User`s guide

Document Number: MAN-0057XX-000 Version 1.0
Example: In Figure 6 below, assume that Drives A and B are 300 GB each. When the SAFE33 Storage
Policy is selected, the resulting virtual volumes will include SAFE volume of 100 GB (1/3 of 300 GB) and
a BIG volume of 400 GB (the remaining capacity after allocating 100 GB from each of the hard drives).
SteelVine
Drive A Drive B
Port 0
Port 1
SAFE BIG
Figure 6 - SAFE33 storage policy sample configuration
When using a SATA host connection, you must have a PM (Port Multiplier) aware host adapter
when using SAFE33 on the top level node of a cascaded configuration so that ALL volumes can
be detected by the host. If your SATA host adaptor is not PM aware, then ONLY the SAFE
volume will be detected and the BIG volume will not be accessible. No such limitation exists
when using a USB host connection.
For subordinate nodes in a cascaded configuration, it is possible to configure a SAFE33 storage
policy, although you will only see the SAFE volume from that node. Therefore, the SAFE33
storage policy should only be used at the top-level node of a cascaded configuration.
In this mode, the
Schedule/Verify option is enabled.
Refer to the
Capacity Expansion for SAFE33 & SAFE50 section below for additional
information about expanding the storage capacity for the SAFE33 Storage Policy.
SAFE50
The SAFE50 storage policy creates two virtual volumes; one SAFE volume and one BIG
volume, and should be used when you need the high reliability for some of your data (with the
added overhead of mirroring) but you don’t need high reliability for the remainder of your data.
SAFE50 reduces the cost of additional hard drives in operations where non-critical data could be
lost without severe consequences.
SAFE50 uses a SAFE volume that is mirrored across two hard drives to protect your critical data
in the event a hard drive failure. If one drive fails the SAFE volume is retrievable although the
BIG volume is not. When you replace the failed drive, the SAFE volume is automatically rebuilt
on to the replacement drive.
For example, if you are using a video editing application that stores the primary source data and
also uses some temporary storage for editing, you need protected storage that is offered by SAFE
for the primary source data, but you do not need protected storage for the temporary data.
Therefore, the combination of SAFE and BIG would be the most efficient utilization of your
57XX-Series SteelVine Manager User's Guide
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