Promise Technology FASTTRAK SX4300 User Manual download pdf (Page 41)

Chapter 5: Concepts

• About FastTrak, below

• Introduction to RAID, below

• Choosing a RAID Level (page 41)

• Other Logical Drive Features (page 43)

About FastTrak

FastTrak SX4300 and SX8300 are high performance RAID Controller cards that

feature concurrent data channel operation and onboard BIOS. The channels on

the FastTrak card support concurrent operation that allows for overlapped I/O

under multi-tasking operating systems and sharing the workload between

multiple drives.

Adapter BIOS

The FastTrak card contains a BIOS code that extends the standard disk service

routine provided through Int13. The BIOS is bootable for DOS and other

operating systems that rely on the system BIOS for drive operation. When the

FastTrak BIOS appears during bootup, press Ctrl-F to enter the FastBuild setup

to select from menu settings.

Introduction to RAID

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) allows multiple hard drives to be

combined together into a logical drive. The operating system sees the logical

drive as a single storage device, and treats it as such. The RAID software and/or

controller handle all of the individual drives on its own. The benefits of a RAID

can include:

• Higher data transfer rates for increased server performance

• Increased overall storage capacity for a single drive designation (such as, C,

D, E, etc.)

• Data redundancy/fault tolerance for ensuring continuous system operation in

the event of a hard drive failure

Different types of logical drives use different organizational models and have

varying benefits. Also see Choosing RAID Level on page 41. The following

outline breaks down the properties for each type of RAID logical drive:

1 2 ... 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 ... 67 68

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Promise Technology FASTTRAK SX4300 User Manual Page 41