARaid Help...................................................................................................................................... 35
Exit........................................................................................................................................................ 35
About SATARaid.................................................................................................................................... 36
9SATARaid Configuration................................................................................................................37
10 RAID Set Management Under Windows 2000 & XP....................................................................45
Creating RAID Sets................................................................................................................................ 46
Deleting RAID Sets................................................................................................................................. 54
Modifying RAID Sets.............................................................................................................................. 56
Creating a Spare RAID 1 Drive............................................................................................................... 62
Deleting a Spare RAID 1 Drive............................................................................................................... 64

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1Welcome
Silicon Image’s SATARaidTM software provides Serial ATA RAID0 (Striping), RAID1 (Mirroring) and RAID10 (Striping and
Mirroring) functionality to enhance the industry’s leading PCI-to-SATA host controller products. Two major challenges facing
the storage industry today are keeping pace with the increasing performance demands of computer systems by improving
disk I/O throughput and providing data accessibility in the face of hard disk failures. With SiIicon Image Serial ATA host
controller and SATARaid, both of these problems are solved.
SATARaid software provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for easy-to-use configurations of the RAID Sets.
SATARaid Features
•RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10 Sets are supported
•Under Win 2000 and XP only, RAID Sets can be created and deleted without exiting Windows
•Hot Spare and On-line Mirror Rebuilding
•System GUI Monitoring Utility:
•Displays/Logs/Alerts Users to Vital RAID Set Information
•Manages RAID Set Functions (configures, rebuilds, etc.,)
•RAID Set Accommodates Multiple Size HDDs
•HDDs Function Normally When Not in RAID Sets
•Adjustable Stripe Size for RAID 0
•Uses the Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) feature in the attached drives for automatic
notification of imminent drive failures.
•Can be configured to automatically email RAID Set system events and failure reports.
•Automatically Selects Highest Available Transfer Speed for All ATA and ATAPI Devices. Supports the following:
•UDMA up to 150MB/Sec.
•All UDMA and PIO Modes
•Up to 4 SATA devices
•ACPI and ATA/ATAPI6

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2An Introduction to RAID
RAID -Redundant Array of Independent Disks
RAID technology manages multiple disk drives to enhance I/O performance and provide redundancy in order to withstand
the failure of any individual member, without the loss of data. There are many different methods of implementation for RAID,
with each having advantages and disadvantages. Raid levels or set types are given a numerical designator that defines its
implementation such as RAID 0 or RAID 1. SATARaid provides support for three RAID Set types: Striped (RAID 0) , Mirrored
(RAID 1), and RAID 10 Mirrored/Striped. Other RAID types are not supported by SATARaid software and thus are not
discussed.
Disk Striping (RAID 0)
Striping is a performance-oriented, non-redundant data mapping technique. While Striping is discussed as a RAID Set
type, it is does not provide any fault tolerance. With modern SATA and ATA bus mastering technology, multiple I/O
operations can be performed in parallel, enhancing data throughput. Striping arrays use multiple disks to form a larger
virtual disk. The figure below illustrates a three-disk stripe set. Stripe one is written to disk one, stripe two to disk two, and
so forth. RAID 0 sets can be comprised of two, three, or four drives.
Strip 2
Strip 5
Strip 8
Strip 11
Strip 0
Strip 3
Strip 6
Strip 9
Strip 1
Strip 4
Strip 7
Strip 10
Disk Mirroring (RAID 1)
Disk mirroring creates an identical twin for a selected disk by having the data simultaneously written to two disks. This
redundancy provides instantaneous protectionfrom a single disk failure. If a read failure occurs on one drive, the system
reads the data from the other drive. RAID 1 sets are comprised of two drives. A third drive can be allocated as a spare in
case one of the drives in the set fails.
Block 0
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 0
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Disk Mirroring and Striping (RAID 10)
RAID 10 combines the features of both RAID 0 and RAID 1. Performance is provided through the use of Striping (RAID 0),
while adding the fault tolerance of Mirroring (RAID 1). The implementation of RAID 10 requires four drives. The drives are
assigned as two sets of striped pairs.
The data is written to RAID Set A, which is striped (RAID 0). This allows maximum speed. The data is then mirrored to
another RAID 0 striped set, which is Set B in the figure above. This provides dataredundancy (RAID 1), and thus increased
data security.
Under certain circumstances, a RAID 10 set can sustain multiple simultaneous drive failures.

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3Installing Drivers for Windows XP/2000/98/NT
Before installing the SATARaid software, Silicon Image SerialATA host adapter driver must be installed. When Windows
detects the newly installed SATA host adapter, it will open a Driver Installation Wizard. Click on the Next buttons until the
wizard prompts for the location of the driver. Insert the Silicon Image SATA host adapter driver CD into the computer’s CD-
ROM drive and click on the Browse button. Select the directory on the CD in which the driver resides and click OK.
Click the Next button. A window will be displayed to verify proper installation of the host adapter driver. Click Finish. When
prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

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4JAVA 2 Runtime Environment Installation
The Java 2 Runtime Environment is required for the SATARaid GUI. The Java 2 Runtime Installer and executable package
must be downloaded from the Sun Microsystems website at http://java.sun.com/j2se/downloads.html. The computer must
have an Internet connection set up before installation can proceed.
Save the installer file to a known location, such as the My Documents folder. Using Windows Explorer or by clicking on the
My Computer icon on the desktop, select the installation file and open it. The installation will begin. The installer program
will download the needed files from the Internet.
When a window appears asking for acceptancethe license agreement, select I accept the terms of this license agreement
and click Next.

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Choose the Typical setup type and click Next.
When the installation completes, click Finish. Restart the computer when prompted.

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5SATARaid GUI Installation
Insert the Silicon Image SATARaid Installation CD into the computer’s CD-ROM drive. Using Windows Explorer or by
clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop, display the contents of the CD-ROM. The SATARaid GUI Installation
program is namedJava SATARaid.exe. Select this file and open it. The installation will begin.
Click the Next button when the Welcome window appears.
Click the Next button to install the SATARaid program in the default directory (recommended). An alternate directory may be
selected if desired.

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Click the Finish button to complete the installation.

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6Creating and Deleting RAID Sets
Creating and deleting RAID sets must be performed in the BIOS for operating systems other than Windows 2000 and XP.
For 2000 and XP, RAID sets can be createdand managed by either the BIOS utility or the SATARaid GUI. See section10
RAID SetManagementUnder Windows 2000 &XP for information on configuring RAID Sets using the SATARaid GUI.
During bootup, a screen similar to that below will appear for about 5 seconds. Press CTRL+S or the F4 key to enter the
BIOS RAID utility.
The RAID Utility menu screen will be displayed. A brief description of each section is presented on the next page.

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Main Menu
The Main Menu in the upper left corner is used to choose the operation to be performed. The selections are:
Create RAID Set
Delete RAID Set
Rebuild RAID1 Set
Resolve Conflicts
Low Level Format
Logical Drive Info
Create RAID Set is used to createa new RAID Set or for allocating spare drives to a RAID 1 set.
Delete RAID Set is used to delete a RAID Set or to deallocate a spare RAID 1 drive.
Rebuild RAID 1 Set is used to initiate the rebuild of a RAID 1 set after, for example, a drive in the Set has been replaced.
Resolve Conflicts is used to automatically find the member drives of a RAID set which has been disrupted (physical drives
swapped around, for example) and restore the Set to proper operation.
Low Level Format allows a single drive to have its data completely wiped out. Drives assigned to Sets or allocated as
spares cannot be low level formatted.
Logical Drive Info shows the current configuration of each RAID set, allocated spare, and unallocated physical drive
attached to the SATA host adapter.
These operations are detailed in the pages that follow.
Help Window
This window displays context-sensitive help and status messages.
Physical Drive Information
This window displays the model number and capacities of the drives physically attached to the SATA host adapter.
Logical Drive Information
This window displays a list of devices reported to the system BIOS.
Command Line
The bottom line of the display lists the currently active command keys:
Up and Down arrows select the menu item or action
ESC takes the user to the previous menu
Enter selects the highlighted choice
Ctrl-E exits the utility
Other keys may be active depending upon the currently selected action.

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Creating RAID Sets
As previously discussed, the Silicon Image SATA host adapter supports RAID 0, 1, and 10 configurations. The selection of
the RAID level to be used should be based upon factors including performance, data security, and number of drives
available. It is best to carefully consider the long-term role of the system and plan thedata storage strategy appropriately.
Silicon Image has made the creation of RAID sets very simple. They can be created either automatically or to allow the
greatest flexibility, manually.
1. Select “Create RAID Set.”
2. Choose a RAID 0 Striped, a RAID 1 Mirrored, or a RAID 10 combination set.
3. Select Automatically or Manually configuration of the RAID Set.
4. If manual configuration is selected, the chunk size of Striped Sets can be selected. For Mirrored Sets, the Source and
Target drives can be selected.
5. The message “Are You Sure?” will display before completing the configuration. Answer “N” to abort the creation of the
new RAID set, or “Y” to proceed with the RAID set creation.
The Create RAID set option is also used to allocate a spare drive to a RAID 1 set. This spare drive can be allocated to the
set using the SATARaid GUI in the event of a failure of one of the drives in the set. To allocate a spare drive, follow the
procedure outlined above, choosing “SPARE DRIVE” for the set type.

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Deleting RAID Sets
1. To remove one or more RAID sets, select “Delete RAID Set.”
2. Select the desired set and press Enter.
3. Press “Y” when asked, “Are You Sure?”
4. The drives will be returned to the selection of logical drives from which a new RAID set can be created.

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Rebuild RAID 1 Set
This menu selection is used to initiate the copying of data from an existing drive to a replacement drive that has been
installed in a RAID 1 set after the failure of one of the members.
1. Select “Rebuild RAID1 set.
2. Select the desired set and press Enter.
3. Press “Y” when asked, “Are You Sure?”
4. The set will be rebuilt. The status of the rebuild is displayed in the MAIN MENU window.

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Resolving Conflicts
When a RAID set is created, the metadata written to the disk includes drive connection information including the channel on
the host adapter to which it is connected. If after a disk failure the replacement disk was previously part of a RAID set or
used in another system, it may have conflicting metadata, specifically in reference to the drive connection information. If so,
this will prohibit the RAID set from being either created or rebuilt. In order for the RAID set to function properly, this old
metadata must be first overwritten with the new metadata. To correct this, select “Resolve Conflict” and the correct
metadata, including the correct drive connection information, will automatically be written to the replacement disk.
1. Select “Resolve Conflicts” and press Enter.
2. Select the “Conflict” entry in the Logical Drive Status window and press Enter.

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3. Note that some conflict resolutions may result in the drive letter assignment changing; for example the RAID set may
have been drive D: but after the conflict resolution, it may become drive E:. Be aware of this when performing a conflict
resolution. To maintain the same drive lettering, the SATA cables connected to the drives may need to be swapped, or
in the case of a SATA-based removable drive unit, the order of the drives within the chassis made need to be
changed. Press ‘Y’ to accept the change and resolve the conflict.
4. The conflict will be resolved. The RAID Set will appear in the Logical Drive window.

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Low Level Formatting
The Low Level Format menu selection allows the complete erasure of data on a hard drive. This is not an action which
typically needs to be performed as formatting the drive under Windows is usually sufficient to prepare the drive for use.
Logical Drive Information
This menu item allows the display of the assignment of physical drives within a logical set (RAID set, RAID 1 spare, or
unassigned). It is a display-only function. Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll between the drives in the Logical Drive
Properties window. Press the ESC key when done viewing logical drive information.

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7Allocating Partitions
After the Raid set(s) havebeen created, the BIOS reports the new set(s) as a new drive attached to the system. This drive
must have a partition defined on it, then the drive must be formatted in preparation for use under Windows.
Windows XP, 2000, and NT use the Disk Management utility that is part of the Operating System. There are enough
nuances that make it important to follow the procedure specific to the Operating System.
Windows 98 and Me use a significantly different procedure; defining the partitions is accomplished by booting the system to
a DOS prompt and using the FDISK utility. Formatting and naming of the partitions is performed under Windows.
Windows XP & 2000
Before creating any partitions, RAID sets must first be created using the BIOS RAID Utility or the SATARaid GUI. Once the
sets have been created, allow the system to load Windows. Once Windows is running, open the Disk Management window
located at:
Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Computer Management> Storage> Disk Management
A window similar to the following should appear:
This window has three main sections:
1) System listing of all formatted and available disks/RAID Sets.
2) Report of physical connection of disks/RAID Sets.
3) Report of partition status, disk letter, and volume name.

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In the physical connection window, every disk should report as:
Basic
Disk Size (the actual available disk space will be reported here)
Online
Instead of “Basic,” a disk may also report as either “Unknown” or “Dynamic.” If the disk reports as “Unknown” right-click on
the disk icon and click “Write Signature.” A window will appear with the disk in question (all “Unknown” disks may appear in
this window). Make sure the box next to each disk is checked, then click OK. The disk should now report as “Basic.”
If a disk reports as “Dynamic,” right-click on the icon of that disk, and click on “Convert to Basic Disk...” Within seconds the
disk should report as Basic.
Creating the Partitions
In the Report of physical connection of disks/RAID Sets section, the order in which the drives are displayed corresponds
directly to the order the Sets appear in the BIOS. Therefore, the first Unallocated Partition represents Set 1, and so on.
1. In this example, there are two disks with unallocated partitions. Right-click on the partition of the first disk and click on
“New Partition.”
2. The “Create Partition Wizard” should appear. The first window is an introductory window to the Wizard. Click Next.
3. The second window designates the partition type. Choose primary partition and click Next.