When you install a driver in a new computer or update a driver in an existing computer, you need a driver disk. To obtain drivers:
Visit the Dell Support website at support.dell.com and download the latest drivers for your controller. Follow the instructions provided with the download.
Use the drivers provided with your Drivers and Utilities CD. See your User's Guide for more information about your Drivers and Utilities CD.
Installing the Driver on a Computer Without an Operating System
If you are creating an array, press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to enter the ARC
utility. For instructions on creating an array from the BIOS, see "Creating an Array."
When the array is finished building, insert the Windows setup CD and restart the computer.
Press <F6> when you are prompted to install a third-party driver.
Press <F6> immediately—you only have 5 seconds. If you miss your chance, restart the
Windows installation to complete it correctly. Otherwise, Windows will not recognize your
controller.
Insert the driver disk you created in step 1 and wait until you are prompted to install a driver.
Press <s> to specify that the driver is on the floppy disk, and press <Enter>.
Windows searches the disk for a suitable driver.
When the Embedded HostRAID driver is found, press <Enter>.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete your installation.
Installing the Driver on a Computer With an Operating System Installed
With the RAID Storage Manager, you can locally manage a computer containing a supported RAID controller that has the Windows operating system installed. See the online help for information about creating, configuring, and managing arrays.
NOTE: Your controller may not support all of the features described. In most cases, if a feature is not supported by your controller, the feature does not appear in the interface.
Installing the RAID Storage Manager on Windows
NOTE: When you are installing the RAID Storage Manager on a FAT 32 file system, the folder being installed is automatically hidden.
Insert the Drivers and Utilities CD and wait for the Autorun executable to start the
installation. If this does not happen, browse the CD and click Autorun.
Click Install RAID Storage Manager.
Click Next in the Install Shield window.
Read the license agreement. If you agree to its terms, click Yes. If not, click No and terminate
the installation.
Follow setup instructions to finish the installation.
When you are prompted to restart your computer, accept the default (Yes) and click Finish.
The computer restarts to complete the installation.
Using RAID Storage Manager
The action buttons are:
Logout — Selecting Logout ends your session and returns you to the Login screen.
Rescan — Used to rescan the configuration of the computer. Typically, when a rescan is required, it occurs automatically; for example, after an array is created.
The remaining buttons open additional windows that provide more detailed information, and allow you to perform actions or change settings of a specific aspect of your storage subsystem.
Events
Options
Help
Properties
Immediately following the header frame is a controller information line including the model number of the first RAID controller found in the computer.
Beneath the controller information are Physical Devices and Logical Devices views that show connected devices and existing arrays on this controller. Controller information and device views are repeated for each additional RAID controller in the computer.
Select the controller by clicking anywhere on the controller information. When you select the controller, the Events, Properties, and Tasks buttons change from blue to amber, indicating that clicking any of them displays an additional window with information and options specific to this controller.
Pop-Up Tool Tips
If you position the cursor over a device or button, a pop-up tool tip appears. For buttons, the tips contain helpful information about the function of the button, while for devices the tips display additional information.
Physical Devices
The Physical Devices view displays information about the drives attached to the RAID controller. The devices shown are organized by the channel or port to which they are connected and they are listed in numerical order.
The display for each channel includes information on maximum speed capability, the number of the channel on the controller, and the number of devices found (excluding the SCSI controller).
Selecting a channel or device turns the Events, Properties, and Tasks buttons amber. The amber color indicates that clicking any of these buttons displays an additional window with information and options specific to that device or channel.
At the top of the Physical Devices view, grouped to the right of View, are three view selection buttons. These buttons select the physical devices connected to the controller.
Changing How Drives are Displayed
By default, the Physical Devices view displays a condensed snapshot of the controller configuration that hides detailed information about the drives. More information is available by either positioning the mouse pointer over the device or clicking the arrow to the left of a row of devices.
The selected display mode button appears in a lighter shade of blue than the other two buttons. The default display is the Text Description View, but in the condensed view that is used when the RAID Storage Manager is loaded, the display is the same in all three modes.
If you change the display mode by selecting one of the other view buttons, a yellow arrow flashes to the left of any devices where the condensed display hides information.
An icon is always the first entry on each device line. If a + symbol appears with the hard drive icon, the drive is a hot spare. Different icons are used to represent other devices.
View
When you expand the default display mode, the following information about each device appears:
Capacity of the drive
Drive manufacturer and model number
SCSI drive ID or Serial ATA port number
When you expand them, the Full Size Capacity View button and the Relative Size Capacity View button represent each drive as a bar. A drive that is not used as part of any array is blue and is surrounded by a dotted line.
The Full Size Capacity View button displays a full-length bar for each drive, regardless of capacity. The Relative Size Capacity View button displays a bar for each drive, with the largest capacity drive full-length and the other drives proportional to the drive capacity, relative to the largest drive.
Any part of a drive used in an array is shown as a gray segment within the bar. Selecting any gray segment highlights it in amber, and in the Logical Devices view.
In either the Full Size Capacity View or the Relative Size Capacity View, a small portion at each end of the drive may be shown in dark gray.
The segment at the end of the drive may vary in size from drive to drive because, in addition to the RAID signature, the controller may also limit the usable capacity of each drive.
This is done because hard drives that appear to have the same capacity and that are made by different manufacturers, or even different models from the same manufacturer, actually vary slightly in the true capacity available. In normal operation, this is not an issue, it can be when assigning hot spares or replacing a failed drive.
If the controller uses the maximum capacity of each drive and a hot spare or replacement drive is just a few megabytes smaller, it is not possible to replace the failed drive. By rounding drive capacities down to the nearest 2 MB, this possibility is effectively eliminated.
Logical Devices
As described earlier, when the RAID Storage Manager loads, the Logical Devices view is expanded and you can see the arrays present on the controller.
At the top of this view are the following buttons: Create, Modify, and Delete. Each button opens a wizard for the corresponding function.
Modify allows you to:
Change an array from one RAID level to another.
Change the stripe size for a RAID 0.
The main area of the Logical Devices view is used to display the arrays on this controller. It defaults to a condensed view of top-level arrays.
NOTE: The Options button allows you to display second-level arrays if your controller supports them.
In this condensed view, the RAID level of each device, as well as whether it is protected by a hot spare, is visible. If a global hot spare exists, all arrays that the hot spare is large enough to protect shows as protected.
In the expanded view, the icons for the arrays are arranged vertically and next to them are the capacity, name, and type of arrays.
Selecting an array by clicking on it highlights the following in amber:
All the drives or segments that form the array in the Physical Devices view.
The Events, Properties, and Tasks buttons in the header frame. Selecting any of these three buttons displays a new window with additional information and options specific to that array.
Accessing RAID Storage Manager
Starting the RAID Storage Manager in the Windows Operating System
Open the program by clicking the Start button, pointing toPrograms®RAID Storage
Manager, and clickingRAID Storage Manager.
The program flash screen appears briefly, then a login dialog box opens. Enter the user name
and password you use to log on to your operating system, and click Connect.
NOTE: Your RAID Storage Manager permissions vary according to your operating system permissions:
Administrator:The Administrator log in allows you to view and modify the RAID configuration. You can create and delete logical devices, add and remove hot-spare drives, and verify logical devices. To log in as Administrator, you must be a member of the Administrator group for your operating system. Use the Administrator user name and password or your own user name and password if you are a member of the Administrator group.
User: The User log in allows you to view the RAID configuration, verify logical devices, and add and remove hot-spares. You cannot create or delete logical devices. To log in as User, use your normal network user name and password.
Guest:The Guest log in allows you to view the RAID configuration only. You cannot change or modify any information. To log in as Guest, click Cancel when the RAID Storage Manager Log in window opens.
Creating an Array
To create an array:
In the Controller view, click the controller that you want to configure.
Right-click Create logical drive.
The Configurationwizard opens.
If you select Expressconfiguration, the RAID Storage Manager automatically:
Creates one or more logical devices, based on the number and size of ready physical drives in your computer.
Defines a hot-spare drive, if four or more ready physical drives of the same size are available.
NOTE: For HostRAID controllers, Express configuration creates a single RAID Level-1 logical device; it does not create a hot spare drive.
If you select Customconfiguration, the RAID Storage Manager guides you through:
Defining the RAID level of the logical devices.
Selecting the physical drives that you want to include for each logical device.
Defining the number and size of the logical devices.
Fine-tuning your configuration for optimal performance.
Click Next and review the configuration summary.
Click Apply.
The RAID Storage Manager configures the controller and initializes the logical devices.
Choosing Between Express and Custom Configuration
In the Configuration wizard, you can choose from two methods to configure your controller:
Express Configuration
Click the Express configuration for a quick and easy method to automatically configure your controller. This path creates the most efficient configuration based on the number and capacity of the ready physical drives available in your computer. If four or more ready drives of the same capacity are available, this choice also defines a hot-spare drive for the controller. If four or more ready drives are available, the largest drive is designated as the hot-spare drive.
NOTE: For HostRAID controllers, Express configuration creates a RAID level-1 logical drive.
NOTE: When you choose Express configuration, you have the opportunity to review and approve the configuration before the RAID Storage Manager applies the configuration. If you need to modify the configuration, you can do so from the configuration summary.
Custom Configuration
Click the Customconfiguration for a method that lets you manually configure your controller.
Choose this method to do any of the following:
Define the RAID level of the logical drives.
Select the physical drives that you want to include for each logical drive.
Define the number and size of the logical drives.
Fine tune your configuration for optimal performance
Review the configuration summary.
Deleting an Array
NOTICE: Deleting an array destroys all data on the array. Deleting the array on which the operating system resides destroys the operating system and all data, and the computer no longer boots. Only delete data arrays, or backup data before deleting the boot array. For some operating systems, deleting a disk group and its associated logical drives might change the drive-letter assignments of the remaining drives when you restart the computer.
NOTICE: If you delete a disk group, you delete all logical devices that are defined in that disk group. All data and programs on the logical devices in the disk group are lost during this procedure.
To delete a disk group:
In the Physical devices view, click the array.
NOTICE: Before proceeding, ensure that you have backed up any data and programs that you want to save.
Right-click Delete disk group.
Click Yes.
Manually Rebuilding a Failed Drive
Use this action to rebuild a degraded logical device when a physical drive in the disk group is failed. Normally, the controller rebuilds a logical device when it detects the removal and reinsertion of a drive that is part of a disk group. Use this operation to force the rebuild to begin immediately, without physically removing and replacing the disk drive.
NOTE: The controllers can rebuild RAID level-1 logical devices. They cannot, however, rebuild RAID level-0 logical devices because RAID level-0 is not redundant.
To manually rebuild a failed drive:
In the Physical devices view, click the failed physical drive.
Right-click Rebuild drive.
Click Yes.
NOTE: During the rebuild operation, the failed drive enters the rebuild state and the logical device remains degraded until the rebuild operation is completed.
Rebuilding to a Hot-Spare
When a hot-spare drive is available, the rebuild operation begins automatically without the need to replace the failed drive. If more than one drive fails within the same disk group, no rebuild takes place. If multiple drives fail in separate disk groups (one physical drive per array), the controller initiates a rebuild operation for the logical devices within the disk group containing the first failed physical drive. The rebuild operation is performed on the first hot-spare drive of sufficient size to become a valid member of the disk group.
Verifying an Array
Use this action to check redundant logical drives for inconsistent or bad data. Verification is similar to Verify with Fix, except that the RAID Storage Manager does not repair the drive if bad data is found. Verification can be a lengthy operation. You cannot perform any other actions on the controller until the verification is completed. You can verify the logical drive immediately or schedule it for another time. You can also schedule the verification as a recurring task. A recurring task starts at the initial start time, then runs periodically according to the given interval: the same time each day, the same time each week, or the same time each month.
NOTE: You cannot perform any other actions on the controller until the verification is completed. For example, you cannot schedule a verification if another logical drive verification is in progress.
NOTE: Do not turn off the computer while verification is in progress.
To verify a logical drive:
In the Logical devices view, click the logical drive you want to verify.
Right-click Verifyor Verify with Fix.
To verify the logical drive now, click Yes. To schedule the verification for a later date and time,
click Schedule.
The RAID Storage Manager displays the Scheduler pane:
From the drop-down lists and calendar display, select the day, month, year, and time you want the task performed.
From the Recurring drop-down list, select the interval at which you want the task to recur: Never, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
Click OKto schedule the task; click Cancelto cancel the scheduled task and return to the initial confirmation pane.
SATA Host RAID
With the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility (ACU), you can create and manage RAID arrays with drives connected to a SATA controller. This section explains how to use ACU and two host RAID levels to provide the proper level of fault tolerance and event notification. See "SCSI Host RAID."
HostRAID supports the following RAID levels:
RAID 0 — Striping mode for boosting performance
RAID 1 — Mirroring mode for data security
Creating Arrays
Before creating arrays, make sure the disks for the array are connected and installed in your computer. Note that disks with no usable space, or disks that are part of the RAID array are shown in gray and cannot be used. See "Configuring Drives."
To create an array:
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
From the ARC menu, select Array Configuration Utility (ACU) and press <Enter>.
From the ACU menu, select Create Array by using the up- and down-arrow keys.
Select the disks for the new array and click Insert. To deselect any disk, highlight the disk and
click Delete.
Press <Enter> when disks for the new array are selected.
The Array Properties menu displays.
Assigning Array Properties
NOTE: Once the array is created and its properties are assigned, you cannot change the array properties using the ACU.
Tips for assigning an array:
Before adding a new drive to an array, back up any data contained on the new drive. Otherwise, all data will be lost.
If you stop the Build or Clear process on a RAID 1 from ACU, you can restart it by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl><r>.
If you created a RAID 1 using the Quick Init option, you may notice that data comparisons do not match when you run a consistency check.
The ACU allows you to use drives of different sizes in a RAID 1. However, during a build operation, only the smaller drive can be selected as the source or first drive.
It is recommended that you do not migrate or build an array on Windows dynamic disks (volumes), as it will result in data loss.
NOTICE: Do not interrupt the creation of a RAID 0 using the Migrate option. If you do, there is no way to restart, and no way to recover the data that was on the source drive.
To assign properties to the new array:
In the Array Properties menu, select an array type and press <Enter>. Note that only the
available array types, RAID 0 and RAID 1, are displayed. RAID 0 and RAID 1 require a
minimum of two drives.
Type in an optional label of no more than 15 characters for the array, and press <Enter>.
For RAID 0, select the desired stripe size. Available stripe sizes are 16, 32, and 64 KB (default).
NOTE: It is recommended that you do not change the default.
You can select between the different creation methods for RAID 0 and RAID 1. The following table gives examples of when each is appropriate.
RAID Level
Create Via
When Appropriate
RAID 0
No Init
Creating a RAID 0 on new drives.
RAID 0
Migrate*
Creating a RAID 0 on a new drive and one drive with data you want to preserve.
RAID 1
Build*
Any time you wish to create a RAID 1, but especially if you have data on one drive that you want to preserve.
RAID 1
Clear
Creating a RAID 1 on new drives, or when you want to ensure that the array contains no data after creation.
RAID 1
Quick Init
Fastest way to create a RAID 1 (is appropriate when using new drives).
*If you select Migrate for RAID 0 or Build for RAID 1, you are asked to select the source drive. The contents of the source drive are preserved; however, the data on the new drive is lost.
When you are finished, select Done.
Configuring Drives
If an installed disk does not appear in the disk selection list for creating a new array, or if it appears grayed out, you may have to initialize it before you can use it as part of an array. Drives attached to the controller must be configured before they can be used in an array.
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
From the ARC menu, select Array Configuration Utility (ACU).
Select Configure Drives.
Use the up- and down-arrow keys to highlight the disk you want to configure and select Insert.
Repeat step 4 so that all drives to be initialized are selected.
Press <Enter>.
Read the warning message and ensure that you have selected the correct disk drives to
initialize. Press <y> to continue.
Rebuilding Arrays
NOTE: Rebuilding applies to Fault Tolerant arrays (RAID 1) only.
If an array Build process (or initialization) is interrupted or critical with one member missing, you must perform a Rebuild to get the array to Optimal status. For a critical array Rebuild operation, the optimal drive is the source drive.
NOTE: If no spare exists and a hard disk drive fails, you need to create a spare before you can rebuild an array. See "Add/Delete Hotspares" before continuing your Rebuild.
From the Main Menu, select Manage Arrays.
From the List of Arrays, select the array you want to rebuild.
Press <Ctrl><r> to rebuild.
Verifying Drives
If you are notified of a mismatch of data during a build of RAID 1, you have an option of synchronizing your drives.
NOTE: You only have the synchronize option available if the array is Optimal. If the array has failed, you need to rebuild the array.
Select the drives you need to synchronize.
Press <Ctrl><s>.
Select Yes when the following prompt is displayed:
Do you want utility to automatically fix errors? (Yes/No) When the synchronization is complete, you are notified with a fix message.
Deleting Arrays
NOTICE: Back up the data on an array before you delete it. Otherwise, all data on the array is lost. Deleted arrays cannot be restored.
To delete an existing array:
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
From the ARC menu, select Array Configuration Utility (ACU) and press <Enter>.
From the ACU menu, select Manage Arrays using the up- and down-arrow keys.
Select the array you want to delete and press <Delete>.
In the Array Properties dialog box, select Delete and press <Enter>.
The following prompt is displayed:
Warning!! Deleting the array will render array unusable. Do you
want to delete the array?(Yes/No):
Select Yes to delete the array or partition or No to return to the previous menu.
RAID 1 only—the following prompt is also displayed:
Deleting the partition will result in data loss! Do you also want
to delete the partition? Choose which member:
[NONE] [MEMBER #0] [MEMBER #1] [BOTH]
Select [BOTH]and press <Enter>.
Press <Esc> to return to the previous menu.
Add/Delete Hotspares
Select the Add/Delete Hotspares option to add, delete, or view hotspares.
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
From the ARC menu, select Array Configuration Utility(ACU).
From the ACU menu, select Add/Delete Hotspares by using the up- and down-arrow keys.
Use the up- and down-arrow keys to highlight the disk you want to designate as a Hotspare,
select Insert, and then press <Enter>.
Select Yes when the following prompt is displayed:
Do you want to create spare? (Yes/No)
The Spare you have selected appears in the Assigned Hot Spare Drive menu.
Viewing Array Properties
To view the properties of an existing array:
At the BIOS prompt, press <Ctrl><a>.
From the ARC menu, select Array Configuration Utility(ACU).
From the ACU menu, select Manage Arrays.
From the List of Arrays dialog box, select the array you want to view and press <Enter>.
The Array Properties dialog box appears, showing detailed information on the array. The physical disks associated with the array are displayed here.
Press <Esc> to return to the previous menu.
Using the Controller Configuration Utility
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
If multiple controllers are installed, select the controller you want to configure and press
<Enter>.
From the ARC menu, select SATASelect.
The Controller Configuration and SATA Configuration menu options are displayed.
Select Controller Configuration.
You can modify the following Controller Interface options:
Runtime BIOS (Default: Enabled) — Enables or disables the controller's runtime BIOS. The BIOS must be enabled if you want to boot from the controller.
If Runtime BIOS is enabled and the Array-based BBS Support option is disabled, the controller BIOS is enabled and post to the first array (or drive) attached to the controller as a bootable hard disk drive.
Using the Disk Utilities
The Disk Utilities enable you to format or verify the media of your Serial ATA hard disks.
Turn on your computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access the ARC
utility.
From the ARC menu, select Disk Utilities.
Select the desired disk and press <Enter>.
The following options appear:
Format Disk — Simulates a low-level format of the hard drive by writing zeros to the entire disk. Serial ATA drives are low-level formatted at the factory and do not need to be low-level formatted again.
NOTICE: Formatting destroys all data on the drive. Be sure to back up your data before performing this operation.
Verify Disk Media — Scans the media of a disk drive for defects.
SCSI Host RAID
With the SCSISelect utility, you can create and maintain RAID arrays with drives connected to a SCSI controller.
NOTE: Only the Dell Precision® 670 computer has RAID arrays with drives connected to a SCSI controller on the system board. You cannot use the SCSISelect utility with the Dell Precision 470 computer.
This section explains how to use the SCSISelect utility to create and manage RAID arrays on your computer. Use HostRAID to provide the proper level of fault tolerance and event notification.
HostRAID supports the following RAID levels:
RAID 0 — Striping mode for boosting performance
RAID 1 — Mirroring mode for data security
Using SCSISelect Utility Menus
To select a SCSISelect menu option, move the cursor to the option with the arrow keys and then press <Enter>. In some cases, selecting an option displays another menu. You can return to the previous menu at any time by pressing <Esc>.
Starting the SCSISelect Utility
Turn on or restart your computer.
During the startup process, pay careful attention to the messages that appear on your screen.
When the following message appears on your screen, press <Ctrl><a> (this message
appears for only a few seconds):
Press <Ctrl><A> for SCSI Select (TM) Utility!
From the device menu that appears, select a channel and press <Enter>.
From the Options menu, select Configure/View HostRAID Settings and press <Enter>.
After scanning the device is completed, the Main menu appears. The Main menu displays the following information:
ID — Indicates ID number of hard drive.
Type — Indicates available non-array hard drive, RAID type, or global spare:
Striped (R0)
Mirrored (R1)
Hard Drive
Spare
Vendor — Indicates vendor of hard drive.
Product — Indicates model of hard drive or name of built array.
Size — Indicates size of hard drive.
Status — Indicates available RAID status:
Free — Available drive
Optimal — No defect
Degraded — One drive in a mirrored array is in failed status, and a Rebuild option is available.
Dead — One drive in a RAID 0 array is in failed state or missing.
Building — The drive is a target of an ongoing Rebuild operation.
Verifying — Checking the data integrity of redundant data stored on fault-tolerant arrays.
Viewing Array
To view an array, select the array and press <Enter>. A detailed view of the hard drives appears. From this window you can see the status of the individual hard drives. The status levels you might see are:
Optimal — No defect.
Building — The drive is a target of an ongoing Rebuild operation.
Verify — Checking the data integrity of redundant data stored on fault-tolerant arrays.
Missing drive information indicates that a member is missing and the array is not optimal
Exiting the SCSISelect Utility
Press <Esc> until a message prompts you to exit (if you changed any settings, you are
prompted to save the changes before you exit).
At the prompt, select Yes to exit. If prompted, press any key to restart the computer. Any
changes you made in SCSISelect take effect after the computer restarts.
Creating Arrays
Before creating the array, make sure that the disks for the array are connected and installed in your computer, and then follow these steps:
Turn on the computer and press <Ctrl><a> when you are prompted to access SCSISelect.
Select Configure/View HostRAID Settings.
From the Main menu, select C to create a RAID array.
NOTE: You must have at least two hard drives to create an array.
NOTE: If the hard drive you select is already part of an array configuration, it will not be available for selection.
Select the RAID type you want to build. As you highlight the selections, you receive an
allowance message regarding minimum and maximum drives. Press <Enter>.
The allowance messages for the different RAID types are as follows:
RAID-0
Min 2 drives
RAID-1
Min 2 drives, max 2 drives
From the Select RAID Member menu, press the spacebar to select the hard drives you want
to use in the array. An X appears next to the drives you have selected.
Creating RAID 0 Arrays
From the Select RAID Type window, select RAID-0 and press <Enter>.
Select the hard drives you want to use and press <Enter>.
Select Yes to quick build this array, and then press <Enter>.
Select Enable Write Cache if you want to enable cache on the drive and press <Enter>.
Select the stripe size and press <Enter>. You can select from 16K, 32K, or 64K (default). If a
partition exists on any of the selected drives, you receive a message that the partition will be
deleted.
Assign a RAID name by entering up to 15 alphabetic or numeric characters, and then press
<Enter>.
The following message appears:
Do you want to make this array bootable?
Select Yes if you want to make the array bootable.
The following message appears: Create Array?
Select Yes.
The following message appears: Are you sure?
Select Yes and press <Enter> to create a RAID 0 array.
After your array is created, you automatically return to the Main menu.
Creating RAID 1 Arrays
There are two ways to create a RAID 1 array. You can create a new RAID 1 array or you can migrate from an existing single drive to a RAID 1 array. To create a RAID 1 array using either option:
From the Select RAID Type window, select RAID-1.
Select the hard drives you want using the spacebar to toggle, and then press <Enter>.
Select Yes to quick build this array, and then press <Enter>.
Select Disable Write Cache from the write cache options window and press <Enter>.
The RAID-1 Build Option window appears if you selected No for the quick build option.
Select an option and press <Enter>.
Create new RAID-1 — The default option.
Copy from (ID#) to (ID#) — Copy from a source drive to a target drive if the source is equal to or smaller than the target.
Copy from (ID#) to (ID#) — Copy from a source drive to a target drive if the source is equal to or smaller than the target.
NOTE: If a valid partition table or boot block is detected in the target drive, you receive a warning that that the information will be destroyed.
After entering your options, if a partition exists on any of the selected drives, you get a
message that the partition will be deleted. Assign a RAID name by entering up to 15
alphabetic or numeric characters, and then press <Enter>.
The following message appears: Do you want to make this array bootable?
Select Yes if you want to make the array bootable.
The following message appears: Create Array?
Select Yes.
The following message appears: Are you sure?
Select Yes and press <Enter> to create a RAID 1 array.
If you select No, the RAID creation terminates and you return to the Main menu.
After your array is created, the progress bar appears showing the percentage completed in the creation process. If for any reason you want to stop the build process and return to the Main menu, press <Esc>. You may continue the build process by selecting the Rebuild function later.
NOTE: You might not be able to use the array if the build has not been entirely completed.
From the Select RAID Type window, select Configured Single and press <Enter>.
Select the hard drives you want to use and press <Enter>.
NOTE: If a valid partition table or boot block is detected in the target drive, you get a warning message that the dynamic partition disk(s) will be converted to the basic partition disk(s).
Deleting Arrays
From the Main menu, select the array you need to delete by moving the cursor, and then
press <Enter>.
Select D.
The following message appears: Delete Array?
For RAID 0, go to step 4. For RAID 1, select one of these options, then continue to step 4:
Drive ID 1 — Deletes all data on the drive 1
Drive ID 2 — Deletes all data on the drive 2
Drive ID 1 & 2 — Deletes all data on both drives
None — Breaks the array but keeps any existing data on both drives
Select Yes and press <Enter>.
The following message appears: Are you sure?
Select Yes and press <Enter>.
If you select No, you return to the Main menu.
Adding a Spare Drive
With RAID 1 you have the option to create a maximum of 2 spare drives. You can create a spare before you define your RAID or you can add a spare later to an existing RAID 1 array.
From the Main menu, select S to add a spare.
The following options appear:
Add Spare
Delete Spare (only available if a spare already exists)
Select a drive and press <Enter>.
Select Yes when the following message appears:
Are you Sure?
Yes/No
After you select your spare drive, it appears as a spare in the Main menu.
Rebuilding Arrays
NOTE: Rebuilding applies to Fault Tolerant arrays (RAID 1) only.
If an array Build process (or initialization) is interrupted or critical with one member missing, you must perform a Rebuild to get the array to Optimal status. For a critical array Rebuild operation, the optimal drive is the source drive.
NOTE: If no spare exists and a hard disk drive fails, you need to create a spare before you can rebuild an array. See "Adding a Spare Drive" before continuing your Rebuild.
To rebuild an array for RAID 1:
From the Main menu, select an array for Rebuild and press <Enter>.
Select R for Rebuild.
If your array rebuilds successfully, the following message appears: Build/Rebuild
Completed.
Press any key to return to the Main menu.
NOTE: During the Rebuild process, you can stop the Rebuild by pressing <Esc>. You get a pop-up window displaying Stop Build? If you select Yes, you return to the Main menu.
Verifying Data Integrity
NOTE: To verify data integrity, your RAID 1 must be at Optimal status.
From the Main menu, select array, press <Enter>, and then select V.
Select Yes and press <Enter>.
If you select No, you return to the Main menu.
NOTE: During the Verify process, you can stop the Verify by pressing <Esc>. You get a pop-up window displaying Stop Verify? If you select Yes, you return to the Main menu.
If a message asking if you want to automatically fix errors appears, select Yes to AutoFix. This
executes a comparison of mirrored drives, a copy from the primary drive to secondary drive
when a miscompare occurs, and a report at the end of the verification process.
If you select No, this executes a comparison of mirrored drives, a log of errors, and a report at the end of the verification process.
NOTE: To fix errors found (if any), run Verify again with Autofix=Yes.
After you select your verification option, the following message appears: Depending on your disk capacity, verifying may take several minutes to several hours. Are you sure?
When your Verify is completed, you get a verification message and log. Press <Esc> to exit.
If your Verify is unsuccessful, you get the following message: WARNING: Failed !!!
Press <Enter> and return to the Main menu.
Bootable Array
From the Main menu, select an array, press <Enter>, and then select B for the Bootable
function.
Select Mark Bootable and press <Enter>.
NOTE: Mark Bootable gives boot priority to the array regardless of the SCSI ID priority.
Write Cache
From the Main menu, select Array, press <Enter>, and then select W for the write cache
setting change.
Select Write Cache Setting from the write cache options window and press <Enter>.
For the non-RAID array drives, select W from the Main menu.
